The cost of regular public transport is a significant burden for asylum seekers. Asylum seekers are not allowed to work and, therefore, rely exclusively on their government allowance. The weekly allowance for an individual is £39.62 for food, clothing, toiletries, personal items and transportation. The cost in Swansea of an adult day bus ticket is £4.70 which is 83% of a person's daily allowance (£5.66) and a weekly ticket is £22.50 which is 57% of a person’s weekly allowance. Taxis are even more expensive and asylum seekers are not eligible for other community transport schemes. Frequently, they must choose between using transport to access services or to remain isolated.
Choose Love reports “Before the Covid-19 pandemic, asylum support rates were already significantly less than mainstream benefits; following the uplift, it is now barely 40% of the allowance people over 25 receive on Universal Credit.”