scotland wide travel - free for over 60's and disabled

System

and just in case you missed it:-

From April 1st there will be free local bus travel for every pensioner and for disabled people.

But I believe that there should also be free national bus travel.

So the Transport Secretary is announcing today that from April 2008 at a cost of £250 million for every pensioner and for disabled people free off peak national bus travel in every area of the country.

Thanks Gordon. Off peak is fine, after all, we old pensioners don't need to get up very early now that we've worked all our lives, so, it's all right by me if I shuffle off to get the coach after nine.

djohn2002uk

grex9101 wrote:

I am mellow my dear, I just don't appreciate the government taking the absolute p*ss out of me

From my reading of this thread you don't appear to be mellow, bitter and twisted comes more to mind. And as for the second part of the sentence, there seems little else they could take out of you except perhaps an equal amount of wind.

grex9101

djohn2002uk wrote:

From my reading of this thread you don't appear to be mellow, bitter and twisted comes more to mind. And as for the second part of the sentence, there seems little else they could take out of you except perhaps an equal amount of wind.

now now NOW! just exercising my right to FREE speech before they deem it necessary to take that from me too

perhaps you should indulge yourself sometime and let it all flow.

i thank you.

margaretclare wrote:

However, some older people are very bitter - they say 'why save - our occupational pensions were stolen from us, we paid into e.g. Equitable Life and they went bust, I get nothing because I have a little savings, my neighbour never saved but gets full benefits'. And they laugh at me if I happen to say that I'm still saving because I like it. This is the kind of thinking that is around. Until we get rid of the 'dependency culture' and regain our pride and independence then we'll go on as we are.

Margaret Clare

MargaretClare, you sound like an absolutely lovely person. I thank you for your level headed-ness (sp?) and i appreciate your wisdom.

As I have said, my intention was not to offend, merely to provoke a debate.

I apologise to those whom my comments have offended. I meant no ill-will, merely an invitation to an open debate, I thank you all.

lilac_lady

Just a thought - now that *disabled *people under retirement age qualify for free bus travel will they hand back their new cars? At the risk of sounding "grex -ish", too many people are given cars when they don't need them. If the car was the old 3 wheeler one-person model would the uptake rate be as high? If a person is really disabled a free taxi service via a voucher system could be introduced.

zzzLazyDaisy

Diasabled people are not 'given free cars'.

Those who have severe mobility problems receive Disability Living Allowance to help with their mobility needs. Some choose to use it to hire a car through the motobility scheme. On top, they also have to pay a sizeable, non-refundable deposit, and also pay for any adaptations out of their other benefits/income. At the end of the three years they hand the car back. Many cars on the motability scheme cost more per month than the DLA, and that extra has to also be found from the persons other benefits/income.

Personally I won't be applying for a bus pass, because there is no bus stop close enough for me to walk to, there is no seat at bus stop if I could get there, and I would not be able to stand if there was no seat on the bus. The last time I travelled by train I had to sit on the floor. Never again.

Please don't begrudge disabled people what little help they do get.

PS I'd love it if I could get taxi vouchers like they do in London and Manchester. They are not available in my area

lilac_lady

My post was not aimed at people who GENUINELY cannot get around due to disablement These people need all the help they can get and I certainly would not advocate removing help with transport if they need it. The other side of the coin (taxpayers' coins!) is that there are too many people taking advantage of the system. If you are not working, how many journeys a week do you NEED to make? Taxi vouchers would cover this at less cost. I work in a team of 6 people - one runs a new car because her mother gets DLA and a motobility car and gives it to her daughter because she can't drive. (daughter lives 40 miles away from the mother so isn't using it to run her around). Another team member did 30000 - yes - thirty thousand - miles in his mobility car last year when he was off sick. He has just returned to work and is already moaning that he'd be better off not working. He's also moaning because he'll have to pay some money because he's over-ran the allowed mileage. If you can drive 30000 miles a year why are you classed as disabled? I stand by my comments. If you are GENUINELY disabled they do not apply to you.

margaretclare

Hi lilac_lady

There are terrible anomalies. As LazyDaisy says, there are many disabled people for whom free bus travel is useless because they wouldn't be able to walk to the bus stop, stand and wait, stand if the bus was crowded etc. An elderly lady lives opposite to me, goes out once a week by taxi (market-day) and the rest of the time she has one of those little motorised buggies to go out in. She wouldn't be able to walk as far as the bus stop.

Your colleague who drives her mother's Motability car is acting completely illegally. How did the mother manage to get a car like this if she can't drive?

My daughter has the same mobility problems that I have and she has a Motability car. She has a very busy lifestyle, is a senior PA, has a teenage daughter still at home and husband away a lot working. Rather than offering me free bus travel, what would help is if I could have the same kind of help that she has.

Taxi vouchers are a help if you don't need to go out very often, but although wrinklies, we're involved in a lot of things, church activities, meetings, volunteering etc and occasionally we like to do something together like taking a picnic to the woods or the estuary and just 'chilling' as they say. All this kind of thing means you need own independent transport, taxi vouchers wouldn't do it - but neither would free bus travel!

Margaret Clare

lilac_lady

Apparently you don't need to be able to drive to have a motobility car. You can name a driver. This is where the system becomes ridiculous. I agree with Margaret Clare about genuine disabled peole being granted transport help. Perhaps taxi vouchers are too rigid in some cases. There are plently of low paid working people who would love to be able to have a car for outings, chilling and picnics but simply can't afford one. The tax from their wages go to some really undeserving people who are bleeding the system dry. As I said before, I don't grudge anyone a car paid for by taxpayers if they are genuinely disabled but I'm sure a lot of mobility cars go to people who don't deserve them.

dc

grex9101 wrote:

As I have said, my intention was not to offend, merely to provoke a debate.

But you did offend, and I am glad that you now recognise that you did.

When you have paid as much tax, direct and indrect, and when you have lost your annual pay related wage increase, as the old people you have no time for, then maybe your words would carry more weight.

Budget

Dear grex9101

You say "You may not like what I say, but at least I'm honest about it." It isn't really what you say that is so offensive - everyone is entitled to their point of view - it's just the way that you (so aggressively) say it.

Budget