6 comments by 1 or more people

1. AJ

   Why is it that children get cheap fares at all on buses and trains, or cheap admittance to attractions? They take up as much space on a bus, train, or ride as an adult, and in some cases can be a lot more hassle. No real need for them to have reduced fares IMO.

   12 Apr 2007, 08:08

2. I seem to recall the child age limit being 14 once. About 12 now I think. It should be all or nothing I reckon. 16 or adult prices all the way.
   With buses though it’s not going to take that much more fuel to shift a child than an adult, and two children fill up the same space as two adults.
   But it always used to annoy me.
   Oh and for some reason now I’ve passed all the age restrictions (except for that oh-so-important-I’m-a-safer-driver-now-that-I’m-a-quarter-of-a-century-old limit) I suddenly feel that all the age limits should be shifted up. A 17 year old driving? No way. 16 and enjoying each others body parts? Nuh-uh.

   12 Apr 2007, 10:14

3. surely the reason why children get reduced fares is the same as why OAPs and the unemployed (and students sometimes) can get discounts: because they can’t afford it (or rather perhaps to help the parent who might not be able to afford say 5 adult fares etc, it’s expensive enough i imagine to be a parent…)
   is it linked to when children can work? i think in france you have to be 16 but in england you can be fourteen and earn cash, no?

   12 Apr 2007, 14:58

4. James

   And why is your parents’ income taken into account in determining university fees when you are over the age of 18 and, therefore, an adult for all other intents and purposes (and your parents could no longer be prosecuted for not feeding you etc)?

   13 Apr 2007, 17:08

5. Shal

   Spot on, never thought about that. Air fares are 3/4 of an adult from the age of 2. This is child discrimination.

   15 Aug 2007, 10:52

6. Jeremy

   But hang on, I work in HE and my income is less than the minimum income recommended for students – and I am four grades up. There is no cheap fare for me even though a) I can’t afford fares like your average worker b) I am helping students (largely) get better paid jobs than mine.

   Did you know that more than half of the Univerisity staff earn less that the minimum recommended expenditure for students? What does that say about the type of family Warwick wants to recruit from – when its own staff couldn’t even afford for themselves to go to uni whilst working there – so there is no hope for the kids of these families.

   Shocking

   31 Oct 2007, 23:55