Liverpool City Region has launched free travel passes for young people leaving care - a smartcard solution supported by Unicard technology.
The initiative, spearheaded by Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, is a collaborative effort involving major transport operators within the region, aimed at supporting young people as they transition to independent living.
Approximately 1500 young people across the six boroughs of the Liverpool City Region—Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral—are expected to benefit from this initiative.
Image credit: Steve Rotheram / LinkedIn
The travel passes will provide eligible care leavers aged 18-21 with free access to buses, trains and ferries. This increased mobility will help them to take advantage of work, training and educational opportunities.
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) has previously deployed Unicard’s HOPS and our Smart Office CMS to support and manage integrated smart ticketing for concessionary and commercial travel.
The LCRCA uses our platform to enhance the customer experience for ticketing on ITSO-supported bus and rail services across the Liverpool City Region.
Unicard’s platform provides a far faster and more flexible solution for introducing changes to their scheme – and this allowed us to introduce the Care Leavers Travel Pass.
According to data from children’s charity Barnardo’s, young people who have grown up in care are three times less likely to be in education, employment, or training than others of their age. They are also prone to feeling cut off and socially isolated, with almost one in five saying they felt lonely always or often.