Updated

Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 18

England Extends Free 24-Hour Bus Travel to 1 Million Disabled People From April 1

Updated

Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 18

England Extends Free 24-Hour Bus Travel to 1 Million Disabled People From April 1

Q: Why are older pensioners excluded from England's upcoming 2027 policy granting 24/7 free bus travel to disabled passengers?

Older pensioners are excluded because the new 2027 change is not a general expansion of free bus travel for everyone with a concessionary pass; it is a targeted reform for disabled pass holders only. The government has framed the measure around a specific problem disabled people face under the current rules: many cannot use their passes for early-morning work journeys, hospital appointments, education, training or evening travel. Ministers said the policy is intended to cut the extra costs linked to disability and help more disabled people access jobs and daily activities. That is why the £60 million funding package was designed specifically for disabled passengers. Older people in England remain covered by a separate concessionary scheme. Their bus pass entitlement is tied to the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme for older persons, which still generally allows free weekday travel only from 9:30am, with all-day travel at weekends and on bank holidays unless a local authority funds more generous hours. Eligibility for that older-person pass is also linked to State Pension age, which is rising from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028. So the exclusion is not because pensioners have lost existing rights, but because the policy announced for April 2027 addresses disability-related barriers rather than the older-person scheme. Any move to give pensioners 24/7 free bus travel would require a separate national policy decision and funding settlement.

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 18

About 1 million disabled people in England will be able to use concessionary bus passes at any time from April 1, ending weekday limits that currently start only at 09:30.
The government said the £60 million scheme will help cut living costs and remove barriers to work and evening travel, with funding coming from the transport and work departments.
Scope and Transport for All welcomed the move as a way to ease daily travel and reduce the postcode lottery created by different local rules, while Conservatives questioned how the policy would be funded.
Greater Manchester already removed similar time restrictions earlier this year, and the change brings England closer to broader free-travel support already available to disabled passengers in Scotland and Wales.