Free Bus Pass

johnwhy

I am a 63 yr old male and although I reach my state pension age at 65 I have just found out that I am entitled to a FREE BUS PASS now!

The government now works this out from when the equivalent FEMALE state pension is due. Check the government/council/transport websites to find all the information.
It is dependent on the date you were born. (I was born in Feb 1953 and was entitled to this from 6th Jan 2016).
Please note no one tells you this and your council does not automatically contact you to let you know about it.

GOOD LUCK.

JohnWhy

peewhyeff

In wales I am eligible for bus pass at age 60. However mu sister in Cheshire cannot claim her's until she reaches state pension age...has to wsit until nearly 67.

SailorSam

We can get our Merseytravel pass at 60 for local trains; buses, and ferries. I've just renewed it and now i'm 63 the pass isn't just a local one, it's national. I don't think i used it the first year i had it, but i've realised just what a good thing it is, the car hardly ever comes out of the garage.

Marcon

If you live in a London borough, don't forget you can get an Oyster 60+ card - free travel on tubes, buses and trains in Greater London. Cost is £10 and lasts until you reach age 65 and become eligible for a London Freedom Pass. Link: https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/adult-discounts-and-concessions/60-london-oyster

redagila

SailorSam wrote: »

We can get our Merseytravel pass at 60 for local trains; buses, and ferries. I've just renewed it and now i'm 63 the pass isn't just a local one, it's national. I don't think i used it the first year i had it, but i've realised just what a good thing it is, the car hardly ever comes out of the garage.

Are you saying that your pass gives you free travel on all trains, buses and ferries nationwide?


Here in Sussex, we get the free bus pass which is valid nationally but have to buy discount card for the railway which is slightly discounted by the District Council.

SailorSam

No. Local buses; trains, and ferries, But the National part is only for buses.
I can't get on a coach from here to London or Birmingham, only their local buses. So for example if i wanted to go up to Scotland i'd have to change buses half-a-dozen times.

Roger1

SailorSam wrote: »

So for example if i wanted to go up to Scotland i'd have to change buses half-a-dozen times.

But in Scotland, you'd need to pay. English (and Welsh?) bus passes are not valid in Scotland, and vice versa.

SailorSam

I think we can use them in Wales but not Scotland.
I don't suppose that many use the National part of the pass much. But if you were say on holiday in Wales; London, or Cornwall it would be handy to have for the free travel. And i have read about some people who have spent two or three week travelling all around the Country on local buses and stopping for bed & breakfast each night.

moneyistooshorttomention

A couple of the posts are a bit confusing.

THE free buspass isnt a national one. It can only be used in the part of the country one lives in.

I live in Wales and can only use my buspass in Wales. If I were still living in England and had got my buspass there - then I could only use it in England.

Presumably the same applies to Scotland and Northern Ireland? - ie that one can only use the buspass in that part of the country.

It is a bit of a misnomer to call it a "national" bus pass.

If I've got that wrong and it really is possible to use it across the country - then I'll hold my hands up and apologise for getting that wrong. But - I've just paid for a weekly buspass any time I go home to England (as I've assumed my Welsh buspass won't cover me there). It certainly would be nice if one could use it countrywide....

I think those who say they've spent 2/3 weeks travelling round the country on their buspass must have stuck to the bit they were in? or, alternatively, I think maybe these buspasses were able to be used nationwide back when they started - but have since been restricted to one's own bit of the country?

carlislelass

We used our bus pass on the Isle of Wight plus various counties. Not allowed in. Scotland or. Wales

Gers

The card isn't a UK-wide one but a country specifc - England, Wales, Scotland, NI i.e. national. It's called 'national concession card'.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_National_Concessionary_Travel_Scheme

I can use mine for Scotland and as far as (English) Berwick. Discounted travel on Glasgow Subway. Here it's called 'national entitlement card'

http://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/concessionary-travel-people-aged-60-or-disability

The Edinburgh tram system is excluded from the national card as it was privately funded though Edinburgh residents who have a 'concession' card can use it free.