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Concessionary Bus Travel in England - FAQs
1. What is the current position?
Since 1 April 2006, all residents of England who are aged 60 and over and eligible disabled people have
been guaranteed free off-peak local bus travel within the local authority area in which they live.
As a minimum, passes can currently be used for off-peak bus travel within the boundaries of the district or unitary authority of residence.
Eligible residents of one of the six metropolitan areas - Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands or West Yorkshire - can travel within their whole Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) area. Eligible residents of Greater London are able to use their Freedom Passes for free travel throughout the Greater London area.
Local authorities can also choose to offer extra benefits such as county-wide or area-wide schemes, or can offer concessions on specific cross-boundary journeys, at their discretion.
2. What did eligible people get before 1 April 2006?
In 2000 the Government introduced a guarantee of half-fare travel for eligible England residents within
their local authority area.
3. What does the Concessionary Bus Travel Act offer?
It will implement the Chancellor's announcements in the 2006 Budget that people aged 60 and over and
eligible disabled people in England will get free off-peak travel on all local buses anywhere in England
(rather than just within their local authority area of residence) from 1st April 2008.
4. What will this cost?
The Government will provide additional funds of up to £212m a year to pay for the national concession
in England.
This is in addition to the extra £350m provided to fund the current minimum concession in 2006-07 (which increased to £367.5m for 2007-08).
Any enhancements offered by local authorities will continue to be funded from their own resources, based on their judgement of local needs and overall financial priorities.
5. Who will benefit?
Around 11 million older and disabled people in England.
6. What will they get?
Free bus travel for those eligible from 9.30am until 11pm on weekdays, and all day weekends and bank
holidays, across England. They will also receive any other further concessions which a local authority
might choose to offer on top of that.
7. When the measures will be introduced?
1st April 2008, in line with the Chancellor's announcements.
8.
Who is eligible for concessions?
People aged 60 and over, and disabled people of any age who qualify under the categories listed in the
Transport Act 2000 (or, within Greater London, under the Greater London Authority Act 1999).
9. What are the eligible categories of disability?
There are seven categories of disability under which a person can be entitled to concessionary bus travel.
An eligible person is someone who:
| (a) | is blind or partially sighted, |
| (b) | is profoundly or severely deaf, |
| (c) | is without speech, |
| (d) | has a disability, or has suffered an injury, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to walk, |
| (e) | does not have arms or has long-term loss of the use of both arms, |
| (f) | has a learning disability, that is, a state of arrested or incomplete development of mind which includes significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning, or |
| (g) | would, if he applied for the grant of a licence to drive a motor vehicle under Part III of the Road Traffic Act 1988, have his application refused pursuant to section 92 of that Act (physical fitness) otherwise than on the ground of persistent misuse of drugs or alcohol. |
10. How will eligible people get a concessionary travel pass?
Eligible residents should contact their local authority for more details and an application form. Residents
of Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands or West Yorkshire
should contact their Passenger Transport Executive (PTE). Residents of Greater London should contact
their borough council. Many authorities have information on their websites.
11. Who assesses eligibility?
Local authorities are responsible for assessing eligibility against the legal definitions and taking into
account guidance issued by the Secretary of State.
In the six metropolitan areas - Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and West Yorkshire - eligibility is assessed by the Passenger Transport Executive (PTE). In Greater London this is done by borough councils.
12. Is there a charge for the pass?
Passes offering the statutory minimum entitlement are free.
Where local authorities offer more generous schemes - for example a scheme covering travel on trams - they may charge for passes to help pay for the extra entitlement, so long as they still offer a free pass providing the statutory minimum.
Local authorities may recoup the cost of replacing lost cards.
13. How can eligible people get details of their local scheme?
Local authorities should be able to give full details of how their scheme operates and how to apply.
14. Will I be issued with a ticket?
An eligible person is entitled to concessionary bus travel on the production of a valid pass. Currently, in
some areas bus drivers issue zero-priced tickets. Some bus companies choose to do this as a way of
recording concessionary trips. However, the issuing of tickets to concessionary travellers is not a legal
requirement and has no bearing on an eligible person's entitlement to free travel.
15. What is the definition of a ’local’ bus?
The intention is for the new concession to entitle pass holders to free travel on any off-peak local bus
service in England. This will be self-evident in most cases, but may include some tour buses and the
element of any coach service that is registered as a local bus service. If in doubt, pass holders can check
with their operator or local authority.
16. What about other coach travel?
Scheduled coach services are not included (where they are not also registered as local services) but the
Government's existing, separate scheme for concessionary half-fares on scheduled coach services
introduced in May 2003 will continue. It is up to coach operators to decide whether or not to take part in
this scheme, but National Express, Berry's and Baker Dolphin participate.
Pass holders can find out more by contacting their local authority.
17. What about ferries, trams and other forms of transport?
Other modes such as ferries or trams will be outside the new national concession, but local authorities will
retain the ability to offer concessions that go beyond the statutory minimum as an additional benefit to
their eligible residents. Such wider concessions will continue to be funded from local authorities' own
resources.
Generally, any additional concessions a local authority chooses to offer will only be available to eligible residents of that area, unless there are special arrangements with a neighbouring authority. Pass holders can contact their local authority for details.
18. What about other kinds of concessionary travel, like
community transport?
Some community transport services will also be local services and so must be registered as local bus
services, in which case they are included in the statutory concession. Those which are not local services
will be outside the new national bus travel concession arrangements, as they are at present. However,
local authorities will continue to be able to offer concessions on community transport services, where they
feel there are local needs, and subject to their overall financial priorities.
19. Some local authorities currently offer other concessions, such
as travel tokens. Will this continue?
As now, councils will be able to offer various concessionary travel options on public transport. This will
mean that councils can offer additional benefits to their residents if they want to, on top of the
Government's minimum standard, or alternatives to bus concessions such as travel tokens.
20. Will residents of England be able to travel around the UK?
No, but eligible residents will be able to travel on any off-peak local bus service in any area of England.
Concessionary bus travel is a devolved policy area. The Concessionary Bus Travel Act contains powers to allow for mutual recognition of concessionary bus passes across the UK in the future. The Government has had initial discussions with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland about this issue.
21. What about people in Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland?
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland already operate their own schemes for their residents. These
schemes are not affected by the changes in England.
22. What happens when a bus service starting in England
reaches the border with Scotland or Wales?
The national concession guarantees free off-peak local bus travel for eligible England residents within
England, but not within Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. However, local authorities do have the
discretion to make special arrangements (to be funded locally) where they feel they are appropriate. This
could, for example, include free travel on short cross-border journeys.
23. Why do I have to wait for the new entitlement?
The new national bus travel concession required primary legislation, which could not be made quickly.
The Concessionary Bus Travel Bill was introduced in Parliament on 27 November 2006 and received Royal Assent on 19 July 2007, becoming the Concessionary Bus Travel Act. The provisions of the Act will be commenced in time to bring in the national concession on 1 April 2008. The Government was keen to ensure first that people aged 60 or over and eligible disabled people would be entitled to totally free off-peak local bus travel in their local area - where the majority of travel is taken - at the earliest opportunity and this was implemented in April 2006. The new entitlement builds on that commitment so that concessionary pass holders will be entitled to free off-peak local bus travel outside their own areas, across England.
24. Why will time restrictions still apply?
The changes to the legislation do not include a change to the existing time period for the statutory
concession. It is for local authorities, taking account of their particular area and circumstances, to
determine whether they wish to offer additional benefits such as earlier start times. The cost of offering
the statutory concession during peak times, across the whole country, is currently prohibitive and could
also raise capacity issues for operators in some areas.
25. Will the Government guarantee that councils will be no
worse off as a result of this change?
The Government is aware of this concern and is committed to consulting those with an interest, including
local authorities and bus operators, on funding and reimbursement mechanisms. It is in all our interests to
ensure that local authorities are adequately funded for the national concession.
26. Is the Government taking concessionary travel
responsibilities away from district councils?
Outside London, the administration of concessionary travel in England is currently the responsibility of
291 travel concession authorities - district councils, unitary authorities and, in metropolitan areas,
Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs). These authorities are tasked with processing applications,
assessing eligibility, issuing passes, inforcement and reimbursing bus operators.
The Concessionary Bus Travel Act contains powers allowing Ministers, in the future and subject to consultation and parliamentary scrutiny, to make secondary legislation which would transfer concessionary travel responsibilities from lower to higher tier local authorities. If the power were used, responsibility for concessionary travel would move from district councils to county councils. This could reduce administrative costs and save money, but it could also raise some practical issues. Ministers have decided that responsibility for delivering the national concession will remain as per the current administrative arrangements for 2008.
27. Why doesn’t the Government administer concessionary
travel centrally?
The Concessionary Bus Travel Act contains a power which would allow Ministers, in the future, to
administer concessionary travel centrally. Any such change would be subject to consultation and
parliamentary scrutiny. The centralisation power is separate from the power allowing Ministers to transfer
responsibility for concessionary travel to upper tier local authorities.
Administering concessionary travel centrally could reduce administrative costs and save money, but it could also raise some practical issues. The Government has no immediate plans to make use of this power.
28. Will eligible people be able to use their existing passes after 1
April 2008?
Outside London, current pass holders will be issued with a new pass by their local authority in time for 1
April 2008. In Greater London, councils will 're-sticker' existing Freedom Passes. A standard national
logo is needed to ensure that all passes can be recognised anywhere in England, so that the holder can take
advantage of the new concession. The Department for Transport has worked closely with representatives
from local authorities and bus operators to finalise the details.
It is likely that a short "grace period" will be allowed after the introduction of the national concession where local passes may continue to be used for local travel only (after this period they will no longer be valid either inside or outside the local authority area). During the grace period eligible people will need to obtain a new national pass for journeys starting outside their local area.
29. Will local authorities be forced to issue new passes for the
new national concession?
Under existing arrangements, passes issued by local authorities only need to be recognised within their
own areas. Local authorities have been free to choose their own pass format and specifications, and there
are many different types of passes in circulation.
But the new national bus travel concession will apply to the whole of England. This means that all bus drivers in England will need to be able to recognise passes issued by any local English local authority.
Therefore, the Department for Transport has worked closely with representatives of local government and bus operators to devise a new national standard design for concessionary travel passes.
Local authorities are obliged under changes to the legislation to issue their eligible residents with passes of the new design from 1 April 2008, in order for them to be able to access all-England travel - clearly the re-issue will need to be fully underway before 1 April 2008 if eligible people are to benefit from 1 April.
30. What will the new passes look like?
The Government has worked closely with representatives of local government and bus operators to draw
up the new standard for concessionary travel passes. The pass will be credit card sized and will include a
photograph.
A public consultation on the proposed design closed on 20 July 2007. The consultation document is available on the Department for Transport's website
An announcement on the final design of the pass will be made shortly.
31. Will the new passes be smartcards?
Ministers have decided that the new national pass will be issued in smartcard format. A smartcard is a
plastic card containing a microchip which can store information electronically. In addition to its use as a
concessionary travel pass, the smartcard could be used for additional services at local discretion, such as
allowing access to leisure or library services.
The smartcards will be ITSO-compliant. ITSO is a national smartcard standard which has been developed by industry and the Government.
Some areas of the country are not yet equipped for full smart ticketing (which requires bus-based smartcard readers and back-office computer equipment). In these areas, on an interim basis passes will simply be shown to the bus driver, as happens now with existing non-smart passes.
32. Why has the Government decided on smartcards?
Smartcards have a number of advantages over traditional paper based passes. When used on smart
readers, they are highly resistant to fraudulent replication. They can also help to speed up boarding,
helping to reduce bus journey times. And in addition to use as concessionary travel passes, smartcards
could be used for commercial ticketing on other transport services and additional services at local
authorities' discretion, such as allowing access to leisure or library services.
33 What safeguards will there be to ensure privacy is not
infringed?
Local authorities will need to ensure that all data on individuals is collected and processed in accordance
with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998, which provides strong safeguards on privacy.
34 What help will be available for local authorities to produce
smartcard based passes?
The Government is assisting local authority procurement of smartcards, and we have negotiated a number
of Framework Agreements with suppliers. If they so wish, local authorities can draw on the Agreements
for a range of services. In addition, the Government is providing a grant towards the burdens falling on
local government for the new requirement.
35. Who will pay for the new passes?
Local authorities are already responsible for issuing concessionary travel passes to their eligible residents,
so many of the costs will not be new. But issuing new passes will involve bringing forward some planned
expenditure, and will result in a re-profiling of costs. There are also likely to be additional costs associated
with the smartcard format.
The Government is funding local authorities for (reasonable) new cost burdens which result, and we will be paying a grant of £4.00 per pass currently in circulation, uplifted by 20%.
36. When will people receive their new passes?
Issuing passes is the responsibility of local government. The Government asked local authorities to start
work on updating the information they hold about their residents who are eligible for concessionary travel
back in the spring. Many local authorities may choose to write to existing pass holders to ask them to
complete a renewal application form. In other cases, information may already be sufficiently up-to-date.
There may be several months' delay between a person returning a renewal form and receiving a new pass.
This time delay is not something to be concerned about as processing and printing time is needed as part
of the reissuing procedure.
The Government anticipates that new passes will be issued shortly before 1 April 2008.
37. Is the Government forcing smartcard technology on to
buses?
There are no plans to compel bus operators or local authorities to install smartcard readers on buses.
However, there are substantial advantages to bus operators and local authorities in going 'smart' - reduced fraud and much better data on how many concessionary journeys are being made, which will help with reimbursement arrangements.
As we are not making it compulsory for bus operators to install smartcard readers, at present there are no plans to provide additional funding for this. However, this issue is being kept under review.
38. What will the Government do to help promote the new
passes?
A national and regional advertising and public relations campaign will inform eligible people about the
new scheme while a marketing toolkit will be available for local authorities and bus operators. This
material will be in standard formats, for use on the internet and for hard copy reproduction, that can be
tailored for use in local campaigns. The first elements of the toolkit will be available for use in late
autumn.
39. How much should operators be paid for providing
concessionary travel?
Bus operators are entitled to fair reimbursement for carrying concessionary travellers. This covers both
fare revenue foregone and any additional costs that may result (for example where additional services
need to be operated).
Reimbursement is made by local authorities on a "no better, no worse off" basis, so operators should neither gain nor lose money as a result of carrying concessionary travellers. The Department will shortly be issuing revised guidance on reimbursement.
Where a bus operator believes that a local authority's reimbursement arrangements are unfair, they are able to appeal to the Secretary of State for Transport for an impartial assessment of the case.
40. Why has the Government given extra money to operators
after they have appealed against what local authorities propose
to give them?
If a bus operator believes that a local authority's reimbursement arrangements for concessionary travel are
unfair, they can appeal to the Secretary of State for Transport. The Secretary of State has appointed an
independent decision maker to assess appeals on his behalf.
Where the decision maker finds that reimbursement has not been calculated fairly on a "no better, no worse off" basis, the Secretary of State will require the arrangements to be changed. This may involve local authorities making additional payments to bus operators.
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