Under-15s banned from solo bus travel in city

Children under 15 have been banned from travelling alone on buses in the evening in Stoke-on-Trent to tackle anti-social behaviour, it has been revealed.

First Bus confirmed the youngsters would have to be accompanied by an adult when travelling on services to and from Hanley Bus Station after 18:00.

The restriction, which came into effect on Friday, was approved by the Department for Transport following discussions with Staffordshire Police and the city council, the operator said.

Currently, children aged five to 15 can travel on most bus services in England for free as part of a government scheme, which is due to run until the end of August.

The restriction in the Potteries covers 32 services in total and drivers have been told to "exercise their discretion" over whether to allow unaccompanied children onto the bus if there were concerns about their safety.

Rebecca Arrowsmith, general manager of First Bus in the area, said there had been "growing incidents" of anti-social behaviour at the bus station and on board services.

"The safety of our staff and customers is always our number one priority and we will always take steps to ensure everyone on board can travel in comfort and without nuisance," she explained.

"This measure has the full support of the council and will be kept under daily review. We hope to be able to end the restriction as soon as possible."

Simon Mathieson, the firm's regional director for the East and Midlands, said the decision had been made "regrettably".

He said the aim was to remove the restriction once the free bus travel offer came to an end.

"We have seen a large uptake in the area for children using this scheme, which is great," Mathieson told BBC Radio Stoke.

"Buses are important, buses matter. We know people like to travel by bus. Obviously, the weather has been fantastic, with people getting out and about.

"We've seen good use of this scheme, but we just need people to act sensibly when they're on the bus and in the bus station."

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