Hop on the bus this Easter: Kids Go Free is back!

Kids Go Free is coming back again for the Easter school holidays, giving free bus travel for a fortnight to around 150,000 kids aged under 16 across the West.

The hugely popular, nationally unique initiative saw big increases in children and young people taking the bus over the summer and Christmas school holidays in 2025, with many places seeing the number of journeys double, compared to the same times the previous year.

Every free journey is putting money back into families’ pockets, funded using some of the Bus Grant funding secured by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority and North Somerset Council from the Department for Transport.

The latest data indicates that areas in the West where families have incomes among the lowest 10% in the country saw the largest increases (+98% on average) in bus travel by children and young people. In areas where families have among the lowest 30% of incomes in the country, the data showed an 89% rise while Kids Go Free first ran last summer.

The scheme returned over the Christmas school holidays, following on from its inclusion in the West’s first Child Poverty Action Plan.

Labour Party Councillor Hugh Malyan, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport at North Somerset Council, said:

“We are thrilled by the strong uptake of the Kids Go Free scheme and the positive impact it is having across communities in North Somerset. By making bus travel free for children, we are helping more families choose public transport for everyday journeys. I hope everyone will take full advantage of this opportunity to explore all that the West has to offer while building confidence in using our transport network.”