RURAL bus services have been scrutinised by some of the youngest member of the community after a debate about the ways that youth fares are organised throughout the county.

Wiltshire Assembly of Youth raised issues about bus services for young people including differing fares among different companies and problems with not enough buses during busy times as students tried to get to school or college.

Information about how and why fares were calculated differently by different bus companies was published by Wiltshire Council and revealed that supplementing bus services cost the council £5m every year. Council-run bus services account for around half of all bus services in the county.

Issues raised included the lack of buses during peak times by the authority said putting on more buses during these busy periods was not an option because they cost £200,000 a year to maintain and would not bring in enough revenue.

The report stated: “Wiltshire is an area of almost full employment and bus companies find it hard to attract drivers, which is an additional constraint when planning bus services. In many ways, a lack of capacity at peak times and the lack of discounts for students travelling to sixth form/college are the opposite ends of the same problem.”

The issue is set to be discussed at the next Children’s Select Committee meeting tomorrow at County Hall