English National Concessionary Travel Scheme

The new English National Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme bus pass

The English National Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme is a national scheme by the Department for Transport in conjunction with Local Authorities across England.

The scheme extended the provision of free bus travel within individual local authorities to allow travel throughout England from 1 April 2008.^[1] English residents over the age of 60 and eligible disabled people are provided with free off-peak bus travel on weekdays and all day at weekends and Bank Holidays.

Within Greater London, the card is branded as the Freedom Pass, and additionally allows access to London Underground, London Overground, Tramlink, Docklands Light Railway and National Rail services in zones 1-6 (National Rail limited to after 9:30am on weekdays, the rest at any time).

Costs

The scheme applies to about 11 million people, and the total cost is about 1 billion pounds i.e. less than 100 UKP per person. Channel 4's claim regarding 'millionaire pensioners' and that passes cost 1 billion UKP per year

Some reports state this figure as relating to all government bus subsidies [1], and not just the one for over-60s.

References

1. ^ "Concessionary bus travel". Department for Transport. http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses/concessionary/. Retrieved 2011-06-05. 

[2]