To be so excited that.....

Go for it, I love my pass, my h drives but we often go on the bus, especially if it’s a place where parking is a pain.

I love my Freedom pass! It's only when we have visitors who must pay for public transport in London do I really appreciate what a huge benefit it is. I also like that, when travelling out of London by train (on most routes) the Freedom pass means that the fare is calculated from the furthest point in London on the route. I really can't understand why so many people seem to feel it's their right (never mind the congestion, pollution and danger to walkers and cyclists) to travel everywhere, even in London, by car.

I’ve got to wait till I’m 66 for mine, but I will definitely make the most of it. Living 30 mins from London I will be going on many an adventure to things I haven’t seen before in our capital.Enjoy!

I love my Merseytravel pass and use it to go on the train to Liverpool and Chester.

Maggiemaybe
I agree absolutely that it's grossly unfair for most over 60s to be deprived of free public transport.
We consider ourselves very lucky to have our Merseytravel area passes, but would far prefer that all over 60s had the same advantage.
It annoys me hugely that women who are having to work past the age of sixty due to pension age changes also have to pay to get to their place of work!!!
How the government can possibly justify depriving us of benefits which were freely available to women born just a few years before us is beyond me

London pensioners get free train travel too. Just over the border in Surrey we don't. I read the day I cannot drive as I loathe public transport.

Bus passes are one of the few joys of old age - apart from DGC of course. I give mine a real thrashing. Bus pass, that is, not grandchildren!

Wonderful news Grannyactivist. Cannot tell you how much I value my bus pass both for convenience and economical reasons. Wouldn't afford the voluntary stuff I enjoy without it. Also meeting up with friends with the same travelling advantage is a terrific bonus. I hope you enjoy for many years to come (and that the oft maligned bus pass survives the angst of the non believers!)&

It’s another postcode lottery and hard on those who live in the wrong areas. Also very shortsighted of the authorities who don’t issue passes to over 60s affected by the state pension age changes. Studies have shown that free travel for the over 60s has health benefits to the pass holders and also boosts the local economy. The one advantage for me of not having a pass is that I walk more!

Congratulations! I'm so looking forward to getting my bus pass (assuming they haven't got rid of them by then). And as an aside grannyactivist I love it that you call your DH The Wonderful Man

Congratulations - I live in London and was lucky enough to receive a travel pass when I was 60 - it was the best birthday present I could ever have received and I make great use of it - more to the point, however, if I didn't have it, my ability to travel at today's (and London) prices would be severely curtailed and my mental health would suffer by not being able to get about. Glad you have this freedom.

Oh hilda I wonder why that is? That seems very unfair. We couldn't use ours when we went on holiday to Wales but have used it in Devon, Dorset, The Lakes etc.

Merlotgran - we don't have any buses either but it's still worth getting a bus pass as we use it on holiday in lots of different towns including London. Very useful!

My bus pass, I am now on my second one, is used almost daily - best thing about being a pensioner and don’t forget to take it if you go on a day out, especially in London, asyou can whizz around and do masses even in just one day.
Combine an early coach trip to Victoria coach station (dreadful place but cheap transport) have a whole day in London zooming about, and catch a late coach home - you can sleep for the next week if need be !

I'm very fortunate in that although geographically our house is in Cheshire, it's considered to be within the boundaries of Merseyside, by approx 30 yards!!!
Merseytravel still provide free travel passes for use within the Merseyside boundaries when one reaches 60. A friend who lives three houses from me is across the Cheshire boundary so can't have a free Merseytravel pass, she's furious!
DH and I have both got them now and have been all over the place.
I go shopping in Liverpool on a regular basis now...for free!
We had a lovely day out in Southport last week!
We'll be going to Ormskirk market next week, another free day out!
We can also travel into Chester but only by train, so we go far more often than we used to.
I've never seen anything good about the 1974 boundary change before, but living in 'Merseyside' rather than 'Cheshire' has finally paid dividends

I ❤️ my bus pass and would certainly be out to protest if a government or council tried to take it away.
I also like my traincard, would get a coach card if I needed to use coaches and and appreciate Silver Screen shows and theatre discounts!
I wonder how long free prescriptions will last however. I like that Boots automatically give an over 60’s discount without my having to ask, I assume it’s linked to my card.

It is a liberating feeling isn’t it ? Free bus pass, Senior railcard, theatre discounts etc I always want to laugh when I ask for a senior ticket to get in somewhere, is that really me ! .... and when a man said to me “ if you are a senior I would like some of whatever you are on” I almost skipped all the way home, then I remembered how old I was !

I've had my bus pass for 10 years and used it 3 times! Unfortunately I can't walk as far as the bus stop so would have to drive which rather defeats the object!

Not at all unreasonable, I’d be giddy with excitement too! I’ll be 66 when I get mine, so still three years to go.

Well done KatyK. I love having my bus pass too, but why is it that you can use yours in England but I can't use mine in Scotland? I would love to travel more, and live near the border but as soon as I reach it I have to pay bus fare as my pass is not accepted. It's the same with the National Trust. We got Scottish cards so we can use them in all of the UK.

You are not being unreasonable at all, especially as you had to wait for it.
I was very lucky with the dates. People born only a short time after me had to wait a lot longer.
Enjoy it. I love my bus pass. Having been self employed, I also like having a fixed income with enough to save a bit.

You go girl! Give that bus pass Some stick!

Thanks for replies everyone. I shall enjoy mooching through local bus timetables to see where I can go - and also a bit further afield to visit my children, two of them are reasonably accessible by buses. The Wonderful Man has only just realised that he's now married to a pensioner - and he knows me well; rather than commiserate he congratulated me.

Have been using my bus pass for years now and still enjoy using it ( smug mode) so enjoyable to travel for free!
I hope you have a good bus service GA

Congratulations enjoy. I was so excited to get mine and feel quite virtuous about saving petrol, pollution and being "green". I have to plan more carefully rather than just getting ready any old time but for me and DH it is working well. We all only run one car now. Absolutely no need for two. I have also noticed that when I arrange to meet friends or family that they are more punctual knowing that I am tied to bus times. Fewer texts saying "lets make it half an hour later". I love it. You will too.