Business
‘Bus fares eat my budget’: Under-22s join call for free travel
Business reporter
Maisy MoazzenkiviYoung people have told the BBC the “extortionate” cost of bus travel in England means they socialise less and struggle to pay rent.
A report by MPs has recommended everyone under the age of 22 should get free bus travel to help them get into work and education – similar to in Scotland.
The Department for Transport says it is already spending “£1bn in multi-year funding to improve the reliability and frequency of bus services across the country”.
But the BBC has heard from people aged 22 and under who say bus fares are too expensive and eat into their food budget.
‘I get hungry at college but can’t afford snacks’
Maisy MoazzenkiviMaisy Moazzenkivi, 18, lives in Coventry with her mum, dad and brother, and travels almost two hours each way to get to college, four days a week.
Maisy, has a disability bus pass because of her autism, meaning she pays less for travel than her friends. However, she still spends £8 a day on getting to college as her free travel allowance only kicks in after 09:30, half an hour after she needs to be there.
She says money she spends on travel eats into what she would otherwise spend on food and snacks throughout the day.
“Sometimes, when I finish college I’m really hungry and just want to get a meal deal or something for the way home, but it’s so expensive on top of everything. I’m very lucky that I can go home and my family can feed me, but not everyone has that.”
If bus travel was free, Maisy says she would be able to socialise more, and save for “luxury items”.
“I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal, or an essential item, but one day, I’d love to save for a Juicy Couture tracksuit,” she said.
‘I don’t understand how it’s so extortionate’
Gracie MooreGracie Moore, 22, lives in Slough and catches the bus every day to and from work, which costs her £120 a month.
“For someone who is not earning much more than minimum wage, it’s quite a big expenditure,” says Gracie who works as an administration assistant for a care home firm.
She says the high cost of travel for young people makes it difficult to navigate having a job and a social life.
Travel costs are “absolutely” a factor which stop her from moving out from her family home, she says.
“I have less independence this way, but I’m paying so much less.”
Gracie previously lived in Madrid, where she enjoyed unlimited travel on bus, train, tube, and tram) for only €8 (£6.90) a month with a young person’s travel card.
“I don’t understand how it’s so extortionate here when other countries in Europe subsidise it so well,” she says. “I just don’t know how the price of transport here can be justified.”
‘Free bus pass would make a big difference’
Nikita UpretiOriginally from Nepal, Nikita Upreti, 20, is an international student studying at University College Birmingham. She says the rising price of travel means it is getting “harder” to pay for her bus pass each month.
When Nikita first moved to Birmingham in September 2024, a monthly bus pass with a student discount cost her £49. Now, it costs her £53.
“The student discount is not helping us anymore,” she says.
Nikita also works 20 hours a week as a waitress. Despite working the maximum amount of hours her university will allow her to while studying, she still struggles to pay her rent while juggling the rising cost of living.
She says that free bus travel “would make a big difference” to her life.
“I could spend the money I save on groceries and things that would help my education. It would be really helpful.”
New Delhi: Several crucial deadlines have been extended in December 2025, including ITR for tax audit cases, ITR filing and PAN and Aadhaar linking. These deadlines will be crucial in ensuring that your financial affairs operate smoothly in the months ahead.
Here is a quick rundown of the important deadlines for December to help you stay compliant and avoid last-minute hassles.
ITR deadline for tax audit cases
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the due date of furnishing of return of income under sub-Section (1) of Section 139 of the Act for the Assessment Year 2025-26 which is October 31, 2025 in the case of assessees referred in clause (a) of Explanation 2 to sub-Section (1) of Section 139 of the Act, to December 10, 2025.
Belated ITR filing deadline
A belated ITR filing happens when an ITR is submitted after the original due date which is permitted by Section 139(4) of the Income Tax Act. Filing a belated return helps you meet your tax obligations, but it involves penalties. You can only file a belated return for FY 2024–25 until December 31, 2025. However, there will be a late fee and interest charged.
PAN and Aadhaar linking deadline
The Income Tax Department has extended the deadline to link their PAN with Aadhaar card to December 31, 2025 for anyone who acquired their PAN using an Aadhaar enrolment ID before October 1, 2024. If you miss this deadline your PAN will become inoperative which will have an impact on your banking transactions, income tax return filing and other financial investments.
Business
Stock Market Live Updates: Sensex, Nifty Hit Record Highs; Bank Nifty Climbs 60,000 For The First Time
Stock Market News Live Updates: Indian equity benchmarks opened with a strong gap-up on Monday, December 1, touching fresh record highs, buoyed by a sharp acceleration in Q2FY26 GDP growth to a six-quarter peak of 8.2%. Positive cues from Asian markets further lifted investor sentiment.
The BSE Sensex was trading at 85,994, up 288 points or 0.34%, after touching an all-time high of 86,159 in early deals. The Nifty 50 stood at 26,290, higher by 87 points or 0.33%, after scaling a record intraday high of 26,325.8.
Broader markets also saw gains, with the Midcap index rising 0.27% and the Smallcap index advancing 0.52%.
On the sectoral front, the Nifty Bank hit a historic milestone by crossing the 60,000 mark for the first time, gaining 0.4% to touch a fresh peak of 60,114.05.
Meanwhile, the Metal and PSU Bank indices climbed 0.8% each in early trade.
Global cues
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Monday as traders assessed fresh Chinese manufacturing data and increasingly priced in the likelihood of a US Federal Reserve rate cut later this month.
According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets are now assigning an 87.4 per cent probability to a rate cut at the Fed’s December 10 meeting.
China’s factory activity unexpectedly slipped back into contraction in November, with the RatingDog China General Manufacturing PMI by S&P Global easing to 49.9, below expectations of 50.5, as weak domestic demand persisted.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 1.6 per cent, while the broader Topix declined 0.86 per cent. In South Korea, the Kospi dropped 0.30 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.31 per cent.
US stock futures were steady in early Asian trade after a positive week on Wall Street. On Friday, in a shortened post-Thanksgiving session, the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.65 per cent to 23,365.69, its fifth consecutive day of gains.
The S&P 500 rose 0.54 per cent to 6,849.09, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 289.30 points, or 0.61 per cent, to close at 47,716.42.
Osmond ChiaBusiness reporter
Getty ImagesSouth Korea’s largest online retailer, Coupang, has apologised for a massive data breach potentially involving nearly 34 million local customer accounts.
The country’s internet authority said that it is investigating the breach and that details from the millions of accounts have likely been exposed.
Coupang is often described as South Korea’s equivalent of Amazon.com. The breach marks the latest in a series of data leaks at major firms in the country, including its telecommunications giant, SK Telecom.
Coupang told the BBC it became aware of the unauthorised access of personal data of about 4,500 customer accounts on 18 November and immediately reported it to the authorities.
But later checks found that some 33.7 million customer accounts – all in South Korea – were likely exposed, said Coupang, adding that the breach is believed to have begun as early as June through a server based overseas.
The exposed data is limited to name, email address, phone number, shipping address and some order histories, Coupang said.
No credit card information or login credentials were leaked. Those details remain securely protected and no action is required from Coupang users at this point, the firm added.
The number of accounts affected by the incident represents more than half of South Korea’s roughly-52 million population.
Coupang, which is founded in South Korea and headquartered in the US, said recently that it had nearly 25 million active users.
Coupang apologised to its customers and warned them to stay alert to scams impersonating the company.
The firm did not give details on who is behind the breach.
South Korean media outlets reported on Sunday that a former Coupang employee from China was suspected of being behind the breach.
The authorities are assessing the scale of the breach as well as whether Coupang had broken any data protection safety rules, South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT said in a statement.
“As the breach involves the contact details and addresses of a large number of citizens, the Commission plans to conduct a swift investigation and impose strict sanctions if it finds a violation of the duty to implement safety measures under the Protection Act.”
The incident marks the latest in a series of breaches affecting major South Korean companies this year, despite the country’s reputation for stringent data privacy rules.
SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest mobile operator, was fined nearly $100m (£76m) over a data breach involving more than 20 million subscribers.
In September, Lotte Cards also said the data of nearly three million customers was leaked after a cyber-attack on the credit card firm.
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Key Financial Deadlines That Have Been Extended For December 2025; Know The Last Date
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