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Birthday Bus scheme to be extended
West of England metro mayor Dan Norris’ ‘Birthday Bus Pass’ allows Bristolians to travel for free on Bristol buses during their birth month.
Norris first announced it in the summer of 2023, accompanied by a double-decker First Bus wrapped in photos of Norris and his dog, Angel.
Later that year, watchdogs criticised the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) for using £10,000 of public money to wrap the bus.
is needed now More than ever
And, earlier this year, a Bus Service Improvement Plan task and finish group warned the Birthday Bus scheme benefitted the richest ten per cent of Bristol residents over the poorest ten per cent.
This £10,000 advert soon became controversial – photo: WECA
However, after celebrating over one million birthday journeys this year, on Monday Dan Norris announced plans to extend the scheme into 2025.
The scheme will start again from December 1 2024.
A new addition will be that people aged 21 or younger will be able to use their birthday pass for two months – the month of their birthday and the following month.
Citing a report by KPMG, Norris said the scheme was “very good value for money”, adding that “for every pound you spend, you get in effect £2.20 back”.
Dan Norris and Angel celebrated the announcement with cake – photo: Hannah Massoudi
Norris added that the scheme had: “taken off 5.2 million miles of car journeys in our region, which is not just helpful for the environment (but it also) means less congestion, less pollution.
“And the thing I’m really proud of about Birthday Buses – we’re still in the financial cost of living crisis.
“It’s still a very tough of time for people.
“And if you can get 1/12th off your bus bill a year, if you’re reliant on buses, that makes a big difference to many people.”
Main photo: Hannah Massoudi
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