Free bus and rail travel for the oldies from next April ??

Ken68 wrote: »

Hand in your licence if you have a licence, otherwise free anyway, and if you on pills, perhaps shouldn't be driving, have a look at 'side effects'. This product may cause dizziness nausea, vomitting is what I read.

That's all pills, is it, Ken? That's very worrying, I must stop driving immediately as I just took a paracetamol. Tell me where you read 'vomitting', I'll have a word with the manufacturers.

Unfortunately, if getting a free bus pass were dependent on handing in your driving licence, the roads would be far more crowded than now, as everyone would keep their car and not use the bus.

I can't see the guvment spending all these millions on free bus passes, without having something up their sleeve.
This freebie just pushes up travelling costs for the ordinary fare payer.

Ken68 wrote: »

I can't see the guvment spending all these millions on free bus passes, without having something up their sleeve.
This freebie just pushes up travelling costs for the ordinary fare payer.

According to what councillors around here have been saying, the cost is likely to be pushed on to council-tax payers. See: http://www.echo-news.co.uk/search/display.var.1787448.0.bus_passes_timebomb_for_councils.php

and: http://www.echo-news.co.uk/search/display.var.1179691.0.council_being_taken_for_a_ride_by_passes.php

It appears that the gubbmint have not been spending 'all these millions'. Local councillors were handed this vote-catching idea and told to implement it, and as it says in the reports above, were not given the funds to do so.

Me, I can't see what was wrong with the previous situation - half-fare passes. That worked well, and half a bus fare is not that bad, is it?

Margaret

All modern cars have to fulfil certain criteria as regards emissions, use of lead-free petrol etc.

I am quite prepared to be as green as possible in all other areas of life. I'm not polluting the atmosphere with cigarette-smoke as are all the outdoors smokers, and I don't support the use of patio heaters for pubs - these are just heating the atmosphere.

I have a feeling that it was more about vote-catching than about 'green issues'. The gubbmint has already shown itself unwilling to increase the basic state pension to a reasonable level, which many people would have preferred. If it was serious about 'green issues' then why did it force so many smokers outdoors, engendering the proliferation of patio heaters outside every pub?

Our car is just too darned convenient for us to give up willingly and no amount of free travel would cancel out the inconvenience and the tiredness of long-distance travel by bus, train, tube, train and bus.

Margaret

IMHO it's horses for courses: I don't drive, thus I've always lived in the centre of cities or towns with good transport links. It wouldn't occur to me for instance to go and live in a village and then compain about it having only an occasional bus service. Equally I'm sure Margaret wouldn't want to live where I am, because it would cost her a fortune to park, IF she could get a resident's slot -which might be as far away as the bus stop.

I don't find bus and train travel tiring - but then I am on about 6 bus routes,so rarely have to wait more than a few minutes and the bus stop is just down the street.These days it's almost like having a personal free taxi service. The mainline station is 10 mins walk and has trains every half hour to London. I can do without the London tube, especially in the summer, but the buses are fine ( and will also be free:)).I also like walking and occasional taxis are relatively inexpensive for short local journeys.

So the system works for me and i'm very pleased it does, because transport has historically been one of the most expensive aspects of living in the UK, especially in London.It still is, if you have to pay the full fare or run a car.