Freedom passes no longer completely free.

[SweetiePi3]

During lockdown, people with freedom passes were not allowed to use tfl transport before 9.30 am. This took away their right to be used 24 hours. Since lockdown this has not been revoked. Do tfl think that people with a freedom pass never need to travel before that, whatever the reason?

I had to Google what a Freedom Pass is, but it looks like a card that offers free off-peak travel on TfL for people over retirement age. Seems fair enough to me that it has restrictions. My family railcard can't be used on peak services either.

Off peak seems like a good enough benefit to me, particularly the 60+ one.

It never made any sense to me that it wasn't even linked to retirement age. At home point FIL was getting free travel to work, earning about 6x mine and DH salary in a senior consultant role while we paid full price.

It'd always been the same for bus passes for seniors around the country

YABU. Of course people eligible for freedom passes may want to travel before 9.30am but they can pay like the rest of us. Free and discounted tickets are often used to encourage people who can to shift to off peak hours.

@Sissynova I had a boss that did that too - it was infuriating.

The rest of you may be able to pay, not all of us are able to continue working and can afford to.
You're not considering that we may need to travel for medical reasons or other early appointments.
I'm glad a FIL can afford it, but he can still travel home again or anywhere after that.

Yeah sorry but I think that's fair. It's so the buses get used off peak - the bus company get paid by the council presumably at a lower rate than they would if it were a paying passenger. Aren't the bus prices capped?

Disabled people can still use a freedom pass before 9.30am. I'm told by a bus driver there was a belief that a lot of 'elderly' people were actually using freedom passes to go to work.

There's also people who believe that the earth is flat. Believing something doesn't mean its true

If they were allowed before 9:30 then buses and tubes would be even more packed then they are at the moment with people who have the whole day to ride around

I thought you could still use any of these concessionary passes before 9.30am if you had an appointment letter or proof of appointment. Certainly the case with NEXUS in the NE but obviously people who need these passes may also need to travel before 9.30 without an appointment or 'need' they can prove.

It's over 60 - not even retirement age.
V happy with mine - most mornings I pay to travel into work, unless I go in later (allegedly flexitime), but I'm well aware my colleagues are mostly earning less than me and paying for all their travel.

If you're on a very low income you can sometimes claim your travel expenses back from the hospital.

& it's before 9am rather than 9.30
My local tube station it takes so long to get to the platforms after you've been through the gate that the cards seem to work from 8.55

I don’t think people could ever use the Freedom Pass on the trains before 9.30. I find it odd that you can use it on buses all the time, the tube from 9am and trains from 9.30 or perhaps 10 on some lines. It discriminates against those without access to the tube, often those living in poorer areas.

However, it is a great thing to support older people getting out and about, staying active, travelling independently - I’m sure it pays for itself many times over in health and social benefits. It also means those who may be unsafe to drive (& I know lots of really good drivers in their 80s) are incentivised and supported to use public transport, especially with the expansion of ULEZ this summer.

TFL need to save money.

Freedom passes are to get older retired people out and about, and using transport when it is less busy - off peak times.

Yes you may have a hospital appointment before 9am, but so do younger people and not all of them can get free/reduced travel or their travel costs reimbursed.

Lots of people struggle to afford to travel on public transport, especially those commuting for work to low paid jobs. For years, 2 hours’ wage on each of my daily shifts went on paying to get to and from work.

It should be means-tested, not just given to everyone of a certain age. I work with so many people who travel to and from work free and they all out-earn me because they’re so senior.

"Have the whole day to ride around"?. There are a lot of needs that aged people may have to travel early to have attended to.

Oh a big joke for me is I have siblings who are eligible for 60+ passes. They WFH.

Then they can pay like everyone else unless they are entitled to a disabled persons pass.

It's not just buses, it's any tfl service even the underground.

It also costs more for everyone else to travel at peak times. If you have attached a Railcard to your Oyster and check the fares that go from your account, you will see that you are charged more for single journeys at peak times. The Railcard reduction doesn't apply.
Also Freedom passes and 60+ Oysters are from 9 am. They are a fantastic deal that Johnson tried to take away from Londoners as a condition of offering Tfl a bail out during the pandemic. The mayor fought to keep them. That plus the fact it would probably wipe out the few remaining Tory MP from the capital at the next opportunity (which hopefully will happen anyway).

Old people don’t need to be going around in commuter rush hour (unless going to work, in which case pay for your commute).
If it’s for hospital appt, just move it til later in the day

Once you have made around three journeys (peak or off peak) in a day on any Tube, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail or National Rail train within Zones 1-6 using Oyster/contactless you will pay no more and will be able to travel for free for the rest of the day. So now who's got all day to ride around?

Please understand that you are getting something FOR FREE.

The rest of us are paying for you to have this Freedom Pass for free while we pay for our tickets. Some restrictions are reasonable. You are not being prevented from travelling, you just have to pay like the rest of us.