Young people's transport call

Public transport should be cleaner, safer and cheaper, according to a report produced by young people.

The study by the Medway Youth Parliament highlights the shortcomings of public transport in the Medway Towns.

More than 170 young people from Medway returned surveys on the state of public transport in the Medway Towns.

Their responses were used to compile a report calling for cleaner, safer public transport and lower fares.

It also suggests the introduction of a discount loyalty scheme and intermediate fares for students who no longer qualify for a child's ticket.

Personal Safety

The report identifies a lack of public transport to take young people to entertainment venues as a contributing factor to anti-social behaviour.

Patrick Geary, of the Medway Youth Parliament, said: "Other cities like Bristol have a £1 flat fare across all areas of the town.

"We would welcome that as a way of getting young people off street corners causing trouble, which is often the perception of them."

Young people were, with older people, the largest user group for public transport, he said.

But the group's survey showed 56% of young people did not feel comfortable in terms of personal safety when using buses.

Evenings and weekends

Many also said they found public transport filthy.

Ian Wilson, transport and design manager for Medway Council, said he welcomed the youth parliament's report.

He said the council, which runs about 15% of the area's bus services, was working in partnership with private operators to try to improve services.

The council plans to introduce new evening and weekend buses to Medway Valley Park and Gillingham Ice Bowl later this year.

Mr Wilson said public transport was very safe - but the council needed to do more to change people's perceptions.