This report presents an update on concessionary travel in preparation for the introduction of a national concessionary bus travel pass for older and disabled people in England.

In the 2006 Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that free off-peak local bus travel anywhere in England for people aged 60 and over and eligible disabled people, resident in England, would be in place from April 2008. This will apply to travel from 9.30am to 11pm on weekdays, and all day at weekends and on bank holidays.

Under current arrangements, concessionaires are only eligible for statutory free off-peak travel within their own Transport Concession Authority (TCA) area, although TCAs have the discretion to offer additional travel concessions above the statutory minimum. Under the new concession, from April 2008 eligible pass holders will be able to board any local bus in England and be entitled to free off-peak travel as set out above. This entitlement will apply irrespective of which TCA issued their pass and where they wish to travel, as long as it is within England. TCAs will retain the ability to offer additional travel concessions above the statutory minimum which will only be available within the issuing TCA area or as agreed with neighbouring TCAs.

Outside London there are currently 291 TCAs that are responsible for issuing concessionary travel passes of their own design to their eligible residents; and Winchester City Council is one of these. Currently Winchester City Council is part of the Hampshire Scheme which is coordinated by Hampshire County Council and includes all the Districts with the exception of Fareham Borough Council. This enables pass holders to travel anywhere in Hampshire with the exception of Fareham Borough. The pass issued to Winchester District residents currently covers the period from 0900 to midnight.

When the National Scheme starts in April 2008 bus drivers throughout England will need to be able to recognise all of the different passes currently issued by TCAs. This would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do and would leave the system open to abuse through fraudulent production of fake passes. It could also lead to concessionaires with valid passes being denied access to buses because the driver does not recognise the pass. Therefore, in order for bus drivers throughout England to be able to recognise the proposed national entitlement for free bus travel, all passes will be produced to a single design and agreed standard.

Individual TCAs will retain responsibility for procuring the passes and ensuring that they are delivered to concessionaires for April 2008. Government has recognised that the issuing of new passes represents a new burden to TCAs. Although TCAs already have responsibility for issuing passes, the requirement to issue new passes to a standard design to all eligible concessionaires in their areas will impose some costs on issuing authorities. The Government is therefore intending to provide a grant to cover these costs. This is likely to be £2.90 for each pass issued but the exact amount has yet to be confirmed. To date we have been asked to submit an interim claim against the grant of £1.20 per pass (DfT projected figure for Winchester District is 17,400 entitled residents in 2008/09) and the remainder can be claimed in October when the total amount of grant per pass has been determined. This leaves a degree of uncertainty; however, the order for the new passes does not have to be placed until after October and Government has stated that it will fund this new burden so it is anticipated that the cost of smart card provision will not fall on the City Council. A letter received from the Department for Transport is attached as an appendix to this report which gives more detail.

TCAs are responsible for reimbursing bus operators for the costs they incur in transporting the over 60's and disabled persons through the concessionary travel scheme. The reimbursement rate is determined through various factors and considerations. Over the past two years, since the introduction of free travel concessions, this process has resulted in many claims across the country from bus operators who feel that the level of reimbursement does not cover the true costs that they have incurred. Many of these claims have resulted in legal actions and some claims have yet to be resolved. The Consultant (MCL) engaged through the Hampshire scheme is currently considering the impact of these claims and rulings in terms of how reimbursement rates will be calculated when the National Scheme starts in 2008/09. Estimates for these costs will be available in November. The Government currently provide additional funding to TCAs for concessionary travel as part of the general revenue support grant rather than as a specifically allocated and identifiable grant. This additional allocation has been allocated on the basis of population data which has resulted in some anomalies across the country and which has particularly impacted on places like Winchester where there are higher than average proportions of over 60s and fairly high levels of bus travel. As a result the City Council has received less additional funding compared to some other areas in the Country but has had to fund higher reimbursement costs due to the amount of concessionary travel in the district. The Government has acknowledged this issue and has allocated an additional £250m which will be distributed to TCAs in 2008/09. The method for allocating and distributing this additional funding is currently being determined and therefore the amount which the City Council will receive is not yet known..[Author ID1: at Fri Sep 7 16:24:00 2007 ]

The Government has already decided that those entitled to a bus pass will be issued with a standard format of pass card will can be used throughout the Country and for which a grant will be provided to meet the costs of such provision. This should be in the form of a smart card to allow for better recording of information and usage by users which will help with the calculation of reimbursement levels. Since the introduction of free bus passes Winchester City Council has been part of the Hampshire scheme and it is recommended that this remains the case and that the smart cards are procured through this partnership utilising MCL consultants.

The National scheme minimum standard is for travel concessions to apply between 9.30am and 11pm. The current concessions for Winchester District residents apply from 9am to midnight. The duration for which the concessions apply impacts on the cost of reimbursement to the bus companies so any increase in the time band will increase costs and any reductions would reduce the cost of reimbursement. It is recommended the National Scheme concession period allowing for free travel between 9.30am and 11pm is adopted from April 2008. This reflects ongoing concerns and uncertainties about how the Government will fund the scheme and the ability of the City Council to continue to meet the rising cost of the scheme. This approach (based on the actual costs of the scheme in 2006/07) will reduce costs by around 9% which in 2006/07 equated to £60,000. There are some uncertainties about this estimate as people may simply change the time at which they travel and hence there will still be a cost but overall it is anticipated that this would result in a reduction in scheme costs.. A further point to note is that bus pass holders from outside the City Council area will only be entitled to use their passes between 9.30 and 11pm even if the City Council allowed for free travel outside this period. There is a concern that bus drivers will not check passes properly and allow people from outside the City Council area to travel during the discretionary times hence increasing the City Council's costs even more.

A further discretionary element of the scheme, which the City Council currently allows, is for disabled persons to be issued with a concessionary travel pass for travelling companions. This increases the costs that the City Council pay in reimbursement to bus companies but is considered very important in order to assist disabled persons to travel and to access vital services. Currently 29 companion passes are issued costing around £4,300 p.a.

The bus passes (smart cards) can be issued for a period of up to 5 years. It is recommended that passes in Winchester District are issued for 3 years. This seems a sensible period and will allow for the register of eligible residents to be updated and passes withdrawn as necessary. A five year period may result in a number of invalid passes remaining in circulation and would not allow for any revaluation of the scheme in the mean time.

DfT Consultation on Specifications for a National concessionary bus travel pass for older and disabled persons in England.

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