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

79. <strong>Concessionary</strong> bus travel costs around £1 billion each year. Local authorities in
Engl<strong>and</strong> reimbursed bus operators some £712 million for concessionary travel in
2006/07. 72 The additional cost of the national scheme from April 2008 is £223 million in
2008/09, allocated to local authorities in Special Grant. The Government has also paid local
authorities some £31 million to issue the new national concessionary travel passes. In
addition, it has funded ITSO Services Ltd to support the 253 ‘non-smart’ travel concession
authorities.
80. The experience of Scotl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> Wales is that free national travel leads to significant
additional dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> questions have arisen regarding the overall affordability of these
schemes. 73 In Engl<strong>and</strong>, growth in ridership as a result of the free local bus travel introduced
in 2006 has been significant. “For example all PTE areas who previously had flat fare
concessionary schemes are reporting 20%–30% increases in use, <strong>and</strong> this may rise further
as pass-holders gain a better underst<strong>and</strong>ing of the travel opportunities presented by the bus
network.” 74 The Government acknowledges that the turn-around in bus ridership outside
London is primarily due to concessionary travel. 75
81. The costs of concessionary travel are set to grow in real terms as bus industry costs
<strong>and</strong> fares are increasing faster than inflation. Outside London, concessionary travel
support exceeds the amount spent on supporting non-commercial bus services. (The
Mayor of London provides a high level of revenue support for all bus services.) It is
important that national concessionary travel is properly funded.
82. <strong>Concessionary</strong> travel authorities continue to be concerned about the rising costs of
concessionary travel <strong>and</strong> the distribution of funds by the Government. 76 The Government
has described the new funding as “generous” <strong>and</strong> says “We are confident this funding will
be sufficient in aggregate.” 77 We accept that the Government has increased the funding to
local authorities for concessionary travel <strong>and</strong> that, in aggregate, it may be sufficient.
However, this does not mean that the right amount always goes to the right places.
83. The Government has consulted on funding arrangements <strong>and</strong> modified them in the
light of representations. 78 For 2008/09, the Government has adopted a formula based on a
combination of eligible population, bus passenger journeys, overnight visitors <strong>and</strong> retail
floor space. However, this is a least-bad system <strong>and</strong> there remain winners <strong>and</strong> losers.
84. Some travel concession authorities receive significantly more than they spend whilst
others are out of pocket. We were given the examples of Cheshire, Cumbria <strong>and</strong>
Northamptonshire which show that, although the aggregate grant may be adequate, travel
72 Department for Transport, Transport Statistics Great Britain 2007, Table 6.14
73 Local Transport Today 488, 22 February 2008, p9
74 Ev 87
75 Department for Transport, Autumn Performance Report 2007, Cm 7266, December 2007, p31
76 Ev 196 <strong>and</strong>, following the announcement of the 2008/09 Special Grant allocation, Local Transport Today 484, 20
December 2007, p1
77 Department for Transport, National Bus <strong>Concessionary</strong> Fares: Additional Special Grant Funding Key Points <strong>and</strong> FAQs,
www.dft.gov.uk/pgr
78 Department for Transport, Consultation Response Document: Local Authority special grant funding for the 2008
national bus concession in Engl<strong>and</strong>, 19 February 2008
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