BY TALIA WOOLLEY

AFTER my previous Voices article on the penalisation of young people in Dorset due to the rise in bus fares, I felt the need to take a stand once again.

First Group drivers in Weymouth and Bridport are set to strike next week.

This particular strike is significant because people who travel to work, hospital appointments and school or college by bus will be affected.

If this was London, bus strikes for five days would not be the end of the world as people can travel by trains, bikes, taxis or use the Underground.

However, in a small seaside town, there are few alternatives.

So here I am again speaking out for young people – the people who I believe will be greatly affected by the strike.

They are the people who do not yet drive. The people who have exams to get to within this period.

The people who have paid for a monthly bus pass and will be unable to use the service for one of those weeks.

The people whose voices are continually ignored.

Many of First’s younger customers only use their local bus service because they have to.

This could not come at a worse time for school students, especially as it is currently exam season.

All we can hope for, along with the ongoing plea for better youth transport services, is that First sticks to its word and provides alternative transport for the duration of the strike.