(Title Image: Wales Audit Office)
In a highly-critical report (pdf), the Wales Audit Office has concluded that the MyTravelPass scheme – which allowed 16-18 years olds to travel on buses for a reduced fare – had only been taken up by less than 10% of eligible people, when it was originally projected to have been taken up by 80%.
This means that while the scheme was budgeted at £15million during the original trial, it’s only cost just over £1million a year to run since then. The pass was originally included as part of a budget deal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats in 2014.
The Conservatives and Plaid Cymru raised questions over whether public money has been wasted. The Welsh Government said it has resulted in 1.3million discount bus journeys in 2017-18.
