national concessionary pass

[Steveminor]

Following on from the discussion in the heartlands thread,  what is everyone's view on the national concessionary scheme. Is it a good thing, a bad thing, should it be discontinued & if so replaced with what?
I personally would like to see the pass discontinued & replaced with the national transport token scheme of old where pensioners & disabled were given a set amount of tokens each month to spend on transport as & when needed. The reimbursement for operators was much better & there was far less abuse of the scheme as the amount of travel was finite people would travel for essential purposes & save up for more improptu days out. Not as now hop on  & off in one stop "because it's free".

[arrifirststage]

Following on from the discussion in the heartlands thread,  what is everyone's view on the national concessionary scheme. Is it a good thing, a bad thing, should it be discontinued & if so replaced with what?
I personally would like to see the pass discontinued & replaced with the national transport token scheme of old where pensioners & disabled were given a set amount of tokens each month to spend on transport as & when needed. The reimbursement for operators was much better & there was far less abuse of the scheme as the amount of travel was finite people would travel for essential purposes & save up for more improptu days out. Not as now hop on  & off in one stop "because it's free".

I am a pensioner and pass holder.........I use my pass quite frequently,but I think a fairer method would be to withdraw the pass completely and increase the old age pension instead...at least then ALL pensioners would benefit instead of only those who use public transport.
No need then for continual squabbling about reimbursement for bus operators.

[andy]

I already posted my thoughts on the Heartlands thread.

[JoNi]

If pensioners lost their "free" pass I'm sure some of them would revert to driving cars and in my experience there are enough elderly drivers on the road who have signed the "form" to say they are still fit to drive! I'm not alone in thinking a contributory factor to modern congestion is reduced faculties of the ever increasing number of elderly motorists.

[Steveminor]

But as more routes are lost they have to drive anyway,  but those who don't drive are now being cut off & stranded in their own towns/villages

[BU07 LGO]

I think they should have a swift card with a set allowance each month and if not used resets each month. The one thing that annoys me is listening to how much (some) oap's moan about the bus service and still try to take the piss by trying to use their pass before half 9. If your getting it for free then you forfeit any right to complain imo. Beggars cannot be choosers!

I think a set allowance would benefit those who need the bus to get around but not let them run up huge bills for everyone else!

[:D]

I view concessionary passes as a subsidy from the government and also as an incentive for pensioners to use public transport instead of driving. Like someone else mentioned, what happens to pensioners who cannot drive but the bus service to their village has been cut off because nobody uses it?

[Trident 4194]

Do concessionary holders have to stay in the network area?

[Stu]

Do concessionary holders have to stay in the network area?

I think the clue is in the name...  ;)

[Chris2301]

last year on the 529 from wolverhampton bus station there was a 529 timed to leave at 9.29am and the oaps used to moan that they were not allowed to get on it. They had to wait for the 9.36am 529

[Chris2301]

last year on the 529 from wolverhampton bus station there was a 529 timed to leave at 9.29am and the oaps used to moan that they were not allowed to get on it. They had to wait for the 9.36am 529

Poor dears.

Tbh i think that the concessions on the trains should be removed as this is an extra benefit for the centro area

[Bryan]

I am a pensioner and pass holder.........I use my pass quite frequently,but I think a fairer method would be to withdraw the pass completely and increase the old age pension instead...at least then ALL pensioners would benefit instead of only those who use public transport.
No need then for continual squabbling about reimbursement for bus operators.

I would think the cost of increasing the old age pension will be far higher than the cost of providing the passes. Also, the idea is for pensioners to be able to use public transport whether it be for health reasons, to get to the doctors or hospital, social reasons or whatever. I also suspect it takes away quite a few worries with many as to whether or not they can afford to make a journey.

I do think the reimbursement to bus companies for their bus journeys is lower than it should be, but at the end of the day the more people who use public transport the better it is.

[Tony]

It is the compensation payments to bus companies that is broken, not the free travel scheme itself

[JoNi]

Sadly the government's commitment to the continuing the free past reflects the fact that voters in marginal constituencies are those who would be most put out by its removal, rather than its commitment to public transport!

[Ossie]

I'm a concessionary passholder, and I use it whenever I can, a couple of days a week on average.  I much prefer to let the bus / train take the strain rather than driving.

The pass is a life-line to some older folk, it gets them out and about, shopping, hospital visits, leisure - you've only got to look at most morning buses after 9:30.

I think Tony hit the nail on the head - it's the compensation to the operators that's too low.  What is it?  I think I read 80p a journey somewhere, but I stand to be corrected on that .....

I guess if they're going to change anything, they'll remove the rail add-on sometime, (as they tried to do in South Yorkshire, sparking a near riot, mind you  :D).  Actually, I'd be prepared to pay up to£30-£40 for the rail add-on if they started charging for it, but I guess the sheer cost of administration of changing the scheme for that would be prohibitive.