Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Freedom Pass under threat?
The government has suggested it may slash funding for the free travel scheme enjoyed by tens of thousands of elderly and disabled Londoners.
Minister for Transport Sadiq Khan said his department will review the £58million that was previously earmarked for London town halls to subsidise the pass in 2010/11.
London Councils, the umbrella body for local authorities in the capital, says each borough may lose up to £1m in funding, leaving councils with the unenviable choice of picking up the tab for the concessionary off-peak fare scheme, or making cuts.
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Minister for Transport Sadiq Khan said his department will review the £58million that was previously earmarked for London town halls to subsidise the pass in 2010/11.
London Councils, the umbrella body for local authorities in the capital, says each borough may lose up to £1m in funding, leaving councils with the unenviable choice of picking up the tab for the concessionary off-peak fare scheme, or making cuts.
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Tags for Forum Posts: buses, freedom pass, older people, public spending cuts, public transport
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by maggie on
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I am a few days away from getting mine and was really looking forward to it, a sort of rites of passage into the 'third age', it means that however broke I will be living on a pension at least I will be able to use public transport. So as far as I am concerned they can cancel trident, tax the bankers until the pips squeak but hands off the Freedom Pass and local services.
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Hear hear, Maggie. I see a revolting Grey Panthers Brigade in the making. Let them close down the schools instead or we hold onto our Council Tax. What has posterity ever done for us?
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Permalink Reply by David T on
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I wondered when this would happen - while just about every other service is being cut so that the
wbankers can continue to be filthy rich why should this group not share the pain?
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When have pensioners not shared the pain, try living on £95 a week. Anyway I said hands off the Freedom Pass AND local services. Yes I'm grey and I'm proud!
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Maggie - sorry if my message seemed unsympathetic - it was meant to be dripping with irony. I'm with you 100%
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That goes for me too, Maggie - sorry if you missed that. Only things I resent about the so-called 'Freedom' Pass is that it isn't free and that it's stamped "Paid for by your Local Council". No it isn't. Yes, I've had it for the past five years and my wife has it this year - for which + refuse/recycling collection we pay £2,500 Council Tax per annum + what we've paid in all sorts of tax for the previous forty years. I'm serious when I say the Grey Panthers may have to revolt over this - so I hope Transport Minister Sadiq Khan's ma and da will join us.
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Thanks guys, I had a brief irony bypass but am ok now. As a first step I searched online for any petitions/ campaigns, the Lib Dems have a petition (couldn't find anything independent). A revolting Grey Panthers Brigade sounds good to me.
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Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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Permalink Reply by Malcolm on
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What's wrong with making this means-tested? Giving all over-65s, some of whom may well still be working or living on comfortable pensions (Sir Fred anyone?) a free bus pass seems daft.
If you want to subsidise public transport then either subsidise it for everyone, or make it dependent on income so that the money helps the poor rather than the wealthy.
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Malcom
A bus pass is only a negative on the bus company (and therefore taxpayers) revenues if the pass holder gets on a bus and takes up seating displacing paying (oyster or ticket) riders.
Someone like me who dosen't use my buspass every day or a 'wealthy' person (who probably wouldn't bother applying for a 'free' pass) using their pass are not exacting much or any negatives from revenue. Therefore, on a sliding scale, only those who 'need' to use their passes will do so.
Thus the system 'means tests' users automatically.
In other words only those who NEED to use the pass would use it. One can't imagine hordes of wealthy folk applying for a free pass for no other reason that they can.
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