good time to take the grand kids out?

Thank you.
That's good. Not just for children to enjoy going places with parents, but also for younger teenagers to meet up with friends and socialise.
Some of our DGC live in rural parts, but I have to say the buses to the coast here are frequent and reliable.

And who is paying for this?
Any concern for for providing basic services for inhabitants of rural areas country wide with scant availability of bus services to nearby towns to access NHS, Dentistry, opticians, and shopping?

And the most important thing of all, travel to and from work and education.

Agree. Our rural DGC travel free by bus to school. Personally, I think that should be available to all children too, irrespective of distance. TfL is good for that.

This does seem an excellent initiative, particularly for children and young people who do not have a parent with a car readily available to take them to school, to friends, and to activities.

PS this scheme above is only for August.

The free travel for August goes hand in hand with the cheaper entrance to attractions as the government has waved the VAT on tickets.