School Kent Travel Saver bus pass could rise in cost to £600

The cost of a school travel pass used by thousands of secondary school children could rise to £600.

The Kent Travel Saver card is administered and subsidised by Kent County Council and currently costs £450.

It allows children to use buses through the week, mainly to get to and from their school.

However Kent County Council says it is to cut more than £1 million from the budget as part of wider savings.

Opposition parties have claimed that would mean an increase of £150.

Kent County Council leader Roger Gough acknowledged there would be an increase and the potential charge of around £600 was under consideration.

Asked if he recognised the figure, he said: “That is certainly in the right direction… It is an extremely difficult area and what I would say is that we always look to ensure that it is still by comparison with simply buying your bus tickets a significantly a better deal.”

He stressed that nothing has yet been decided but it was “one of the very difficult areas we have to look at.”

Green Party county councillor Mark Hood said any increase could lead to pupils not being able to get to school.

"This means it's a real threat that significant numbers of parents are not going to be able to send their children to school, even if they are lucky enough to have a school bus service after the cuts that have been inflicted across the commercial network," he said.

The scheme offers discounts to certain children, including those on free school meals or in care. When there are three children in a family one pass is offered free.

Parents are also able to spread the costs by paying monthly.

Last year the basic cost was kept at £450.