End of the road for free go-anywhere bus pass for the over-60s

dzug1

Steve_xx wrote: »

Oh OK I see. I paid a deposit for mine, but I reckon it puts a cap on the daily useage. Is that correct? Ought I to change it for a different type?

A cap on the daily usage means that once your fares reach a certain figure (which varies according to the zones - for example in zones 1/2 off peak it's £5.10 - you can travel as much as you like for the rest of the day for nothing.

It doesn't mean that once you have reached the cap you can't travel any more that day.

Whether you should change it depends on your travel pattern but unless you are a regular daily traveller then no you shouldn't. Even if you are it depends on your journeys.

Steve_xx

dzug1 wrote: »

A cap on the daily usage means that once your fares reach a certain figure (which varies according to the zones - for example in zones 1/2 off peak it's £5.10 - you can travel as much as you like for the rest of the day for nothing.

It doesn't mean that once you have reached the cap you can't travel any more that day.

Whether you should change it depends on your travel pattern but unless you are a regular daily traveller then no you shouldn't. Even if you are it depends on your journeys.

Yes I understand what you say. I have an Oyster card and generally use it for zones 1&2 when in London and it deducts the maximum, as you say £5.10 per day. I normally might stay for 4 days at a time so I guess this is the best one for me.

I didn't know there were other types to be had. I thought that the same Oyster card could autmatically calculate and charge the least amount if say I stayed for 7 days and travelled off-peak only then it would somehow only charge me the equivalent of the 7 day travel pass.

LesD

karin wrote: »

I got the following from a Department of Transport Site I found - I think it clarifies just about everything - Even I understood!!

Hope it proves helpful.

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Sorry Karin. I completely disagree. It clears up nothing. It's merely Whitehall speak to try to make the change look positive.

We still won't know whether services are eligible or not until the bus turns up. And, even then, eligibility is likely to be at the discretion of the driver - who may or may not have been trained in the local rules and regulations.

The simplest solution would be to take over the 'X'-press system of route numbering and extend that to apply to all non-eligible routes.

dzug1

Steve_xx wrote: »

Yes I understand what you say. I have an Oyster card and generally use it for zones 1&2 when in London and it deducts the maximum, as you say £5.10 per day. I normally might stay for 4 days at a time so I guess this is the best one for me.

I didn't know there were other types to be had. I thought that the same Oyster card could autmatically calculate and charge the least amount if say I stayed for 7 days and travelled off-peak only then it would somehow only charge me the equivalent of the 7 day travel pass.

No - it only caps on one day travel card prices.

Steve_xx

dzug1 wrote: »

No - it only caps on one day travel card prices.

Should I be looking at another type of Oyster if I stay for four days then? I thought this Oyster thing did all this for you.

sandraroffey

i wasnt aware that my bus pass could be used for anything other than a normal bus. i could have been using it on national express etc???? if that is so i could have been visiting my family a lot more than i have been. i knew about going out of county, but using it on the bookable services?? like national express?? news to me.

LesD

sandraroffey wrote: »

i wasnt aware that my bus pass could be used for anything other than a normal bus. i could have been using it on national express etc???? if that is so i could have been visiting my family a lot more than i have been. i knew about going out of county, but using it on the bookable services?? like national express?? news to me.

Some NE routes are treated almost as 'bus services' in some parts of the country. They are classed as 'registered sections' and were previously eligible for the free pass (although were not bookable). But it was difficult to find out what they were. Even the NE Press Office denied knowledge at one point.

Although they truely weren't in the spirit of the basic idea, they did help to fill gaps in the 'local bus' network for some people.

If you want to see the list for interest sake, it's here.

EdInvestor

sandraroffey wrote: »

i wasnt aware that my bus pass could be used for anything other than a normal bus. i could have been using it on national express etc???? if that is so i could have been visiting my family a lot more than i have been. i knew about going out of county, but using it on the bookable services?? like national express?? news to me.

Check with your local council to see if they are still paying for any NE sections - that's still a possibility.

brawd103

I don't think that the problem lies with the bus pass holders actually using the buses, I rather think that the bus service was inadequate as it was. Gordon may have inadvertently pointed the way to actually improving the situation. But, I guess until he finally figures that out for himself and invests a few quid in improvements, we all may be grumbling one to another.

Anyway a thought struck me.

My local senior citizens lunch club meet in Cornelly, South Wales. Now we are struggling a bit because the younger oldies (if you see what I mean) are not showing up for a good cheap lunch.
So let's just imagine that we start a list of places to go for a cheap lunch with others of our age that takes in everywhere in the country - that's the country called the UK not just a bit of britain - so when we do go touring we know where we will be welcomed.

Anyway it was just a thought.

regards,

brawd.

EdInvestor

brawd103 wrote: »

My local senior citizens lunch club meet in Cornelly, South Wales. Now we are struggling a bit because the younger oldies (if you see what I mean) are not showing up for a good cheap lunch.

Interesting.Why do you think that might be?