Migrants have received more than £100,000 worth of free bus passes in Oxfordshire over the past three years, accounts show.
Oxfordshire County Council assigned the grants to the Oxford-based Charity Asylum Welcome over the years.
In the first three months of 2026, £17,820 was allocated from the government-funded Bus Service Improvement Plan to asylum seekers.
For 2025, that figure stood at £74,791 and in 2024, £10,000 worth of bus passes was handed out to the refugees to bring the total to £102,611.
Last autumn, this newspaper also revealed £71,280 was allocated for free bus passes, of which £64,800 was for the bus companies and £6,480 was overheads allocated to Asylum Welcome between April 2025 and March 2026.
Oxfordshire Reform councillor Hao Du said: "Our county pays some of the highest council tax in the country, hiked year after year on increasingly struggling residents.
READ MORE: Migrants living in Oxfordshire hotels receive almost £800k
"We are constantly told there is no money for basic services like maintaining our roads and footpaths.
"But apparently the council can find money for free bus passes for asylum seekers while working families pay full fare.
"That tells you everything about this Lib Dem administration's priorities."
Oxfordshire County Council previously defended providing free passes to asylum seekers over taxpayers, saying the funds will ultimately "help individuals build connections".
A spokesman said: "This scheme operating in Oxford promotes and enables integration and helps the individuals in question build connections with local people.
"It also assists them in the longer term to become economically active and contribute to the community in which they live.
"We are very grateful to the local bus companies and Asylum Welcome for working with us on this scheme."
Legal documents uncovered under Freedom of Information laws say asylum seekers in the city "face significant challenges to get around the city due to the cost of public transport".
It said transport for asylum seekers in Oxford was "the most urgent issue of concern" and resulted in some "limitations".
This includes an inability to get to English classes and other missed educational opportunities, the legal documents said.
Some asylum seekers are receiving bicycles from the charity Asylum Welcome, but this has been described as inappropriate for disabled asylum seekers and that biked are "regularly stolen" from outside the hotels in which they're staying.
Asylum Welcome says on its website: "For asylum seekers surviving on a weekly allowance of just £8.86, transport costs often restrict access to vital appointments as well as participation in everyday activities, contributing to social and emotional isolation."
The charity was approached for further comment.
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