No Entry! Transport Barriers Facing Young People

Young people are under pressure. At the end of 2012 nearly a million, or one in five, 16>24 year olds were unemployed and more than a million young people are not in any employment, education or training. Young people are almost three times as likely to be jobless as older adults. Those in higher education are burdened by levels of debt that are increasing as the cost of tuition rises. Students who started university in England in 2012/13 will graduate with an average student loan debt of over £40,000. The incomes of young people in employment have to be stretched further as income levels stagnate and living costs rise. Over 2 million young people come from low-income households. Transport is an important part of the solutions to these problems. Transport allows access to employment, education, and training. Transport must be affordable. The cost of transport can determine whether young people can travel to a job interview and sometimes even to a job centre. Low incomes must be shared between transport and other essentials. The travel patterns of young people and people in the oldest age groups are similar: both make fewer journeys than average and are more likely to rely on bus services. People under 20 years old and over 70 years old are also more likely to walk than other age groups.