Free bus travel for the over 60s in England

donnajunkie

the worst thing about the 9.30am rule isnt that some places have it and some dont. the worst thing is that if a place has it and you have a bus pass it doesnt apply to you unless you live in that area. i know of an area that is a major tourst destination that has this rule. to be fair i havent heard of a county or town that gives the extra benefit of free travel before 9.30am to anyone other than its own residents.

System

Oh no, and I don't think you will either. In the mountains of blurb I have read from numerous sites, any "extras" are for local only. I can only surmise that they as council tax payers for that area, should be the only ones to reap any benefit.

KeithP

islandman wrote: »

<snip>
Clearly with half the country being able to use the service before 9.30am whilst the remainder of the country have to wait around...

Errr... No-one has to "wait around".

All you have to do is buy a ticket!!

I am over sixty and am very grateful to have a free bus pass (albeit with some restrictions). If I have a hospital appointment which means travel before 09:30am, I will buy a bus ticket. If I go to London (I don't live there) and want/need to travel on the tube I will buy a ticket.

Why are people never satisfied with their lot?

donnajunkie

islandman wrote: »

Oh no, and I don't think you will either. In the mountains of blurb I have read from numerous sites, any "extras" are for local only. I can only surmise that they as council tax payers for that area, should be the only ones to reap any benefit.

true, and that will probably be the thinking behind it. however there are many other things council tax payers pay for that people outside of the area use, public toilets for example. should people from outside of an area be stopped from useing the local conveniences?

millie

I am over sixty and am very grateful to have a free bus pass (albeit with some restrictions). If I have a hospital appointment which means travel before 09:30am, I will buy a bus ticket. If I go to London (I don't live there) and want/need to travel on the tube I will buy a ticket.

Why are people never satisfied with their lot?[/quote]

I feel exactly the same as you, what ever we get it is better than we had before, I will now be able to use the bus free when I go on holiday and for lots of other occassions. I for one am very greatful for whatever I am given.

gb57

Harryhound - they are called the "Scilly Isles" (NOT Silly:rolleyes: ) as apparently from the air this collection of roundabouts looks like the aforementioned Isles.

harryhound

gb57 wrote: »

Harryhound - they are called the "Scilly Isles" (NOT Silly:rolleyes: ) as apparently from the air this collection of roundabouts looks like the aforementioned Isles.

Can I claim seniority?
I'm a just post war baby boomer. The local authority was ashamed to put up a notice admitting the original spelling; when the local name became a national road report landmark.

There was a proposal to replace them with one huge roundabout, but that was before the road planners realised that the energy of a moving object is proportional to the square of its speed. This means that when a junction gets overloaded a smaller roundabout can handle more traffic than a larger one (and the resulting accidents are less serious).

But I stand to be corrected:D

Harry.

System

In hindsight, and unfortunate choice of words methinks "have to wait around," anyway, moving on quickly, I've heard that if a hospital appointment is required BEFORE the 9.30am start of free rides, bus companies will allow the free travel, all you need to do is show your appointment card, I consider that to be useful. To be perfectly honest, like many people, I could afford to pay for all my travel without the concessions, however someone in the wisdom decided that we should be given this, so with that in mind and taking into consideration all those that really can do with this help, the information should be made available. If anyone wants to pay, then feel free.

Absoluutbeginner

I have been inspired by the discussions on these forums to launch a website called www.buspasscentre.co.uk. It's in the early stages yet, but I hope you will have a look and leave your feedback and comments.

Thanks and regards

harryhound

Good luck with your venture.

I'm no way a proof reader but here are the changes I would make:

You must show the driver your pass as you get on the bus,. He will may give you a ticket which you must keep with you for the whole journey. You will be expected to show your pass (and your ticket) to an inspector carrying out checks on the bus. You may could be charged normal fare if you can't prove your eligibility for the free concession.by producing your pass.

(I am not sure if the 0.00 ticket, that some drivers are forced to issue, are to account for the journey or to prove the start time, probably both.)

Harry

PS You might want to publicise this concession:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=660627