Nationwide Bus Travel

April 30th, 2008

As of 1 April 2008, over-60s in England will get a free bus pass to travel on all local bus networks.

The free off-peak service will benefit up to 11m people who are disabled, or aged over 60 and should make it possible to travel across the whole country with a National Travel Pass smart card.

Bus passes will be issued by concessionary bus pass providers. A full list of these is available at the DirectGov website.

If you have any queries, you should contact the bus pass provider for your area, usually the local authority.

The Local Government Authority has said that about 30 local councils are expecting shortfalls of up to £2m, prompting them to call on the Treasury to review its calculations for how much money will be given to individual councils to pay for the scheme. It is of particular concern to areas popular among tourists and shoppers which fear their bus services could be swamped.

* Pensioners in Scotland and Wales have already been able to enjoy free bus travel which allow over 60s free travel on buses at any time during the day. In Northern Ireland, over 65s get free travel on buses and trains and can travel over the border into the Republic of Ireland using the same pass.

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