Free bus journeys for pensioners

[Oneeyedvic]

Who pays for this?

The first article shows that the council pay, the second implies the bus companies foot the bill.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/D isplayArticle.asp?id=323397

SERVICES could be cut in Cambridge as the council faces a �680,000 shortfall caused by funding free bus travel.

Over 60s and the disabled have been able to travel free on buses across England since April 1.

The bill is picked up by the council where each journey starts and now the Local Government Association (LGA) is warning tourist hotspots like Cambridge will lose out.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7456985.stm

Bus routes could be axed because free travel for pensioners has led to a rise in passenger numbers but a fall in revenue, operators have claimed.

Anglian Bus, of Beccles, Suffolk, and Norfolk Green of King's Lynn said full fare passengers are left at bus stops as vehicles are full with older people.

Coach firms running excursions said fewer older people are coming with them, choosing free buses instead.

Some firms have warned unprofitable routes could be withdrawn

[Ethel]

The council pays per OAP, but at a subsidised rate. The theory being it is better for the bus company to get 10 fares at 30p than no fares at �1. (examples only)

So you can see, if the full fare passengers can no longer board because it is full of pensioners the buses are losing money.

Before the recent changes one typical bus on a typical journey may have had 20 �1 paying passengers and 10 30p passengers. That makes �23.

If the bus is full of 30 30p passengers the revenue is only �9.

[terambulan]

Cant see how bus companies monitor numbers, as u just show ur card when you hop on. Since the council award them, only the council know the numbers. Not all OAPs use them on a regular basis.

We have a lovely scheme in my area; OAPs (blue hair brigade, pc illiterate, use their passes to T5 Hrow 'for explorative purposes'! Plenty of freebies; fresh cream cakes etc.......Oooooooooooooooh, and no parking charges!

[Oneeyedvic]

Cheers Ethel.

Presumably, terambulan, the driver will click a counter when a pensioner gets on, otherwise the council will not know how many people are on board and how much to pay.

[weeal]

Where my old mum lives the bus companies are ripping off the Council with this. She has reported several drivers for sitting 'ringing up' loads of tickets when only she gets on, and on other occasions giving her a ticket to a much further destination that she asked for. They provide these 'tickets' to the Council for reimbursement apparently.

She thinks this will lead to the Council withdrawing the free bus as it looks to be far more expensive than it really is.

Its a shame as for some pensioners its their only means of getting out and about for shopping etc.

[Ethel]

That's a bit derogatory, terambulan.

PCs have been around for a long time, and many OAPs are more than pc literate.

Yes, the driver has a device to register the passengers - OAPs and travelcards.

In the West Midlands, senior citizens have had free bus travel for well over 40 years. It used be much more limited (after 9.30am and not between 3pm and 6.30pm) but it has always worked very well. It has helped keep bus routes open, as some journeys would only have OAPs on board now and again.

Some councils used to operate a scheme which I think is probably the best of all. 20 free tokens a month, one token being a free bus journey. If they wanted more, the tokens could be bought for 30p each.

[~spaced~]

I'm for anything that's gets pensioners out of cars and onto public transport.

A policeman friend of mine agrees, as he says alot of vehicle accidents are apportioned to OAPs behind the wheel when they shouldnt be, but this never gets headline news as much as drink drivers etc

[puddicat]

Think the councils are getting wise to this, in Fife they have a new system that they have a pass that is placed on the ticket machine and scanned!