Manchester mayoral candidates pledge #freepublictransport for young people

BBC News: "Labour candidate Andy Burnham and English Democrat mayoral hopeful Steven Morris have both pledged free public transport for young people."

Japan: Capitalists panicked over falling birth rate, but admit they caused it

The Independent: "By 2065 nearly 40 per cent of the country will be senior citizens. There will be 1.3 workers for every person over the age of 65, compared to 2.3 in 2015. Economists have described the situation as a “demographic time bomb”.
....“That’s because of the increase in irregular workers and the fact that more and more people cannot marry for economic reasons, even if they want to.”"

Pensioners in Russia fight to keep #freepublictransport

openDemocracy: "The initiative group’s actions have been mirrored by another movement in the city — Novosibirsk’s pensioners, who were prominent during Russia’s 2011-2012 protests. Their actions largely centre around the protection of existing benefits (and thus recognition of status), such as the planned removal of free unlimited public transport in 2011, which inspired them to protest every two weeks in the city centre. Novosibirsk pensioner groups have also protested the tariff rise. And now that regional legislators (including United Russia deputies) want to reconsider the tariff hike, it looks like protests do matter."

Malta - #freepublictransport the obvious solution, but none dare say it

maltatoday : "It seems tedious to always be talking about the traffic, but it is probably the one major issue about which there is consensus. The problem is getting worse, and successive governments have failed to truly provide an efficient enough public transport system which will make us release our firm grip on our car keys, and opt for the bus instead."