Participation in Practice: Young people campaign for better transport

This year, a group of youth and environmental charities including NCB and the British Youth Council have joined forces with the Campaign for Better Public Transport to call for improved transport for young people.

Young representatives spoke at a bus seminar at the House of Commons in February and later produced a film, which was presented to the Education Secretary Michael Gove in June.

Lily Coulstock-Cockeram, 16, a Young NCB member from Cambridge, spoke at the House of Commons and helped to produce the film. "One hundred per cent of the bus subsidy for young people is being cut by the council in my area," she says. "In my friend's village, they're talking about cutting the bus service that takes them to college."

As a result of the cuts, she can no longer get a bus home after 6pm, which would make if difficult to get a job in Cambridge.

The cost of bus fares also poses a problem to young people. "Next year, I'm going to have to pay about £600 a year just to get to college," says Lily. "It's real a barrier to young people, especially those who don't have much money."

She says the reaction to the campaign has been positive. "A lot of the other people giving speeches at the House of Commons seem to have been there before and were making the same old speeches. Then we stood up and people turned and looked at us. They're not used to seeing young people in places like the House of Commons."

But there is some good news in Cambridge: the council is thinking again about cutting bus subsidies, says Lily. "I'm not sure whether that has anything to do with us but I was really happy when I found out," she says.