Ticketing and Concessionary Travel on Public Transport - United ...

Ev 82 Transport Committee: Evidence
<strong>Concessionary</strong> Fares—the Right Strategy?
10. Is the Government’s concessionary fares strategy, including the proposed scheme for concessionary bus
travel, adequate?
The scheme proposed by the Government for introduction in 2008 is still very rough at the edges, <strong>and</strong> we
believe that there need to be significant changes if it is fully to meet the needs of those it is intended to benefit.
On 16 November 2006 the Chairman of London <strong>Travel</strong>Watch wrote to Gillian Merron MP, Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State, in the following terms:
“We have serious concerns about the proposed Bill to implement a concessionary fares scheme
giving free travel to people with disabilities <strong>and</strong> those over 60 on the English local bus network.
Whilst we welcome this, we are very concerned that it is too narrowly focused on the bus as a mode
of transport, rather than on the travel needs of individual users.”
“Currently the proposal would exclude the use of any concessionary bus pass on trams <strong>and</strong> other
forms of transport. Whilst we accept that you propose to give discretion to local authorities to
include other modes in their concessionary fares schemes; in practice this will probably only
happen in a very piecemeal fashion. This will result in confusion as to where <strong>and</strong> when such passes
may be used, <strong>and</strong> discrimination against those persons who because of the nature of their location
or disability sometimes cannot use buses.”
“For example, in our area Croydon Tramlink is regarded as part of the bus network. This is
because when it was constructed it replaced a significant number of local bus services which were
ab<strong>and</strong>oned, curtailed or reduced in frequency. I realise that you, in conjunction with London
Local Authorities, intend to preserve the benefits currently available under the Freedom Pass.
However, in the case of many Surrey residents who view Croydon as their local shopping centre,
their pass will be valid on the feeder bus to the tram interchange but not on the tram for the major
part of their journey. In other cases it may be that community transport or dial-a-ride services are
more appropriate, either because local bus services do not exist, or the local bus stop is too far
away for them to walk, or the bus is not physically accessible—whereas virtually all tram <strong>and</strong> light
rail systems are fully accessible. Under the new scheme it would be very odd that some people could
use the tram free while others who live a few yards down the same road could not.”
“Can I urge you to consider revising your proposal, to widen the scope of the concessionary fares
scheme to include trams or similar quasi-bus transport, as well as buses themselves? If you would
like to meet to discuss this further I would welcome the opportunity.”
The Government’s concessionary fares strategy is also deficient in that it only applies to people over 60
<strong>and</strong> those with disabilities (<strong>and</strong> to those categories of railcard which have statutory protection). There is no
discernable strategy for targeting other potential beneficiaries such as children, students in full time higher
education or jobseekers. Any initiatives to assist these groups have been largely left to local decision makers,
either in local government or the transport industry itself. The cost of fares for families travelling together
by public transport can be very high if child fares are only 75 or 50% of the cost of an adult fare, <strong>and</strong> will
exceed the perceived the costs of car (or even taxi) travel for a similar journey. This is particularly important
for low income families.
It is noteworthy that in a number of schemes around Britain (such as park <strong>and</strong> ride in Salisbury <strong>and</strong>
Cambridge, <strong>and</strong> the Mayor of London’s free travel scheme for accompanied under-11s) significant modal
shift has been achieved from car to public transport where accompanied children travel free, as this has
reduced the overall cost of travel by public transport for the family group. The availability of free or reducedcost
home to school or college transport also has a significant impact on the ability of children from low
income families to access education facilities sited too far from their homes to be within reasonable walking
or cycling distance.
However, there are a number of lessons to be learnt from the London experience of free travel on buses
for under 16s. The availability of such a concession can also have the eVect of attracting children to use
public transport for short journeys who had previously walked or cycled, as well as those who had previously
been taken by car. Some will take advantage of it to make unnecessarily short hops or, conversely, to travel
continuously from end to end of a route. There must be robust procedures in place to ensure that the
privilege of free or reduced cost travel is not abused, <strong>and</strong> can be withdrawn as a penalty for inappropriate
behaviour.
11. Are concessionary fares schemes suYciently integrated across diVerent modes of transport <strong>and</strong> diVerent
geographical areas?
Unlike most other local government services, concessionary fares are really a universal benefit which is
unrelated to the locality, as has been recognised in Wales <strong>and</strong> Scotl<strong>and</strong>. While it may be convenient to use
local authorities as agents for issuing passes, it makes little sense for each authority to be negotiating
separate settlement arrangements with operators, or devising not-always-consistent criteria governing
eligibility on grounds of disability (or entitlement to concessionary travel for escorts). Once all authorities’
schemes are required to be (a) issued free to users, (b) valid for free travel at the point of use countrywide,