Parents face extra bus fees over smartphone stance

A group of parents who have delayed giving their children smartphones said the move has forced them to pay an extra £585 per year in bus fares to school.

Operator trentbarton reduces a child's single fare from £3 to £1.50 when they show their b_line travel pass - which is only available via the mango smartphone app.

Parents who have said they want to protect their children from issues related to smartphones said they feel penalised and have called for a non-digital way to access the discount.

Trentbarton said it has now started developing a physical discount card and it is "working at speed to get this ready".

An Ofcom survey in 2023 found more than half of eight to 11-year-olds across the UK owned a mobile phone, rising to 98% of children aged between 12 and 15.

Caroline's 11-year-old daughter does not have a smartphone and is "quite happy" without one. Her older teenage daughter does have a phone, however.

"They are no end of trouble. The obsessiveness of having the phone, wanting to be on the phone all the time - there are lots of problems with it," said Caroline.

Caroline's younger daughter takes a trentbarton bus to her school in Duffield, Derbyshire, but is not able to get the child discount, which is only accessible via the mobile app.

"To be paying £6 a day for one child is a lot of money," she added.

"Surely they could have a QR code on a card. I just think it's something that needs to be invested in."

A ban on smartphones in schools in England came into force on 29 June, making individual schools and trusts legally responsible for being phone-free throughout the day.

Almost all schools already have some sort of phone ban in place - but policies vary, with some using special lockers or sealed pouches for phones.

The change is now in law as part of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act, which passed in April.

It is separate from the ban on social media for under-16s, also announced earlier this year.

However, some schools do allow pupils to bring their phones in, as long as they're not used, seen or heard.

Abigail Wastie, organiser of the parents network Smartphone Free Childhood, said: "Children are confused asking, 'Why can't I have my phone at school, but I have to have it to get the bus?'"

"A lot of headteachers have been talking to trentbarton for months, asking for them to make a fair price for all children, regardless of tech ownership."

Trentbarton confirmed physical b_line cards cannot currently be read by its ticket machines, but the firm is "investigating potential alternatives".

"We have started development to link a new physical card to our free-to-download mango app, which can provide the discounted b_line fare for under 19s, and we are working at speed to get this ready," a spokesperson said.

"In the meantime, all young people will continue to receive a discount on our adult fares."

The East Midlands Combined County Authority took over responsibility for Derbyshire bus operations on 1 February 2026.

A spokesperson said: "The decision to make the b_line discounted fare available through the mango app was taken by Derbyshire County Council before that transfer.

"We are sympathetic to the case made by parents who do not want to lock in smartphone reliance and will include this perspective as we develop the region's fares and ticketing strategy.

"This will consider discounted fares for young people and how these can be accessed.

"The report is due to be completed in autumn 2026, after which we will be able to share more details."

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