Bus passes

And yes, I'd happily pay even £50 a year for one! One return trip costs me £6.

We use our park and ride with our bus pass and they now charge £1 return to Leicester, our nearest city. Absolute bargain!

What I find worst about the buses here is during the summer when they're so full of noisy, language school students.

That sounds very sour - the language school students will be full fare-paying passengers, and contributing many millions to the local economy.

Before Bournemouth became a 'Student' town it was a very dreary place!

I would love a bus pass! I'm going to have to wait until finally I get the pension promised to me when I was 60 delayed till I'm 63 and delayed again until I'm 64 and 8 months! This despite 43 years of NI contributions. I think I've given enough back and frankly I think a bus pass is value if it keeps me off the road and let's the workers and busy mums have fewer cars to contend with.

I have a bus pass as I live in Wales, will have to wait until I am 66 for my pension. Would not be willing to pay for bus pass, as government have already stolen 6 years of my and others pension.

Not wanting to sound mean but I have worked all my life and always paid my tax and into the system and regard my free bus pass as one of the joys of retirement.
I agree that the NHS and Social Care funding needs boosting but I don't feel it should come from pensioners agreeing to pay a sum of money for their bus passes. If we need more money for these services (and it's blaringly obvious that we do at the moment!) then I think the Govt needs to fund it properly. We are one of the richest countries in the world and have far too many rich people and companies not paying their taxes. Get this money back first and plough it into our health and social care budgets!
I'm fed up with this so called austerity. It's been going on for years now and things don't seem to be improving. So it's not a policy I would support in any way until I see the super rich paying their wack first!!!

As Neversaydie says, if I didn't have a bus pass I might simply use my car which is not good for any number of reasons. I certainly wouldn't wait half an hour for our unreliable bus if I had to pay for the privilege.

Parking at most hospitals is both difficult and expensive now, and I'm sure that it is better for as many people as possible to use public transport to get there.

Like many others, I would also be happy to pay something for the pass, but I suspect that the administration of such a scheme would make the annual cost much higher than we would imagine or be willing to pay - particularly if it was means tested (the only really fair method).

Anyone know what it actually costs the National/Loal Government to provide the bus passes? How much of a dent in the overall budget is it? I'm very grateful for mine. We do have a car but use it far less than we would if we needed to pay for bus fares, which must be better for the environment. I also wonder about admin costs for an annual charge and also where the money would actually go. We have a number of elderly neighbours without cars. The bus is their lifeline. None have means tested benefits but all need to be careful in money management and have said they would struggle with bus fares, needing to cut back elsewhere to afford them or more likely spend much more time at home. Social isolation is a major cause of depressive illness, the bus passes are very important for many. I do wonder what is meant by 'well off pensioners' in relation to bus passes and the winter fuel allowance, do they mean those not in receipt of means tested benefit or those paying higher rate tax? I suspect there will be changes in 2020 if not before.

sorry, Local not Loal

Elrel, I'd love a meet up sometime. Shall I message you?

I wouldn't mind paying a small annual fee for my bus pass but am not sure whether the administrative costs of this would be worth it. I would go out less if I had to pay fares, even half price. Now I'm living on my own it would be easy to get isolated. I don't like bus travel as buses are so crowded and often there are arguments, but without a car it's the only way to get around.

According to at least one report, cornergran, every pound spent on the senior pass actually benefits society and the wider economy to the tune of £2.87. No doubt other studies will contradict this, but it sounds reasonable. I know friends of mine who have their pass say they get out a lot more because of it, which can only be of benefit to the economy and to their own well-being. I would certainly go into town more often if I had a pass, which would be good news for the local cafes and shops if not for my purse!

Oh, I forgot to add the link to the report I was referring to:

www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/09/scrapping-free-bus-travel-older-people-cost

Interesting, maggie, I do hope bus passes will continue to be available at state retirement age, thinking about it that in itself must have reduced the overall cost. It would be a sad day for many older people if they couldn't have free or very reduced price travel.

I use my Freedom pass most days. I don't drive and need pick up my various grandchildren from school two days a week when their parents are working . I visit my 94 year old mum twice a week ,do her shopping and collect prescitions . I would certainly not be able to pay the costly fares on my meagre pension .Without me my children would not be able to work and my mother would need social services support so I consider the Freedom pass cost effective, but I would be happy to pay a yearly £20.

We get the fantastic London Freedom Pass, which gives free travel on buses, underground and (after 9.30) trains.
But I do often think it's unfair that people,like us, who could afford to pay, should get free travel when younger people who are struggling with hefty mortgages/rent, childcare, etc., don't. Dh and I would be prepared to pay a fair bit for the sheer convenience of the FP.

OTOH, a point that is rarely made is that at least around here, they do keep a lot of cars off the roads and out of the car parks. I use my car far less since I've had the FP and I know of many others the same.

However we have friends and relatives in rural parts of Devon and Yorkshire who hardly ever have the opportunity to use their bus passes, except when they're staying with us or somewhere else with plenty of buses.

I get incensed by well off pensioners saying they would contribute towards this. My bus pass is my life line and without it trips would not happen most of the time. If I had to pay or it was withdrawn in the future I would be stuck. We are rural, and there is only so far I can get on a bike.

I wonder what is meant by well off pensioners. I asked my MP for a definition and he couldn't give me one. Can anyone else do better? Is there a generally accepted definition? Serious question, I'd love to know.

I had to apply for my Freedom pass and use it a lot. I think admin costs of people paying a small amount towards it would outweigh the benefit. I think if government went money towards it they should put it on the tax bill as a "benefit in kind" and then only the better off would pay towards it. However bus passes mean people get out and about and contribute to the economy and also keep buses running in rural areas

Whilst I don't (I am 55 and probably won't ever) qualify for a bus pass the system here in The NE these days TriciaF is that the bus pass is free and enables free bus travel throughout the region after 09.30. To use the Metro and Ferry you pay a once a year fee of £12. My dad has always said that he thinks there should be a charge per trip but it would be a guaranteed vote loser so no-one would dare suggest it.

We must be closer than I thought gillybob I've got a bus pass and a £12 Metro pass. I don't know how much the Metro pass costs to administrate. It used to be £25 and was still a bargain. I wouldn't mind paying a set amount each journey, as it is I know my 2 passes must save me around £1000 a year.

Maybe a 'well off pensioner' would be one who pays the higher rate of income tax?

Can I just point out that, even if you have a bus pass, nothing is stopping you from paying for the occasional trip if you would prefer to pay something. Using the pass isn't compulsory

Sorry going to make you all jealous now. We live in London so get free travel on the excellent bus service but not only that we also travel free on the London Underground, the Overground, Dockland Light Railway and certain Network Rail stations.

Although we don't pay for travel, we go up town a lot and buy food and drink at London prices and help keep that economy ticking over.

Would I be prepared to pay? Not volunteerily as once charges creep in they always go up.

If they cancelled the freedom pass I guess lots of people like us would either stop travelling or go back to using our cars which means more congestion.

Stop it now, overthehill I've just walked over two miles to the dentist and over two miles back to save the fiver it would have cost me on the bus. Looking on the bright side, I suppose it does at least keep me fit.