Bromsgrove jobseekers to get free bus travel

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BROMSGROVE jobseekers have been handed free bus travel for the whole of January in a bid to help their efforts to get back to work.

A total of 450 Bromsgrove residents and 560 people in Wychavon who have the Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card will be able to travel for free on almost every local bus service operated by First, Arriva, Stagecoach, Go-Ahead and National Express.

The helping hand is part of the Bus for Jobs Scheme for the start of 2013 which sees the five bus operators team up with Worcestershire County Council to help the 3,300 residents across the county claiming Jobseekers Allowance in their bid to get a job.

Council chiefs hope the scheme will allow people to travel around more easily in search of employment, to job interviews with prospective employers and to training courses.

The card must be produced when the journey is made. Anyone unable to show their card at the time of travel will not be able to make the journey without payment of the appropriate fare.

All subsidised bus services operated on behalf of the County Council have also been instructed to accept the Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card.

Other commercial operators, Whittles and Johnson’s, have also agreed to accept the cards, meaning almost 90 per cent of the bus services in the county will offer free bus travel.

Anyone interested in the scheme is asked to contact their local Jobcentre Plus Office for information on how to get a Travel Discount card.

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