Free bus pass

1234mas430

teddysmum wrote: »

I dread not being able to drive, as though I have a pensioner pass, the bus stops for both routes involve a walk up a steep hill. There used to be a bus, run by a private company ,that ran through our estate but it was discontinued a couple of years ago.


I only use the pass for hospital visits because of very limited and expensive parking, but use the car from home and park near a bus stop.

Teddysmum, the steep hill & cutting back of private bus services( even though they had been getting a hefty subsidy from our council taxes) rings a bell. My dear old departed Dad used to use the bus to get out & about @84, then the greedy bus company decided the bus route going onto the estate was no longer a viable concern after Osbourne's austerity cuts, the Hill to the bus stop was just too much for him...so he had to stay home...

As most elderly people from the war era, he was a fiercely independent old sod & would not take lifts from us ,as he felt a burden! I watched his world become very small & he passed away around 7 -9 mths after this cut back was introduced...still not to worry, I see Osbourne has started his part time job as Editor today @ £600.000 + per year...the cut backs are biting into him...practice what you preach ,eh!:(

mrcol1000

I actually see this from the other side. A couple of years ago I was employed to evaluate a number of council subsided bus routes. Many of the routes were barely used. The bus companies were more than happy to be paid by the council to transport fresh air around the countryside. Often it was only me and the driver on the bus. Many of the bus routes it actually worked out to be cheaper to just phone for a taxi for the passenger.

As soon as the council announced it would be cut, hundreds of people claimed that the bus was a life line. If that many people had been using the service then a commercial company would have ran it for profit with no money from the council.

The whole free bus pass scheme has made things far worse. Bus companies can transport a bus full of pass holders at a loss because they get so little payment for each pass holder. Therefore a bus service can seem well used but not be profitable.

The real answer is dial a bus/community bus services. Instead of running empty and wasting fuel and money, to target and serve people who actually genuinely do rely on the service. The council I worked for was trying to look at expanding the scope of community bus services so it included everyone who did not have access to a car during the day, not just elderly and disabled.

teddysmum

I can see why they cut the service through our estate, as it wasn't used a great deal.


However, the 1970s built estate, has lots of original buyers, who are now at least in their 60s and on having to give up driving will have a hard time getting to a bus. One route is down hill from us and the other uphill, so either the outward of homeward journey involves a 10 minute uphill walk (at normal walking speed).