Please Stop Using Bus Passes - Transport Secretary

tanith

Mr_Oink wrote: »

The cynical could say:

Because old people fill up buses at peak times, moaning about other people trying to use the bus to get to work/school?

Because old people are often slow and cause a bus to run late -> result old people at subsequent stops moaning because their 'free' bus is late -> result later and later it gets -> repeat til fade?

I use a bus often and it's a royal PITA listening to moaning old people grumbling about the buses that they are not even paying to use. Feel like telling them to get off and flippin walk if it's not good enough for their royal backsides.

Personally I think we should be giving all children in full time education free buses passes *before* we give them to pensioners. Especially when we get stupid situations like this:

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2065641_rethink_on_cuts_to_school_bus_services

If we *can't* afford to bus kids to school, we can't afford free bus passes for pensioners. Period.

We do give all children free bus passes in the London area and in my opinion if it isn't country wide then it should be..

Mr_Oink

tanith wrote: »

We do give all children free bus passes in the London area and in my opinion if it isn't country wide then it should be..

It's not polarised throughout the UK.

Just say for a moment you were God and had to make a choice between taking a bus pass away from a pensioner and giving it to a child to get to school - would you do it?

I do sincerely care about the isolation and plight of the poorest old folk in our land - but I also care about the cost. These 'free' passes are actually an expensive gift from the working community - and that is important.

Personally I find it a bit rum that County Councils use local charge payers money to subsidise routes run by the likes of Stagecoach. They need to take the rough with the smooth as operators and 'if I were God' I'd fix that before rolling up my sleeves on pensioner bus passes ;-)

Errata

Mr_Oink wrote: »

I use a bus often and it's a royal PITA listening to moaning old people grumbling about the buses that they are not even paying to use. Feel like telling them to get off and flippin walk if it's not good enough for their royal backsides.

It may settle your mind a little to understand that pensioners are paying to use the bus, through general taxation which funds the pass. VAT is part of general taxation and they pay that on many of their purchases.

Mr_Oink

Errata wrote: »

It may settle your mind a little to understand that pensioners are paying to use the bus, through general taxation which funds the pass. VAT is part of general taxation and they pay that on many of their purchases.

No, it does not settle my mind ;-) I'd like them to be gagged and put onto special buses myself...... :rotfl:

Indie_Kid

Mr_Oink wrote: »

I'd personally like to see a tightening up of giving free passes to those that lay on a convincing story to a GP/Benefits section as to their entitlement. I have a brother in law who is a bus driver and he informs me there are a small set of people 'too ill to work, too ill to walk far' that have free passes, yet they are able to spend their days 'hanging around' bus stations and walking around his town. This kind of abuse should be curtailed before looking at pensioners passes.

1. How does he know they "hang around bus stations"? I have a bus pass (which incidently, I didn't lie about - I had a test done and am automatically entitled to a bus pass) and do get the bus quite a lot. Do I hang around bus stations? No. I go into town to buy things and come home again.

2. What's not woking got to do with it? I have a job interview on Thursday. If I get the job, I'll be using the buses twice a day, 5 days a week.

3. How does he know they're not working?

zygurat789

Mr_Oink wrote: »

The cynical could say:

Because old people fill up buses at peak times, moaning about other people trying to use the bus to get to work/school?

Because old people are often slow and cause a bus to run late -> result old people at subsequent stops moaning because their 'free' bus is late -> result later and later it gets -> repeat til fade?

I use a bus often and it's a royal PITA listening to moaning old people grumbling about the buses that they are not even paying to use. Feel like telling them to get off and flippin walk if it's not good enough for their royal backsides.

Personally I think we should be giving all children in full time education free buses passes *before* we give them to pensioners. Especially when we get stupid situations like this:

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/2065641_rethink_on_cuts_to_school_bus_services

If we *can't* afford to bus kids to school, we can't afford free bus passes for pensioners. Period.

If they use the busses at peak times round here they pay.
General traffic congestion is the cause of this
This sounds like you moaning
We can afford both all we have to do is stop all the abuses you can read about all over this site

aloise

McKneff wrote: »

So because Ive worked since i was 15, brought a family up, saved to supplement my pension and have some savings I should not get one.

Someone who has wasted, drunk, smoked, hasnt saved a bean who can get pension credits, rent paid, council tax paid should be able to get bus passes.

Same old, same old.

Annie.

My feelings to a t. We brought our families up without,child tax credit, working tax and high family allowences. After going without all those years and paying into extra pension schemes we are surposed to tighten our belts again so the younger generation of have it all can be better off.:( Leave the pensioners alone. We have one of the worst pensions in Europe.

Mr_Oink

sh1305 wrote: »

1. How does he know they "hang around bus stations"?

He's a bus driver and sees them sat there smoking, hanging around like vagrants for 6-8 hours of each day.

sh1305 wrote: »

2. What's not woking got to do with it? I have a job interview on Thursday. If I get the job, I'll be using the buses twice a day, 5 days a week.

These are not pensioners - they are 'dossers'. They obtain passes claiming to be too 'sick' / 'unwell to work' or even 'unable to walk far' when, in reality, they are plain idol. This tends to, rather unfortunately, tar all folk in this category with the same brush.

sh1305 wrote: »

3. How does he know they're not working?

They tend to share their business with all and sundry, boasting about the 'free' stuff they get. Not 'Free' as in 'honest MSE free', but 'dishonest' as in 'sponger/fraudster/benefit cheat' free.

However, this is rather OT for the original spirit of the thread so I will comment no further.

Indie_Kid

Being sick has nothing to do with getting a bus pass. Many working people are entitled to one.

Savvy_Sue

tanith wrote: »

We do give all children free bus passes in the London area and in my opinion if it isn't country wide then it should be..

It certainly isn't country wide! Hideously expensive if you're in a First bus area.

Mr_Oink wrote: »

Personally I find it a bit rum that County Councils use local charge payers money to subsidise routes run by the likes of Stagecoach. They need to take the rough with the smooth as operators and 'if I were God' I'd fix that before rolling up my sleeves on pensioner bus passes ;-)

Yeah, well, they'd do that by cancelling 'uneconomic' services - without the subsidy there would be NO late night / early morning bus services, and possibly none outside of rush hours because they just don't pay their way!

If you were God, we'd have far fewer buses in a short space of time. Bus companies have to be 'persuaded' to offer some services, otherwise they'll only offer the services which make money.