Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

Greetings all.
My father got his free Local Authority bus pass through the post just
the other day. Previously it was only valid on local buses in our
district but I hear that is will now be valid on all local buses
throughout England. Even though he lives in Bucks does this mean his
pass will be valid on London ( TFL) buses as well ?

Thanks in abundance,

UC

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

In article ,
(Richard J.) wrote:

wrote:
Greetings all.
My father got his free Local Authority bus pass through the post just
the other day. Previously it was only valid on local buses in our
district but I hear that is will now be valid on all local buses
throughout England. Even though he lives in Bucks does this mean his
pass will be valid on London ( TFL) buses as well ?

Yes, from 1st April. Only on buses, though, not on the
Underground, DLR, Trams etc.

Are you sure about trams? They use Bus Zones.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

wrote

Greetings all.
My father got his free Local Authority bus pass through the post just
the other day. Previously it was only valid on local buses in our
district but I hear that is will now be valid on all local buses
throughout England. Even though he lives in Bucks does this mean his
pass will be valid on London ( TFL) buses as well ?

Yes.

"all local buses in England from 1st April"

So all cross boundary buses too, eg all Kingston to Staines buses, TFL
or not.

There have been newspaper advertisments and leaflets and indeed
information on local council web sites.

http://www.elmbridge.gov.uk/

A leaflet from my local council (Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey) notes
that all English passes, not just the London Freedom passes, will be
accepted on London buses from 09:00 Mon-Fri rather than the 09:30 which
is the national standard. Also 09:00 in Woking, Elmbridge, Epsom &
Ewell and Mole Valley Districts.

--
Mike D



--
Mike D

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

In message .uk, Colin
Rosenstiel writes
In article ,
(Richard J.) wrote:

wrote:
Greetings all.
My father got his free Local Authority bus pass through the post just
the other day. Previously it was only valid on local buses in our
district but I hear that is will now be valid on all local buses
throughout England. Even though he lives in Bucks does this mean his
pass will be valid on London ( TFL) buses as well ?

Yes, from 1st April. Only on buses, though, not on the
Underground, DLR, Trams etc.

Are you sure about trams? They use Bus Zones.

Yes, the passes are only obliged to be accepted on buses and not on
other services.

However, when Mum's arrived a couple of weeks ago the (Centro) paperwork
accompanying it said in response to a Q&A about availability on trams
and Metro services elsewhere that it *might * be made available and to
"check locally".

Trams like Croydon, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, T&W Metro and
so on seem unlikely to me to accept them. The one place I thought
*might* bend that rule would be Blackpool, where the tram is (forgive me
for this!) more of a "bus on rails". But it remains to be seen.

Anyway, I was surprised about the Centro answer; I thought it would be
a blanket "no".
--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

Michael R N Dolbear wrote:

A leaflet from my local council (Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey) notes
that all English passes, not just the London Freedom passes, will be
accepted on London buses from 09:00 Mon-Fri rather than the 09:30 which
is the national standard. Also 09:00 in Woking, Elmbridge, Epsom &
Ewell and Mole Valley Districts.

Similarly for Warwickshire (excluding Coventry), according to my
Nuneaton & Bedworth issued one.

Peter Beale

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

Colin Rosenstiel wrote:
In article ,
(Richard J.) wrote:

wrote:
Greetings all.
My father got his free Local Authority bus pass through the post
just the other day. Previously it was only valid on local buses in
our district but I hear that is will now be valid on all local buses
throughout England. Even though he lives in Bucks does this mean his
pass will be valid on London ( TFL) buses as well ?

Yes, from 1st April. Only on buses, though, not on the
Underground, DLR, Trams etc.

Are you sure about trams? They use Bus Zones.

Bus Zones in London haven't existed since 2004.

The info on the national bus pass scheme at direct.gov.uk says that it gives
free travel on local buses only. "Local authorities will still be able to
offer further benefits *to their residents*, but these will only apply for
travel in the local area and not anywhere in England." I haven't seen
anything on the TfL site about the national scheme, so I'm assuming that the
"bus only" rule applies to non-London residents.

--
Richard J.
(to email me, swap 'uk' and 'yon' in address)

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

Richard J. wrote:
Colin Rosenstiel wrote:
In article ,
(Richard J.) wrote:

wrote:
Greetings all.
My father got his free Local Authority bus pass through the post
just the other day. Previously it was only valid on local buses in
our district but I hear that is will now be valid on all local
buses throughout England. Even though he lives in Bucks does this
mean his pass will be valid on London ( TFL) buses as well ?

Yes, from 1st April. Only on buses, though, not on the
Underground, DLR, Trams etc.

Are you sure about trams? They use Bus Zones.

Bus Zones in London haven't existed since 2004.

The info on the national bus pass scheme at direct.gov.uk says that
it gives free travel on local buses only. "Local authorities will
still be able to offer further benefits *to their residents*, but
these will only apply for travel in the local area and not anywhere
in England." I haven't seen anything on the TfL site about the
national scheme, so I'm assuming that the "bus only" rule applies to
non-London residents.

TfL's info is on their website under /tickets/freedom pass/national scheme,
but because the freedom pass is actually run by the London councils, there
is better info on their site Q&A at:

http://www.freedompass.org/questionsanswered.htm

Also interesting to see that the councils are at odds with Ken about the
Freedom Pass, which obviously isn't free to the councils, like the national
bus scheme, TfL companies still need paying:

http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/doc.asp?doc=20258

Paul S

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

Ian Jelf wrote:

Trams like Croydon, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, T&W Metro and
so on seem unlikely to me to accept them.


In Greater Manchester, the over-60s travel pass is certainly accepted on
Metrolink, as well as on trains within the GMPTE area.

--

Stephen

Did anybody order an apocalypse?

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

Stephen Farrow wrote:
Ian Jelf wrote:

Trams like Croydon, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, T&W Metro
and so on seem unlikely to me to accept them.


In Greater Manchester, the over-60s travel pass is certainly accepted
on Metrolink, as well as on trains within the GMPTE area.

Yes, but surely that's only for Greater Manchester over-60s? Just like the
Freedom Pass in London. The issue we were discussing was whether non-local
over-60s can get free travel on anything other than buses. The answer seems
to be no.
--
Richard J.
(to email me, swap 'uk' and 'yon' in address)

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

"Ian Jelf" wrote in message
...


Yes, the passes are only obliged to be accepted on buses and not on other
services.

However, when Mum's arrived a couple of weeks ago the (Centro) paperwork
accompanying it said in response to a Q&A about availability on trams and
Metro services elsewhere that it *might * be made available and to "check
locally".

Trams like Croydon, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, T&W Metro and so
on seem unlikely to me to accept them. The one place I thought *might*
bend that rule would be Blackpool, where the tram is (forgive me for
this!) more of a "bus on rails". But it remains to be seen.

Anyway, I was surprised about the Centro answer; I thought it would be a
blanket "no".

Nexus (T&W PTE) have a scheme where residents eligible for an over 60 or
Disabled national bus pass can have Metro & Rail travel for £12 per annum.
Seems a reasonable sum to cover the admin costs...

Paul

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

"Richard J." wrote in message
.. .
Stephen Farrow wrote:
Ian Jelf wrote:

Trams like Croydon, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, T&W Metro
and so on seem unlikely to me to accept them.


In Greater Manchester, the over-60s travel pass is certainly accepted
on Metrolink, as well as on trains within the GMPTE area.

Yes, but surely that's only for Greater Manchester over-60s? Just like
the Freedom Pass in London. The issue we were discussing was whether
non-local over-60s can get free travel on anything other than buses. The
answer seems to be no.

In fact, the OP's concern was simply whether or not 'throughout England'
included London...

Paul S

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

In message , Stephen Farrow
writes
Ian Jelf wrote:

Trams like Croydon, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, T&W Metro
and so on seem unlikely to me to accept them.


In Greater Manchester, the over-60s travel pass is certainly accepted
on Metrolink, as well as on trains within the GMPTE area.

Yes but only for Great Manchester residents. Similarly West Midlands
O60s get Midland Metro and West Midlands Local Rail, ditto Merseyside,
South and West Yorkshire, etc. and so on give benefits beyond bus only
travel to their O60s. Those benefits don't (generally) extend beyond
the resident's own county, though.

Does any shire county offer O60s free rail travel?

--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

In article ,
(Ian Jelf) wrote:

In message , Stephen Farrow
writes
Ian Jelf wrote:

Trams like Croydon, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, T&W Metro
and so on seem unlikely to me to accept them.


In Greater Manchester, the over-60s travel pass is certainly accepted
on Metrolink, as well as on trains within the GMPTE area.

Yes but only for Great Manchester residents. Similarly West
Midlands O60s get Midland Metro and West Midlands Local Rail, ditto
Merseyside, South and West Yorkshire, etc. and so on give benefits
beyond bus only travel to their O60s. Those benefits don't
(generally) extend beyond the resident's own county, though.

Does any shire county offer O60s free rail travel?

There was a bit in North Wales, wasn't there?

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

"Ian Jelf" wrote in message
...
In message , Stephen Farrow
writes
Ian Jelf wrote:

Trams like Croydon, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, T&W Metro and
so on seem unlikely to me to accept them.


In Greater Manchester, the over-60s travel pass is certainly accepted on
Metrolink, as well as on trains within the GMPTE area.

Yes but only for Great Manchester residents. Similarly West Midlands
O60s get Midland Metro and West Midlands Local Rail, ditto Merseyside,
South and West Yorkshire, etc. and so on give benefits beyond bus only
travel to their O60s. Those benefits don't (generally) extend beyond the
resident's own county, though.

Does any shire county offer O60s free rail travel?


Interesting question Ian, down here in south Hampshire what limited 'local
rail network' there is would have to be a joint effort between Hants CC,
Portsmouth, and Southampton, as the latter are unitary authorities. I
suspect any proposal will be swiftly filed under 'too difficult'...

Paul S

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

In message .uk, Colin
Rosenstiel writes
In article ,
(Ian Jelf) wrote:

In message , Stephen Farrow
writes
Ian Jelf wrote:

Trams like Croydon, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, T&W Metro
and so on seem unlikely to me to accept them.


In Greater Manchester, the over-60s travel pass is certainly accepted
on Metrolink, as well as on trains within the GMPTE area.

Yes but only for Great Manchester residents. Similarly West
Midlands O60s get Midland Metro and West Midlands Local Rail, ditto
Merseyside, South and West Yorkshire, etc. and so on give benefits
beyond bus only travel to their O60s. Those benefits don't
(generally) extend beyond the resident's own county, though.

Does any shire county offer O60s free rail travel?

There was a bit in North Wales, wasn't there?

Wales might well do (being now a Wales-wide system), I'm not sure.

Although I didn't make it clear in the question, I was posing the
question regarding England, as that's where the new pass arrangements
are about to come into force.

--
Ian Jelf, MITG
Birmingham, UK

Registered Blue Badge Tourist Guide for London and the Heart of England
http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

Interesting question Ian, down here in south Hampshire what limited 'local
rail network' there is would have to be a joint effort between Hants CC,
Portsmouth, and Southampton, as the latter are unitary authorities. I
suspect any proposal will be swiftly filed under 'too difficult'...

Or too expensive. Which is what these Over 60 passes are. I am appalled
that my local services are going to have to be cut (and it's going to be
worse in seaside towns) to fund these passes which my local council is
going to be short by about £1 Million.

They either need to be scrapped, or introduced on a means tested basis.
--
http://www.railforums.co.uk

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

In article ,
(Joe Patrick) wrote:

Interesting question Ian, down here in south Hampshire what
limited 'local rail network' there is would have to be a joint
effort between Hants CC, Portsmouth, and Southampton, as the
latter are unitary authorities. I suspect any proposal will be
swiftly filed under 'too difficult'...

Or too expensive. Which is what these Over 60 passes are. I am
appalled that my local services are going to have to be cut (and
it's going to be worse in seaside towns) to fund these passes which
my local council is going to be short by about £1 Million.

They either need to be scrapped, or introduced on a means tested
basis.
--
http://www.railforums.co.uk

Which is your council AAMOI?

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

Which is your council AAMOI?

Bristol City. Last year it was £735,000 and the figure of £1mill is an
estimate. Read in a newspaper that some councils are expecting a
shortfall of up to £2mill.
--
http://www.railforums.co.uk

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

In article ,
(Joe Patrick) wrote:

Which is your council AAMOI?

Bristol City. Last year it was £735,000 and the figure of £1mill is
an estimate. Read in a newspaper that some councils are expecting a
shortfall of up to £2mill.
--
http://www.railforums.co.uk

At least the same council is responsible for travel concessions and for
bus subsidies. Most of the (relatively) big problems look like they are
going to affect districts in two tier areas that don't have bus planning
responsibilities.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

On 2 Apr, 00:32, (Colin Rosenstiel) wrote:

In article ,
(Joe Patrick) wrote:

Which is your council AAMOI?

Bristol City. Last year it was £735,000 and the figure of £1mill is
an estimate. Read in a newspaper that some councils are expecting a
shortfall of up to £2mill.

At least the same council is responsible for travel concessions and for
bus subsidies. Most of the (relatively) big problems look like they are
going to affect districts in two tier areas that don't have bus planning
responsibilities.


Ouch - I hadn't cottoned on to that dynamic, but I see it now.

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

Paul Scott wrote:

"Ian Jelf" wrote:

Yes, the passes are only obliged to be accepted on buses and not on other
services.

However, when Mum's arrived a couple of weeks ago the (Centro) paperwork
accompanying it said in response to a Q&A about availability on trams and
Metro services elsewhere that it *might * be made available and to "check
locally".

Trams like Croydon, Midland Metro, Manchester Metrolink, T&W Metro and so
on seem unlikely to me to accept them. The one place I thought *might*
bend that rule would be Blackpool, where the tram is (forgive me for
this!) more of a "bus on rails". But it remains to be seen.

Anyway, I was surprised about the Centro answer; I thought it would be a
blanket "no".

Nexus (T&W PTE) have a scheme where residents eligible for an over 60 or
Disabled national bus pass can have Metro & Rail travel for £12 per annum.
Seems a reasonable sum to cover the admin costs...


pedant mode on
Though it's really Metro only plus the Newcastle to Sunderland trains
(but AIUI Metro and rail tickets are interavailable on this route). It
doesn't cover the Newcastle to Blaydon via Metro Centre rail route.
pedant mode off

I agree it's a good deal, though IIRC previously 60+ residents (and I
guess the eligible disabled as well) of T&W got the Metro thrown in
for free so it's not quite a good a deal as it once was!

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

Joe Patrick wrote

Or too expensive. Which is what these Over 60 passes are. I am
appalled
that my local services are going to have to be cut (and it's going to
be
worse in seaside towns) to fund these passes which my local council
is
going to be short by about £1 Million.

These are all estimates which may be right or wrong. Unless someone can
quote data from Scotland no one can do more than guess what the
increase in usage will be, still less whether the payment from HM
Treasury will cover it. The budget for my (Surrey) district for last
year was £43 per pass.

They either need to be scrapped, or introduced on a means tested
basis.

How long has the phase "got my bus pass" been in use ?

The enhancement is because Brown wants votes, but I assume that the
idea was that getting Seniors out and about is good for their health
plus the cash going to bus companies will slow the deterioration in bus
services outside London.

--
Mike D

Validity of Local Authority "Over 60s" free bus passes ?
 

In article 01c8945f$ff37a560$LocalHost@default, (Michael
R N Dolbear) wrote:

Joe Patrick wrote

Or too expensive. Which is what these Over 60 passes are. I am
appalled that my local services are going to have to be cut (and it's

going to be worse in seaside towns) to fund these passes which my
local council is going to be short by about £1 Million.

These are all estimates which may be right or wrong. Unless someone can
quote data from Scotland no one can do more than guess what the
increase in usage will be, still less whether the payment from HM
Treasury will cover it. The budget for my (Surrey) district for last
year was £43 per pass.

I think the global total is more likely to be right than the amounts to
individual councils. Unlike earlier bus pass schemes, the charges are now
to the councils in which the journeys start and not to the councils whose
residents are using the buses. The formula barely acknowledges that this
will shift costs quite dramatically towards a small number of authorities,
some with little capacity to absorb the government's miscalculations.

They either need to be scrapped, or introduced on a means tested
basis.

How long has the phase "got my bus pass" been in use ?

The enhancement is because Brown wants votes, but I assume that the
idea was that getting Seniors out and about is good for their health
plus the cash going to bus companies will slow the deterioration in
bus services outside London.

Something that is not happening everywhere, of course.

--
Colin Rosenstiel