DEPARTMENT FOR
TRANSPORT News Release (054) issued by COI News Distribution Service
on 28 April 2009
Plans to improve
the delivery of the concessionary bus pass scheme were announced
today by Transport Minister Paul Clark, as he launched a
consultation on possible changes to the way the scheme is administered.
One option being considered is to give county councils
responsibility for running the scheme. Currently administration of
the scheme is mainly handled by district councils, but the
Government believes a change will simplify the system and allow
for the more accurate distribution of funding.
Local Authorities receive around £1 billion to fund the statutory
concessionary bus pass scheme in their area, which gives 11
million older and disabled people free off-peak bus travel across England.
Paul Clark said;
"Concessionary travel is a successful and popular policy. A
recent survey suggests around 95% of the population believe
it's right that older and disabled people are entitled to
travel for free on off-peak buses.
"We're confident there is enough money in the system,
but we need to ensure that the right structures are in place to
administer it.
"I look forward to hearing people's views on how to
guarantee that pass holders get the most out of this billion pound
scheme and concessionary travel remains sustainable for the future."
The administrative arrangements for concessionary travel have
remained the same since the statutory minimum bus concession was
introduced in 2001. Since then various changes have been made to
improve and extend the scope of the concession, and in April last
year the limitation of local area only travel was replaced by free
England-wide off-peak bus travel.
Notes to editors
1. 'Possible changes to the administration of concessionary
travel; Consultation Paper' can be found here; http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/concessionarytravel
2. The consultation considers various changes including;
* leaving things as they currently are;
* moving administration to the higher tier (mainly county councils);
* or centralising it with DfT or one of its agencies.
3. The consultation also seeks views on the provision of extra
entitlements provided by local authorities at their own cost, in
addition to the statutory minimum of off-peak free travel. If a
decision were made to move concessionary travel to a higher tier,
there are various options for how the concession could be tailored
to local needs and the Government is interested in our
stakeholder's views on this issue.
4. For further information on the England-wide Bus Concession
please visit; http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses/concessionary/
5. From 1st April 2008 people aged 60 or over, and eligible
disabled, whose principle residence is England, were able to take
advantage of free off-peak local bus travel anywhere in England.
Off-peak is 9.30am to 11pm on weekdays and anytime on weekends and
Bank Holidays. These criteria are unaffected by the consultation.
6. The bus concession covers free off-peak local bus travel in
England for people aged 60 or over or people who are eligible
disabled. It does not cover national coach travel or other modes
of transport. However, individual Travel Concession Authorities
(TCAs) are able to extend the travel benefits (such as to tubes,
trains and all day travel) at their own discretion. These
additional benefits are funded by the relevant TCA and so are
likely to be available only to people living in the TCA's
area. Information on eligible services can be found here; http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses/concessionary/informationlocalauthorities/eligibleservices/servicechanges.
7. People are advised to contact their local pass provider or
visit http://www.direct.gov.uk/buspass
for details of any local benefits. Local discretionary additions
are unaffected by this consultation and will continue to operate
on a local level.
8. In 2001, a half price off-peak local bus travel statutory
minimum concession was introduced in England for people aged 60 or
over, or eligible disabled, within their local travel area. In
2006, this was extended to free off-peak local bus travel. From
1st April 2008 the concession was extended to free off-peak local
bus travel throughout England. Additional funding of £217 million
is being provided to local authorities this year by a special
grant purely to cover the cost of extending the concession to
England-wide travel.
Public Enquiries: 020 7944 8300
Department for Transport
Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk