A successful scheme originally planned as a one-off has been extended to help families with young children get out and about during the school holidays.
When it was delivered in 2017 the initiative saw hundreds of bus journeys a day taken during the Easter, summer and October holidays and it will now be rolled into this year.
Dundee City Council has teamed up with bus operators to offer a reduced fare to children when they travel with an adult fare payer or concession ticket holder.
Lynne Short convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee said: “When we first tried this out we had a small pot of cash from Smarter Choices Smarter Places, supplemented by funding from the bus operators that allowed kids to travel for 20p.
“The scheme was so successful with families that we wanted to run it again this year and with the tremendous financial help and support of our partners who provide bus services in the city we’ve been able to do that for the duration of the Easter holidays.
“We want to help parents and grandparents who might find it hard to afford to take bairns to see some of the loads of interesting and free things the city has to offer.
“Places like The McManus, Broughty Castle and the Discovery Walk are all free but the bus fares to get to them could add up with two or three children.
“We were really keen to run it again as part of our commitment to promoting bus use and fairness in the city by pricing services to provide greater value for the real life challenges of the people who use them.”
Covering all journeys in the ABC Dundee ticket zone the scheme is backed by Smarter Choices Smarter Places, the council, Xplore Dundee, Stagecoach and Moffat and Williamson.
Managing Director of Xplore Dundee Elsie Turbyne said: “I’m really pleased we’re teaming up with Dundee City Council once again to offer discounted travel during the school holidays.
“Travelling by bus is a great value way to take the whole family out and about this Easter and our network of routes covers all the main shopping destinations, leisure pursuits and visitor attractions the city has to offer.”
Douglas Robertson, Commercial Director, Stagecoach East Scotland said: "We're delighted to be taking part in this scheme again. There are so many events and great places to visit in Dundee and it's now even easier for families to get out and about by bus using our network of services, for less!"
Running from Friday (March 30) to Sunday (APRIL15) the scheme will allow families to enjoy a day out and discover the city by bus with up to three under 16s per paying adult including those with season tickets and weekly passes travelling for 20p each.
Cllr Short added: “It’s great that the bus operators have got behind the scheme again and I hope that not only will it open up the city to some bairns who might not have got the chance before, it will also create a new generation of people who use the buses.”
Xplore Dundee
As Dundee's principal public transport provider, we fulfill around 35,000 passenger journeys every day. Our service is part of the fabric of the city - carrying people where they need to be, and employing more than 300 people.
Stagecoach East Scotland
Stagecoach UK Bus is part of the Stagecoach Group and is one of the largest bus operators in the UK, operating express and local bus services across the country.
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
