Hands off our bus passes!

By Ken Lacey - 15/09/2009

A recent report has thrown into question the cost effectiveness of free bus passes. Ken Lacey, Chairman of one of the UK’s most active older people’s groups, The Weston-super-Mare Senior Citizens Forum, takes issue with it.

 

The Local Government Association (LGA) recently commissioned a report by OXERA on the effectiveness of bus passes since the scheme was made national in 2007. They reported that because every person over 60 is entitled to a pass, the bus scheme was widely benefiting many people on higher incomes with access to cars, i.e. those not affected by social exclusion and accessibility issues.

 

This, of course, is against a background where many councils are complaining that part of the cost of the scheme is falling upon them.

 

It called for targeting, or means testing, to select those who deserve the privilege.  To begin with, can I say that the effectiveness of the LGA, the umbrella body for Councils, is doubtful and my local council (North Somerset Council) certainly feel they are next to useless and cancelled their membership subscription last year - saving the council tax payers £70,000.

 

But onto the main point. Yes, the bus pass scheme is expensive. My council paid out £2 million last year - and this was within the budget the Government allowed.  Other authorities have not been so lucky and part of the costs have fallen on council tax payers – some of whom are retired themselves. 

 

How do you estimate the cost of this scheme?  If your journey (say between Weston-super-Mare and Birmingham) starts in North Somerset then that Council foots the bill for the whole journey, and Birmingham would pay for the return journey to Weston.  This, of course, generates enormous difficulties for seaside resorts like Weston or Minehead, with many older visitors coming to those towns, but, nevertheless, that is what the Government agreed. And I would argue that it is the one good policy for pensioners that the Government finally agreed to and which has been a boon for many.

 

The scheme does much more than save pensioners the cost of a bus fare. One of the Government’s main motives in introducing the pass was to reduce our carbon footprint, to get cars off the road and save the planet; so, instead of paying more taxes for being green we got a little back!  Another was to reduce the isolation and loneliness that affect so many older people - and you don’t need to be means tested to feel isolated! 

 

It has been a Godsend to many elderly who feel they can hop on a bus to visit a park, a museum or their children.  It has given many an incentive to get out of the house, a motive to get moving, to help their fitness and widen the somewhat limited world in which many elderly are forced to live. 

 

Even if you do have a car, the cost of fuel limits what you can do, but with a bus pass the world is your oyster… except, of course, if you happen to live in a rural area and don’t actually have a bus to hop onto!

 

This idea of means testing pensioners is outrageous and I am going to step on hallowed ground when I say child benefits are not means tested; with working family credits you can earn up to £50,000 a year and still get them, so why must the elderly be discriminated against?  And it is those who are just outside the benefit area who are getting clobbered every time.

 

If the Government even considers means testing bus passes there will be an uproar.  Keep your hands off our passes!  It is the one thing you got right.