Bus companies are hoping to drive down unemployment by offering free lifts to job seekers for a month.

The operators are letting unemployed customers ride free-of-charge throughout January, in a bid to help them find work.

The scheme is called Bus For Jobs and is designed to offer a helping hand to people who are actively hunting for a job or training course.

Job seekers who have been unemployed for between three months and one year will be eligible for unlimited free journeys on almost any local bus service run by the participating operators – although the scheme is particularly targeted at young people.

In the Bradford district, the companies taking part are First and Arriva Yorkshire. Passengers wanting a free journey will need to have a valid JobCentre Plus Travel Discount Card, which they must show to the driver.

The national scheme is being paid for by the bus companies themselves, and run by the campaign group Greener Journeys, which is a coalition between travel companies and passenger groups.

Nigel Featham, managing director for Arriva Yorkshire, said: “Free bus travel will enable job seekers across Yorkshire to make the most of the transport network this January.”

Giles Fearnley, managing director of First Bus, said: “I’m proud First Bus and our fellow bus operators have joined forces and are doing our bit to help job seekers.”

More details are available at www.busforus.co.uk.