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Concessionary Bus Travel in England - FAQs (updated June 2009)
1. What was the position before 1 April 2008?
From 1 April 2006 to 1 April 2008, all residents of England who were aged 60 and over and eligible disabled people were guaranteed free off-peak local bus travel within the local authority area in which they live.
As a minimum, passes could 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 - could travel within their whole Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) area. Eligible residents of Greater London are could use their Freedom Passes for free travel throughout the Greater London area.
2. What does the Concessionary Bus Travel Act offer?
In 2000 the Government introduced a guarantee of half-fare travel for eligible England residents within their local authority area. The Concessionary Bus Travel Act implemented the Chancellor's announcements in the 2006 Budget that people aged 60 and over and eligible disabled people in England would 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.
3. What does it cost?
The Government is providing additional funds of up to £212m a year to pay for the national concession in England.
This is in addition to the extra funding each year provided for the previous enhancement to the scheme from 2006 (some £377m for 2008/9).
4. Who benefits?
Around 11 million older and disabled people in England are eligible for the concession.
5. What do they get?
Those eligible will get free travel on local buses from 9.30am until 11pm on weekdays, and all day weekends and bank holidays, across England. They may also receive any other further concessions which their local authority might choose to offer on top of that.
6. When were the measures introduced?
1st April 2008, in line with the Chancellor's announcements.
7. 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).
8.
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. |
9. How can 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). A full list of pass providers, with a link to their websites can be found here
Residents of Greater London should contact their borough council or go to the Freedom Pass website at www.freedompass.org
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Will I be issued with a ticket?
An eligible person is entitled to concessionary bus travel on the production of a valid pass.
14. What is the definition of a 'local' bus?
The new concession entitles pass holders to free travel on off-peak local bus services in England. Qualifying services will be self-evident in most cases, but may include some others if registered as a local bus service. If in doubt, pass holders can check with their operator or local authority. There are exceptions for sightseeing tours and other tourist-related services and for services where the fare includes payment for another service, such as car parking in the case of Park-&-Ride. Local authorities have the discretion to enable passes to be used on such services if they wish.
15. What about other coach travel?
Scheduled coach services are not generally included, even for short journeys, 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.
16. What about ferries, trams and other forms of transport?
Other modes such as ferries or trams are outside the new national concession, but local authorities 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.
17. What about other kinds of concessionary travel, like community transport?
Some community transport services are also 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 are outside the new national bus travel concession arrangements. However, local authorities 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.
18. Some local authorities offered other concessions, such as travel tokens. Will this continue?
As was the case before 1 April 2008, councils are able to offer various concessionary travel options on public transport. This means 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.
19. Can residents of England travel in other parts of the UK?
No, but eligible residents can travel on any off-peak local bus service in any area of England.
20. What about people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
Schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are not affected by the changes in England.
21. 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. However, any such arrangements will only apply locally.
22. Why do time restrictions still apply?
The changes to the legislation did 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.
23. Will the Government guarantee that councils will be no worse off as a result of this change?
It is in all our interests to ensure that local authorities are adequately funded for the national concession. The Government is aware of concerns about funding and consulted those with an interest, including local authorities and bus operators, on funding and reimbursement mechanisms. We believe that the funding provided to local authorities is sufficient to meet the cost of the scheme.
24. 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, enforcement 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.
25. 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 may reduce administrative costs and save money, but it could also raise some very difficult practical issues, especially concerning local benefits. The Government has no immediate plans to make use of this power.
26. What do the passes look like?
The Government worked closely with representatives of local government and bus operators to design the new standard for concessionary travel passes. The pass is credit card sized and includes a photograph.
27. Why do some passes have different expiry dates?
The Department has specified that the expiry date must be no more than five years from the date of issue, but local authorities are free to set their own expiry dates within that time.
28. Can I still use my old pass?
Old-style local passes for the pre-2008 scheme are no longer valid.
29. Why have local authorities been forced to issue new passes for the new concession?
Under previous arrangements, passes issued by local authorities only needed 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 bus travel concession applies to the whole of England. This means that all bus drivers in England need to be able to recognise passes issued by any local authority in England.
Therefore, the Department for Transport has worked closely with representatives of local government and bus operators to devise a new standard design for England-wide concessionary travel passes.
Local authorities are obliged under changes to the legislation to issue their eligible residents with passes of the new design.
30. Are the new passes smartcards?
Yes. The new England-wide passes are being 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 are ITSO-compliant. ITSO is a national smartcard specification which has been developed by industry and the Government.
31. 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.
32. What safeguards are there to ensure privacy is not infringed?
Local authorities 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.
33. What help has been given to local authorities to produce smartcard based passes?
The Government has been providing regular guidance and support to local authorities to help them issue ITSO compliant smartcard passes. This includes:
Issuing detailed bulletins and holding a series of regional seminars.
Putting in place a network of mentor authorities to provide additional advice and guidance to authorities and have a dedicated and experienced team within the Department to provide support to authorities and to monitor their progress.
Putting in place a Framework Agreement which authorities can use to produce their smartcards, though they are free to other ITSO compliant smartcard producers if they wish. We have also put in place a number of other Framework Agreements offering related services, such as smartcard database management and the provision of equipment to allow authorities to produce passes in house.
Paying a grant to local authorities of around £31m in 2008 towards the cost of producing smartcard based passes - this is equivalent to a grant of £4.00 per pass currently in circulation, uplifted by 20%.
34. 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.
35. 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.
36. 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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