A fight has been launched to get free bus passes for those over 60. The Department for Transport last year said that the Labour Government has “absolutely no plans to withdraw the concessionary bus pass scheme” for those over State Pension age or individuals with a disability.
Despite these assurances, an online petition has emerged urging for the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) to be broadened to echo the initiative taken by the Scottish Government that offers free bus travel for everyone aged 60 and above. Petition founder Karen Hickman is vocal in her belief that the status quo is “unjust” and demands “equality for everyone over 60”.
She highlighted that residents of England, living outside the capital, have to wait until they are at the State Pension age—currently 66 for men and women—before enjoying free bus travel, a criterion that in her view has “changed dramatically.” Her ‘extend free bus travel for people over 60 in England’ e-petition has been posted on the petitions-parliament website.
Garnering 10,000 signatures would guarantee a formal written reply from the UK Government, while reaching 100,000 signatures would prompt the Petitions Committee to consider it for a debate in Parliament. Her petition asserts: “We call on the Government to extend free bus travel to all people over 60 years old in England outside London.
“We believe the current situation is unjust and we want equality for everyone over 60. Currently, people in England who do not live in London are not entitled to free bus travel until they reach the state pension age, which we believe has changed dramatically.
“As people get older some over 60s drive less and less, therefore we believe we need equality on public transport. It would mean England had the same provision as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
There are two broad categories of people eligible for the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme – older people and eligible disabled people, reports the Daily Record. Both men and women are eligible for concessionary travel in England when they reach state pension age, 60 in Scotland.
Eligibility for concessionary travel may vary depending on local authorities and the specific terms of the concessionary travel scheme in place. In December, the Labour Government was urged to consider the “potential merits of a reciprocal agreement between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland” to enable every State Pensioner to use their bus pass to travel for free to and within other UK nations for free.
Labour MP Elsie Blundell put the question to the Department for Transport, but the response will be a disappointment for the 12.9 million pensioners across the UK. Transport Minister Simon Lightwood has emphasised that the concessionary travel scheme is a “devolved policy area”, meaning that the “administrative arrangements in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ from those in England”.
He further clarified in his written response: “There are no plans at present to introduce such an arrangement”. It’s important to remember that the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 does include a provision for mutual recognition of concessionary bus passes across the UK through future regulations.