THE year is off to a positive start already in the West of England, with good news for families and young people from the festive period.
Our Kids Go Free scheme returned over Christmas, giving under-16s free travel on buses across Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
Despite bank holidays and reduced services, children took 182,351 free journeys – a huge 50% increase on the number paying to travel during the same period the previous year.
This is even better than the 32% increase we saw during last summer’s school holidays, compared to the same time in 2024.
Families have already saved around £1.1 million through Kids Go Free, and for some children, this scheme has opened the door to our region’s attractions for the very first time.
It’s fantastic to see how free travel can make a real difference – helping young people get to sports clubs, libraries, cultural events, or just explore their local area.
It also supports local businesses and visitor attractions, boosting our economy and giving more people a chance to experience what the West has to offer.
With child fares already among the cheapest in the country, we are making bus travel as easy and accessible as possible for families.
In the past few weeks, the West has celebrated another milestone: the UK’s first Citizens’ Assembly dedicated to culture publishing its report, setting out a vision for “a West of England where culture is for everyone as part of everyday life.”
The assembly recommended opening up parks, libraries, schools, and heritage sites; embedding creative learning in schools; developing creative and accessible solutions to transport and creating opportunities for people to shape cultural priorities at a local level.
I’m delighted that the Citizens’ Assembly will continue its work as the Citizens for Culture panel, with £100,000 from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to try out their ideas.
On top of this, the West of England has been chosen as one of just six regions to receive £25 million from the Creative Places Growth Fund – a huge vote of confidence in our creative sector.
Together, these investments will help our cultural scene and put people back at the heart of things. Working together with our local councils, creative organisations, and residents, we can make culture accessible for all – and build a West of England we can all be proud of.
Both Kids Go Free and Citizens for Culture show what’s possible when we remove barriers.
From giving children the freedom to travel and explore, to empowering communities with a role in shaping cultural priorities, together we are opening doors and creating opportunities for everyone in our region – and helping more people shape the West of England’s future.