First Bus has banned all under-16s in Stoke-on-Trent from travelling on its buses without an adult after 6pm, citing a rise in antisocial behaviour since the government introduced free bus travel for 5- to 15-year-olds in England on 1 August. The move highlights growing tension over how to manage youth misbehaviour on public transport, with the free travel scheme, intended to ease cost-of-living pressures, apparently giving disruptive young people wider opportunities to cause trouble across the city rather than creating new behaviour.

First Bus said drivers and passengers had reported feeling unsafe following several incidents, including one involving more than 100 young people acting in an "intimidating and aggressive" manner at Hanley bus station, which required police attendance. Regional director Simon Mathieson said the scheme itself had been a success in boosting bus use but that safety concerns forced the ban. Stoke-on-Trent councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker criticised the decision, arguing it unfairly punishes well-behaved children and questioning why more transport safety officers were not deployed instead; he noted the free travel scheme did not create the behaviour but changed where it occurred.