STAGECOACH have been trialling cheaper bus tickets for children in South and East Ayrshire - leaving parents out of pocket in North Ayrshire.

The bus giant confirmed that they had been giving cheaper tickets to youngsters in Ayr and Kilmarnock but said they ‘cannot reduce revenues without achieving the cost savings we can gain through local authorities promoting bus friendly policies and bus priority measures being put in place.

North Ayrshire Council have admitted they are keen to speak to Stagecoach about cheaper tickets for those in the authority but said that despite previous talks, there are still issues to be resolved.

One irate parent told the Herald that the scheme was unfair and commented: “Stagecoach offer a child’s mega rider in South and East Ayrshire but our kids pay an adult mega rider as there is no child one available.

“This is extremely unfair and some of our kids live over two miles from school, penny pinching is bad enough but this is not on, the child mega rider should be available for all kids.

“I’m a single mum with two kids, £5 a day each it’s a big ask on a low income. I don’t get any benefits at all, it’s not fair.”

A spokesperson for Stagecoach West Scotland said: “We have been trialling child weekly bus tickets in Ayr and Kilmarnock for some time, monitoring their uptake and looking at sustainable ways to offer a child weekly ticket across West Scotland operations.

“However we cannot reduce revenues without achieving the cost savings we can gain through local authorities promoting bus friendly policies and bus priority measures being put in place.

“We offer child single and return fares across our operating area at this time, however we are looking to work more closely with all of the local authorities on a number of initiatives and not just child fares.

“All of our ticket types and fares are available on our website.”

A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson: “Having had previous discussions with representatives from Stagecoach, we welcome the opportunity to speak again as a number of matters remain outstanding which we are keen to resolve.

“We have recently received a letter from Stagecoach and are arranging a meeting for early in the New Year to allow us to discuss a range of issues, including our ongoing concerns with bus services in North Ayrshire.”