Free Bus Pass scheme labelled "unsustainable& quot;

rafichagran

I don't agree that bus passes should only be available to people on pension credit, UC, some older people are living on state pension alone, and they really could not afford to lose the freedom pass.

Absolutely. Means testing just deters people from making provision for themselves. It's really unfair, divisive, and mean-spirited, IMO.

I’ve never understood why the taxpayer has had to subsidise people purely on the basis of age. It needs scrapping and starting again. It should be means tested for all. If people can afford to pay for bus passes, prescriptions and tv licences then so they should. Help really ought to be targeted at the poor, regardless of age. Especially now when there are so many crippling bills for poorer pensioners and families.

How would you decide who could afford those things and who couldn't?

Seriously - what gives someone the right to decide which outgoings are 'worthy' and which 'extravagances' that someone has no right to after a lifetime of working? And what about spending? If you have saved so that your old age can be comfortable, should someone who hasn't be given things that you have to pay for? Why?

Although I don’t have a bus pass and no buses to use it on, they must be a lifeline for many people who don’t have a car and can’t afford a taxi. Just to be able to get out and exchange a smile and a friendly greeting means so much to people who are lonely and isolated. In fact it means so much to all of us. But even the current low fares may be too much for many, if getting out on the bus is their sole means of contact with others. I would strongly oppose bus passes ceasing or being subject to a means test. So many wouldn’t want to apply. Maybe, if absolutely necessary, a small annual charge. There but for the grace of God …

Well said, GSM.

And remember when you read that, I vote Conservative.

If the free travel goes then so many of us would cut down our many outings. We would have to be selective about journeys and local trade would soon notice a difference. Also, a chance to get out and visit places is essential for the mental health of so many elderly people. We use local buses and because of this we have recently given up our car. Without the freedom pass so many will keep driving past the age when they are safe to do so. Or will remain in their homes while rapidly declining in their ability to remain independent. I have chatted so many times to people I don’t know but who enjoy perhaps their only chance of normal spoken communication. With bills soaring even those who are not on pension credit would find the cost of regular bus fares a burden.

👍🏻

Skydancer

I heard that bus passes were given to pensioners because UK pensions were so low. No idea if it's true.

The reason UK pensioners get these concessions, eg bus passes, TV licences, Christmas bonus, is so they they can take them away again if they wish as they're not incorporated into the State Pension.

Germanshepherdsmum

And remember when you read that, I vote Conservative.

I have voted Conservative in the past, not anymore though, but I agree with everything you have said GSM

That is so true Lovetopaint. People still driving in their 90s.
Already in Scotland now that youngsters, all Under 22, have bus passes they are getting used to using public transport which makes so much sense.

During an oil crisis some years ago, when petrol was short, I met a woman on the bus who told me she had never been on a bus in her life despite living on a bus route.
She said she didn't know what to do or where they went!

Our DGC have bus passes and it is now cheaper for them to use their passes in their towns and cities than to be taken everywhere in the car, including coming over 100 miles to visit us, so win-win as far as we're concerned! We use ours to do the 50 mile trip to our nearest city as well as for shorter trips, and it is good to see the buses being used - more cars off the road.

Thanks rafichagran. I will do so again and hope you might consider doing that too.

A friend is cursing the free passes for under 22’s in Scotland. Her almost-a-teen boy has gone off the rails now he can go anywhere. He’s roaming round nearby town with all sorts of older undesirables at 10:30pm etc. She’s tearing her hair out trying to stop him.

Confiscate it while he’s asleep!

I’ve got one, although it’s very rarely used. I was told, not verified, that if the criteria were changed for new applicants, existing holders would get theirs renewed.

He needs it for school! If he doesn’t come from school it can’t be confiscated.

Also, I forgot to say, his parents are divorced and his father, shall we say, has differing standards of child-rearing.

I use my bus pass all the time .
I'd be stuck without it .
0n Tuesdays , I watch elderly people putting food back on the shelves at Iceland as they can't afford it .
I am shocked at their unkempt appearance .
So the free telly has been taken away in homes that you can't afford to heat ...what's next Euthanasia Centers ?

I expect that we'll be charged for using them .

I've heard complaints about school kids queuing at bus stops for journeys they used to walk. Nothing is perfect is it, but I am glad that the Scottish government is at least addressing the climate crisis

It is in my memory that bus passes were bought each year - maybe it differs from local council to council?
I know my mum used to buy hers because she was actually quite upset when it became free - would prefer to pay her way than rely on charity was the reasoning.

If the Freedom pass is withdrawn I’d be happy to buy a travel pass. I like the convenience, not hunting for change, etc.

My mother got her bus pass in the 80s when we were living in Cornwall. She used to get very cross when the media went on about pensioners and their free bus passes because she had to pay for hers every year.

If the boy isn't yet a teen suedonim its his parents responsibility to make sure he has guidance /rules about when he comes home and to enforce them Its not the SNP's remit to police bad parenting.Well not as far as I'm aware.I have 4 GC who use the passes to go from their village to the nearest town 15 miles away,thats where they go to school /work.One of my GD's volunteers with adults who have physical and mental disabilities.Her pass pays her fares.She just got an award for the number of hours she has completed this year.She's 16

The life-blood of cities, towns and villages is people - footfall in cafes, restaurants, theatres, cinemas, galleries, markets, etc, and shops; small independent retailers and chain stores and supermarkets.

The more difficult it is made to travel to these places, the more they will die and become boarded-up, desolate centres and streets, and then people will ultimately stop going out because there's nothing to go out for and no transport to get there. We'll end up sitting in our homes ordering everything on line and the only individuals out on the roads will be the fast-food delivery guys and girls.

OK, a bit of an exaggeration but small towns and villages are becoming cultural and commercial wastelands.

Parking for private vehicles is becoming more and more difficult and expensive and public transport is declining rapidly.

Both need a re-think. It shouldn't be beyond the wit of any government to recognise that we need both affordable parking and affordable and integrated public transport. IMO neither should be cash-cows nor run for profit. And for the sake of the environment, let alone the mental and physical well-being of the public and the prosperity of commerce we need to demand that we have a well-run public transport system - run at cost.

... and pigs might fly one day...