Round 14,000 younger individuals in West Lothian have taken up the Scottish Authorities’s nationwide free bus journey scheme since its launch in January, as dad and mom hit out at issues making an utility.
The scheme was launched on the finish of January, and permits Scots below the age of twenty-two to assert a free bus go by way of the Younger Scot card.
Making use of for the Younger Scot journey card has been removed from easy nevertheless, with youngsters and oldsters typically describing a irritating foray into frozen pages and dropped hyperlinks on the federal government web site.
This has brought on an extra drawback in West Lothian, the place teenagers want a Younger Scot card for ID to make use of college transport.
Dad and mom can normally get assist by way of colleges. By the vacations they will contact the council CIS places of work for help.
Councillor Kirsteen Sullivan is one dad or mum who skilled issues attempting to safe a Younger Scot card.
She advised the Native Democracy Reporting Service: “I fully perceive the frustrations of many dad and mom in attempting to use on-line for his or her little one’s free bus journey. After greater than a dozen failed makes an attempt I used to be lastly profitable so right here’s hoping that the glitches have now been ironed out.
“It seems that the implementation of the system wasn’t as thought by way of because it might have been, whether or not in anticipating the amount of purposes or certainly the roll out course of itself.
“As soon as once more councils have needed to step into the breach and supply help. I’m conscious that colleges have been helping with the applying course of throughout term-time and now dad and mom can contact their native CIS workplace for help if they're persevering with to expertise issues with the web system.”
A council spokesperson careworn that West Lothian’s college transport programme was separate from the Younger Scot free journey card, and added: “For the reason that launch of the free journey product simply wanting 14,000 Younger Scot playing cards have been issued in West Lothian.
“In case you are 5 to 21 years previous and dwell in Scotland then you might be eligible without spending a dime public bus journey, irrespective of your nationality. Additional data on the scheme may be discovered on the West Lothian Council web site (https://www.westlothian.gov.uk/young-scot-card-with-travel).
Purposes have to be accomplished on-line by way of the Younger Scot web site (https://getyournec.scot/nec/pages/content material/young-persons-free-bus-travel).”
They added: “The Scottish Authorities’s Younger Individuals Free Bus Journey Scheme is a separate product for public transport and isn't related to West Lothian Council’s good ticketing product. West Lothian devoted college transport routes are usually not a part of the general public transport community and have completely different eligibility.”
It got here as the unique deadline for fogeys wishing to register for college transport handed on June 17 - however the council’s Public Transport crew reopened the applying window this week to provide one other alternative to those that could have missed it.
A spokesperson for the council stated: “We count on to have emails distributed with a call on college transport purposes within the week commencing August 1.
“If for any cause you might be unable to finish an utility on-line, please contact publictransport@westlothian.gov.uk or 01506 282320 for help. The net type may be discovered on the Faculty Transport part of the West Lothian Council web site.”
Do not miss the newest information from the West Lothian Courier. Signal as much as our free publication right here