To think free bus passes for the old should be abolished?

[Bumpitybumper]

Statistics show that on average wealth peaks at age 65-74 in the UK, why then do we give these people free bus passes? It makes absolutely no sense at all and is just an unnecessary expense. The idea that 'young' pensioners are a relatively poor group of people is completely incorrect and it only serves to enhance the already massive intergenerational wealth gap between baby boomers and everyone else.

I am in Scotland. I have a free bus pass. However, I have a very poor bus service- one per hour 7am- 6 pm , none on Sundays. So I use my car. I am 63.

Thing is, if I don’t use the bus pass, the council doesn’t pay. I have to scan it to use it . The council pays on usage.

@Bumpitybumper
Your graph was showing the percentage of each group living in poverty, not the ACTUAL MONEY each group had on average.
Those in their 50s probably have the most actual cash because they will be at the top of their career, maybe paid off their mortgage or have a lower one, and aren't paying for childcare.
It's unlikely to be those aged 65-74.
My income will drop by at least half when I retire at 67.

My mum has dementia and had to give up her car. She absolutely relies on the bus pass and as she can't carry money because she loses it, would quite often be stranded alone without her bus pass which is attached to her bag. I think it's a vital life line for some people to be able to get out and about. We live in a not very wealthy area and the older people all travel by bus. I think it's a great thing and should be kept.

Statistics can be used in so many ways. The number of pensioners (classed as over 65 in the ONS) who are living in material deprivation has risen by 2% since 2020.

Anecdotes of relatives with material wealth do not correlate to what is going on for many people as they get older. I believe many would also be less likely to use a food bank.

I'm getting more and more annoyed by these ageist threads which pop up on a daily basis now.

As someone else pointed out, free nursery places for all children isn't means tested either but I would hazard a guess that's it's used more widely than free
Bus passes for "wealthy pensioners" who can afford it

All of the wealthy older people I know don’t take the bus. Why would you when you can get into your big comfortable car in the garage and drive to wherever you want whenever you want?
The alternative where I live is to trudge 10 minutes through the rain, to wait in the cold for a bus that might or might not arrive and can often be 20 minutes late.

I believe it's only in Wales, Scotland and N.I everyone gets it at 60, plus in London people get free bus/tube travel. In the West Midlands we certainly do not get it at 60. It's very unfair that some parts of England get it but not others. It keeps older people off the roads a bit more plus it saves money for the NHS because people who go out are less likely to be depressed so cost the NHS money. I would agree with means testing but for all of England. I know Scotland, Wales and NI are devolved so a matter for them to decide.

I think he might have as he brought the subject up.

DH and I got our bus passes at age 60 but we hardly ever use them. We prefer to drive or take the train. The people who really need them will be using them a lot but there will be loads like us who don't use them much. It's probably cheaper to administer the scheme to everyone in the knowledge that plenty people won't use them often.

yawn…..just another goady, boomer hating moron looking for clicks! Please just walk away form the keyboard and do everyone a favour.

Like @Dearg I have an hourly bus service. OH needs the car for work (not on a bus route) so although the bus service isn't great I have no option buf to use it so am glad it's free.
I need frequent hospital appointments so luckily all buses call in at the hospital

If they are sitting on a massive asset why are the taxpayers subsidising them and thereby allowing them to hold on to their children's inheritance

Presumably then they haven’t applied for or used a free bus pass ?

You’re a few years too late OP. With the current CoL following a few decades where wages have been driven down, and housing costs up, most people in their 50’s now are unlikely to have a wealth peak at 60-70, if at all. God help those that are younger!

Imagine being so bitter and resentful that you begrudge giving pensioners a free bus pass.

Other struggling people aren’t the problem, OP.

Do they use the bus? I have a bus pass. I have a car.There are a couple of buses a day from our village, each taking over an hour to reach one of the nearby towns roughly 10-15 mins drive away
I have never been on one of these buses in over 25 years of rural life. However, when I can no longer drive I may use the bus. My bus pass isn’t costing anybody anything. I don’t begrudge those without a car or who are no longer able to drive having a pass.

I haven't read past page one as I'm pissed off at yet another ageist thread that assumes all old people are rich and living in massive mortgage free houses with big cars on the drive. As a 60 year old widow, trying to survive on a meagre private pension (had to give up work to care for recently deceased DH), awaiting a knee operation, a free bus pass is a small benefit for me. I agree with means testing, but not an outright ban.

Depends where you get your stats from. This disagrees with your figures.

https://raceequalityfoundation.org.uk/news/pensioner-poverty-on-the-rise-after-50-years-of-progress/

yep. Sounds like a policy the OP would support

Unless they’re the royals they will be paying inheritance tax.

I’ve got no problem with it, but we do have a very regular bus service here. The buses go past with one or two people max on them for most of the day. I can’t see why they run so often and why it has to be a double decker every 15 minutes?

these people - couldn‘t read any more of this offensive diatribe

Trouble is it costs more to means test than just issue to all who want one. If your FIL has a range rover it's unlikely he's using the pass anyway

Well, there's nothing else for them to do. Not running during the day would only save fuel. You're not going to get drivers only working the morning and evening peaks (going home during the day!) and pointless paying them all day to sit in the staff room. Likewise the costs of leasing the buses won't be that different whether they're driving around all day or just peak times. A lot of rail services are the same, just carrying around a lot of fresh air during the day and later evenings, but packed like sardines in the morning and evening peaks.

67 in Essex

It's a green policy, keeps cars off the road. Also helps to keep overall bus services running. I'm in Scotland where everyone younger than 22 or over 60 gets a pass. It's a great policy.