Jeremy Paxman says 'no votes for pensioners'

There is no way my very rich relatives ( and people like them) would give their passes up . They would think they have a right to them and sod the fact that youngsters on a small fraction of their income can’t afford to use the buses . It has to come from government and no party would dare . Pathetic isn’t it ?

It’s easy to take things off the young though.

YOU DO have the option of not taking your bus passes.
You don't have to go to the council offices and collect them in the first place.

Anybody got a response for the woman who rides around all day getting on and off buses as she does not even have enough money to put her heating on during the day?

There should be a cross party debate about bus passes to sort the problem out but I fear with the state of things in parliament this will not happen, which brings up the problem of first passed the post, but that's another problem.

I’m not sure I believe it dj although I don’t think that was the response you were looking for .

You are all heart, gillybob.
I do hope you are never in the position of being on your own and not being able to afford the heating.
So you haven't heard of fuel poverty?
Aren't you lucky.
Over 3 million pensioners are in fuel poverty.
2 million in financial poverty.

Personally, I thought the woman who gave that story was very inventive. It was on the local radio some time last year.
She was asked why she didn't get off and go to the pictures or get a coffeee, and she said she couldn't afford to.

Here's a response. That's about as subtle as a dustcart.

I think someone is trying to move the debate onto the wicked Tories and the good Labour.

I am “all heart” actually dj I never put myself first over anyone else ... ever .

You don’t know me and have no reason to be so bloody nasty .

You have no reason to disbelieve a pensioner who travels round on a bus pass all day because she cannot afford to heat her home.

You do realise that Gransnet is supported by AgeUK, don't you?
I wouldn't have known anything about Gransnet if it wasn't for AgeUK.

Do look at fuel poverty on their website.

So just because a couple of GNs know some rich people who use bus passes, free bus passes should be taken off everyone - where is the sense in that. It isn't compulsory to use the bus pass! Perhaps a lot of GNs are comfortably off and so paying for bus travel isn't a problem for them, however, there are many pensioners living on just their state pension and the free bus pass enables them to travel to shops, even if they can't afford to buy anything -they are at least out of the house. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. This is something I actually agree with dj on!

Giving her the benefit of the doubt then perhaps instead of parading her on the radio, someone should have done the decent thing and helped this lady out with her benefits.

No one is suggesting pensioners (rich or poor) should pay the fares that young people are forced to pay OldWoman70. Just a token £1 per trip or even 50p would be fairer.

Everyone can take snatches of this and snatches of that and use it to their own advantage as seems to be the case here no one knows the true status of this lady and of her circumstances. When I said options about using bus passes I meant the government should take the lead on this. It needs a cross party debate but sadly I see zero chance of getting one as all parties try to use them to their advantage.

Well I agree with Durhamjen as well. Our state pension is one of the lowest in Europe and now you want to take our bus passes as well.

ninny If you are referring to me then you quite obviously haven't been reading my posts.

I can't quite understand rich people collecting their bus passes - Surely such people can pay their own bus fare and leave this benefit for people who genuinely need it? Not to do so seems to me to be excessively selfish. D.H and I are certainly not well off, one of Mrs Mays JAM's in fact, but neither of us have even thought of collecting bus passes as we can manage without and will continue to do so. Perhaps one day we will need this help, but until that day arrives ours will stay firmly with the local authority.

Hard to believe that rich people do collect their bus passes, even harder to believe they actually use them!
Also hard to believe that a woman travels around on a bus all day every day to avoid using the heating.

Yes rich people do collect and use their bus passes lemon I know a few who do. They tend to use them to avoid costly parking charges in the city. Can't say I blame them really after all they are free to everyone, rich and poor. The same rich people who get a winter fuel allowance too. Its mad.

Ah, I see, for city trips.

I’ve been following this thread for ages (and even contributed earlier) but it’s quite ridiculous to be arguing about whether or not over 65s should have the vote. Democracy demands/expects everyone to have a vote. Simple. Though I fully expect plenty of you will tell me it isn’t.

I very much doubt that all but a small number of wealthy people regularly use their bus passes.

We are reasonably comfortably off but, given the amount of travel I do, I would think twice about using public transport if I didn't have my travel pass. For people who are struggling but who would be just outside a means tested limit they would probably only use public transport when absolutely essential. In the long run, I believe this would have an impact on older people's mental and physical health, which would also have cost implications.

When we have multi-millionaires and huge organisations evading or avoiding taxes, the wealthiest people paying ridiculously low council and inheritance tax, councillors like the one on our London News being wined and dined and given dozens of expensive gifts by property developers and the like, I refuse to feel guilty about benefiting from free travel.

Not your post Wally, I was responding to Gillybobs posts.

For the record ninny I DO NOT WANT TO TAKE YOUR BLOOMIN' BUS PASS !!

Please read my posts more carefully. I have suggested a token fare per trip of say £1 or even 50p. (still less than what children pay). I would be happy to see free travel being means tested and possibly introduced to cover poor young people and families too. I just don't see why better off pensioners should continue to receive totally free travel.