FREE travel on buses and trains could be offered on a permanent basis to youngsters across the county.

Kent County Council is to pilot trials of a scheme in which all 11-to-16 year-olds will be eligible for a pass allowing them free public travel.

If the trials in Canterbury, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells are successful, the scheme will be extended to all parts of Kent.

Council chiefs insist their plans, set out as part of a four-year masterplan for Kent called "Towards 2010", will not prove a burden on the council tax payer because the costs of subsidising the scheme can be found elsewhere.

The authority currently spends around £19million on mainstream home-to-school transport but £27million when transporting special needs children are taken into account.

Cllr Keith Ferrin (Con), KCC’s cabinet member for transport said the scheme would permit all secondary schoolchildren to travel to school for free, regardless of whether they lived more than three miles away, the distance at which students qualify for support.

But county council leader Paul Carter did not rule out the prospect of charging a fee for using the pass during weekends and school holidays.

Cllr Ferrin revealed schools in the three areas were being surveyed to assess possible take-up rates. Around one in five children in Kent are eligible for free school transport.

He said: "We want to assess the likely demand for the scheme and we are in negotiations with bus and train operators. We are confident we can deliver and hope to start the trials at Easter next year."

Cllr Carter admitted that an up-front administation fee might have to be paid if the costs of the scheme could not be covered elsewhere.

"We might ask for a modest charge of between £25 and £30 to use the pass during school holidays, for example. We will run the pilot schemes and I am optimistic we can roll this out across the county."

Click here to read Kent County Council's vision for 2010 in full, in PDF format.