Bus passes again

cinderfella

The scenic route over Heartbeat country is covered by the Coastliner bus service 840, starting at Leeds & finishing at Whitby. The complete route runs 3 times daily but the best section starts at Pickering - across the North Moors National Park (inc Goathland) to Whitby.
There is also a Moors bus service at Pickering (opposite the library) which will start a 'daffodil trail' service soon. I doubt whether the fares on that route are covered by a free bus pass.
Should you end up at Whitby there is another Coastliner service which takes you down the coastal road to Scarborough. This route is also scenic. All the Coastliner services merge at Malton should you wish to swap & change directions.

http://www.yorkbus.co.uk/times.jsp?routeID=1


Just been checking out the Moors bus services and it would appear that its all free with a bus pass. You can explore all of the North Yorks Moors Park for now't. Thats a bargain & a fantastic way to see the countrys best area.

http://www.northyorkmoors.org.uk/uploads/publication/11626.pdf

aloise

Can somebody explain why mentally ill need a bus pass. Don't really understand that.So if you are depressed, which qualify as mental illness and the doctor agrees, do you qualify for a bus pass?
Love my pass but would be willing to pay a small (ish ) amount each year or perhaps maybe 50p a bus trip. Also why give them to 60s when the retirement age is changing. I know a lot of 60 year olds still working

dggar

aloise wrote: »

. Also why give them to 60s when the retirement age is changing. I know a lot of 60 year olds still working

This is from the GMPTE web site:

"
The Concessionary Bus Travel Act states that everyone of state pensionable age and over in England can get free off-peak travel on all local buses anywhere in England.
From 6 April 2010 the eligibility age for the National Concessionary Travel Pass is changing to mirror the state pension age. This means the earliest date on which you can get your Pass will depend on when you were born and, if you were born on or after 6 April 1950, this date will be later than your 60th birthday. For men the eligible age is the pensionable age of a woman born on the same day.
"

KxMx

Biggles wrote: »

Here in Suffolk we have always been able to travel at any time with the passes.

But we've just been told that, from 1 Apr, our passes will only entitle us to the national statutory travel, ie 9:30am to 11pm. Plus (and the one that irks me the most) we'll no longer be able to use the Park & Ride free at any time.

Alot of places stop free pass use at 4:30pm so 11pm is very generous (not many buses run after 11pm here anyway, I live in Suffolk too)
If you can afford to run a car then am sure you can afford the £3 (town return for up to 5 people) or £3.50/£2.80 (Hospital return, again up to 5 people) ticket cost, given that Petrol is so expensive now!

Biggles

KxMx wrote: »

Alot of places stop free pass use at 4:30pm so 11pm is very generous (not many buses run after 11pm here anyway, I live in Suffolk too).

11pm is from Suffolk CC's website.

In addition, the national scheme requires it by law:-

Where you can use your bus pass

If you're eligible for a free bus pass, you can use it anywhere in England during 'off-peak' times. Off-peak is:

• between 9.30 am and 11.00 pm Monday to Friday
• all day at weekends and on public holidays

If you can afford to run a car then am sure you can afford the £3 (town return for up to 5 people) or £3.50/£2.80 (Hospital return, again up to 5 people) ticket cost

What I can afford isn't really the point, it's the fact the service is being reduced. Also, I have started driving into town again and parking in a 2-hour space instead of using the Park & Ride, which suits me fine and costs me less but clogs up the roads more and chucks out lots of exhaust gases.

KxMx

We're all facing cuts i'm afraid, the young people (up to 16, 19 if in ft education) in Suffolk are losing the local "Explore" card altogether which offers half price travel on the rural services and even better fares in the town (£1.40 day rover etc). With the rural fares pushing £5 it's a lifeline. The fare on the town services will now be £1 a journey so those that get buses to school are looking at a cost of up to £4 a day.
If it came to keeping one or the other I know which i'd keep.

Savvy_Sue

aloise wrote: »

Can somebody explain why mentally ill need a bus pass. Don't really understand that.So if you are depressed, which qualify as mental illness and the doctor agrees, do you qualify for a bus pass?

It takes a lot more than the doctor saying "you're depressed" to get a bus pass.

KxMx wrote: »

If you can afford to run a car then am sure you can afford the £3 (town return for up to 5 people) or £3.50/£2.80 (Hospital return, again up to 5 people) ticket cost, given that Petrol is so expensive now!

Some Park and Ride services can be accessed without using a car at all. Actually it's a lot cheaper to pay for the P&R services than for the 'regular' routes in this area! Just depends if the routes are convenient, obviously there are only a few of them.

seven-day-weekend

My husband has suffered from depression for 25 years and has only last year got a bus pass.....due to his age!

roy62

The free bus pass should be for local areas only.

aloise

roy62 wrote: »

The free bus pass should be for local areas only.

O no,:eek: i travel to Suffolk and Sussex,by train (costs a bomb,even with a senior rail card. ) to see family, and I rely on my bus passes there now. Travel for miles, it's a godsend. We are lucky to have them, our parents didn't