Bus passes

Where do you live, Nicky? We live in London and my husband is NOT eligible for a Freedom Pass, but he successfully applied for an Over 60 Oyster Card, which is "as good as".

We live in Oxford.. It's silly I know as my DH has a car and probably wouldn't use a bus, unless the car was out of action, but it's the principle.. If he's eligible, then they should send him one..

But he can't be eligible, otherwise he would have been issued with one
My husband is over 60 and not eligible (until he is 65 I think).

A lot of his friends, same age, have been using bus passes for 4/5 years.. It's weird. Lol

This is a extract from the Gov web site :-

"You can travel for free on local buses once you reach state pension age."

If it's the same rule for everyone now, then it's when he reaches State Pension age. You have to contact your local council to apply for the bus pass, it's not issued automatically. I've just done mine!

And this is from the Essex Council site, which may explain why he knows younger people that travel free.

Concessionary fares
If you live in England and are of retirement age or an eligible disabled person, you are entitled to an English National Concessionary Bus Pass. Essex residents who are applying for an older persons or disabled persons bus pass for the first time may apply to Essex County Council.

Snap pompa

You have to apply using the correct form, with a passport-type photo. You can download the form from the internet.

Thanks peeps

I live in Oxford too, and have had a bus pass from the age of 60, for which I applied on line. I have recently received a new one, valid from my birthday in a few days. My word, I have aged since the photo was taken 9 years ago! I wonder at what age they require a new one?

The County Council website says that the age of eligibility is now equal to the pensionable age for women. Between April 2010 and November 2018 this will increase from 60 to 65. There is an online calculator to determine an individual's age requirement.

My DH had his bus pass when he was 60 - he didn't retire till he was 65, but everyone was entitled at 60 then so he thought why not? When I reached 60 the rules had changed and I had to wait till I reached state pension age, which for me was 4 months after my 60th birthday.

Same as you Ash Tree we got our bus passes when both 60..Hubby's used his, but I've never used mine

I rarely use mine Sheena, preferring to use my car . My DH uses his a lot, but then that's him to a T - anything free and he's first in the queue

Your DH would have been eligible for his bus pass at 60, Nicki. My DH is 65 and has had his for 5 years. I am 60 and won't get mine until I'm 66, when I access my pension .

I think I'm right in saying that if I lived in Scotland, Wales or N Ireland, I'd already have it. Plus free rail travel in NI. And Londoners over 60 get free travel there.

I'd make more use of my bus pass if they hadn't changed the service so that the bus for Stockport no longer passes my door. My sister and BiL in Scotland make great use of theirs as they live on a good bus route with a very frequent service.

From the CAB website:

You're eligible for an older person's bus pass from your 60th birthday, if you were born before 6 April 1950.

Women born after 5 April 1950

If you're a woman born after 5 April 1950, you'll become eligible for an older person's bus pass when you reach your pensionable age.

Men born after 5 April 1950

If you're a man born after 5 April 1950, you'll become eligible when you reach the pensionable age of a woman born on the same day.

I`m 72, have had a bus pass since I was 60, as has hubby. Don`t know if things have changed now, but in Boston then you were eligible when you reached 60, even if still working.

I got my bus pass when I reached 60 - but I had to apply for it through this city's transport executive. My niece, for some reason, did not become eligible for hers until her sixty second birthday, but I'm not sure why. Both DH and I use our passes a lot, especially to use the Supertram service - I'm not that keen on the buses.

The excerpt from the CAB website I posted above will perhaps explain things, number and Greyduster.

I got my bus pass when I was 60 yes and 9 months old. I don't know why I had to wait the extra nine months. I suppose it was to do with when I was born, and became eligible to retire. My DH got his when he was 60.

PS. My DH uses his pass almost daily, as we car share. After I finish work, he goes on to his next job. I take the car home and he catches the bus. We are not allowed to use our passes before 9.00am.,so when I catch the bus on a Thursday morning I have to pay the fare. I catch the 07.26. It is very unfair, as a driver remarked to me one morning.

We live in Scotland and both got our 'bus pass' at 60. Ours isn't just a bus pass but gives us concessionary admission to council run facilities like swimming pools and gyms. It also acts as a library card. DH has never used his but I use mine for the park and ride bus when I drive to town.

Yes, he should have had one since the age of sixty Nicki.I doesn't get sent automatically though, has to be applied for.