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.

Yes, I'm staying on topic with the thread. 🤔

@Bumpitybumper

I am on a double decker right now full of pensioners taking it for fun

A double decker full of pensioners?

Are you sure you haven't joined the local care home day trip

Yeah bashing people of a certain age group yet again

Speaking as one of “these people” OP, you are coming across as bitter, ageist and in many ways not fully informed. Yes, I am comfortable, but that’s because I did well at school, worked whilst still studying, made the most of the opportunities that came my way, never got into debt, only purchased things I could afford, wasn’t a slave to having everything for my home, had the ability to do a lot of things like doing up an old house, mending a second hand car, etc… myself, and I married someone with a similar life and work ethic. In short we worked bloody hard for decades without a break to get to pension age, have never needed benefits of any kind thankfully, and despite being old enough, haven’t yet applied for our bus passes, and hopefully it will be another decade or so before we do. With luck, one day you will reach the age where you can take advantage (if you need to) of a small perk to keep you getting out and about safely and still socialising, but be aware that getting old isn’t really that much fun if you lose mobility, the capacity to drive, see your friends and peer relatives dying. My generation has been a bit lucky, but then we made a lot of our luck and opportunities and did without a lot more than many do in their younger lives nowadays.

Agism isn't just going on about a certain age group

It's stating incorrect facts and generalisations about that age group that are negative and lead to division of society and hatred towards that age group

Jealousy and hatred of the "boomer" generation comes out strong

You do realise that if they all stopped using the bus then the service might become unsustainable? It's not a given that they would either pay or drive instead.

What difference does it make who is filling up the seats? Take away all those pesky freeloading pensioners, then it’s just you and one other deserving traveller. The bus company might decide that bus isn’t needed at that time anymore.

Prof Sir John Hills of the London School of Economics found that baby boomers were, on average, net beneficiaries of the welfare state - they will get more in benefits than they have paid in tax. They have enjoyed tax cuts and a boom in welfare spending. Subsequent generations, by contrast, are likely to be net contributors over their lifetimes and get back less than they have paid in, thanks to austerity cuts to state benefits
From the BBC. We need to stick to facts about who is subsidising who here.

I said I am happy that people are out enjoying themselves. I just don't think their bus travel should be subsidised to do this. We don't subsidise any other tourists or visitors, no matter how much they buoy the local economy.

Given the age group you're targeting with your anger over this, and your comments about future generations in that age group probably needing the bus pass more, this is just another tiresome "boomer"-bashing thread, isn't it?

Well, I hope they raise your pension age to 95 a week before you're due to retire, turf you out your home and give it to some local "young" family, take all your money and give it to your greedy kids, make you pay double the standard price of healthcare, quadruple your TV licence, make a rusty old bike the only form of transport you're allowed to use, ban you from all forms of entertainment and make sure you're always last in the queue for everything, ever. Then you'll have something to complain about.

Because this is what if feels like whenever these cuntish ageist threads appear. It's only our generation that is to be punished for the times we've lived in.

How fucking dare we be born?

No, valid questioning whether certain age related benefits should be available across the board to an age group with higher wealth than younger age groups. It's not ageist.

I would put good money on the majority of the people that are on here paying to travel. They have paid a lot to have lunch out etc. I'm not saying all bus routes are the same but this one is very popular and often you can't get on it during the peak season

@Bumpitybumper I said I am happy that people are out enjoying themselves. I just don't think their bus travel should be subsidised to do this. We don't subsidise any other tourists or visitors, no matter how much they buoy the local economy..
That's fine then, you should be happy because as has been explained many times, the free bus pass is a subsidy to the bus company and not to the individuals using it.

Well I am so fucking sorry for being born when I was. Would it appease you if I cut my throat

Because they are old, and when you are older it’s harder to get around (walking, biking, even driving). A free bus pass gives older people a degree more freedom .
Honestly of all the things you want to come after you pick old people’s bus passes ?! I despair of people sometimes.

When you're used to privilege the. Equality feels like oppression
I am not suggesting that 65-74 year olds have anything less than any other group in society (other than the disabled and 75 + year olds). That is all!

Your response is extreme and very nasty.

Really @Bumpitybumper?

Whereabouts are you

That's the crux though. Most younger people don't expect to have the same benefits of today's pensioners. Many don't even expect to get state pension. Things like free bus passes are almost certainly going to be phased out, as are free prescriptions, etc., as the country's finances simply aren't going to be able to support it. The entire welfare state could well implode at some stage in the next few decades. The good days are well and truly over. That's why the younger people are annoyed. They're making their own provision privately for their old age, i.e private pensions, on top of student loan repayments, etc. and many are finding they're having to pay privately for aspects of their healthcare too!

The fifth poster to talk about death and killing old people. It is a bus pass. Nobody is suggesting anything about killing anyone. The obsession with this is so disturbing! Please seek help or don't read threads like this if they take your mind to such a dark place.

The richer pensioners don't tend to take the bus pass or use the buses- so it's available across the board but not being used that way - so means testing it would save very little in practice but would cost a lot to implement

Actually a lot of less well off pensioners don't take the other benefits they are entitled to - that was part of the problem with the fuel allowance

Bus passes support the elderly to give up driving - something that many know of very hard to persuade them to do as they lose independence ( but they often need to do )

If we need to save money - focus on the big problems

I mean I could start a thread - reduce NHS problems by refusing treatment to patients with self inflicted health problems - refusing to treat type 2 diabetics until they lose weight would save an absolute fortune

Or refuse state school places to anyone earning over 50k a year - that would shrink class sizes and give teachers more time to focus on kids with a harder start in life

I don't think they should be abolished but I do think they should bring in bus passes for under 18s or under 21 if still in education.
My DD gets a bus to school and if it was free it would really make a difference

Good that it's being used then, where I live they cut the buses as hardly anyone used them, how old are you op

I won't say exactly for obvious reasons but it's on the coast and is a lovely bus route that serves a local tourist hotspot.

But o you think you're obsessed with the bus pass for very specific age range. Do you agree anyone over 75 year old should have a bus pass.

Of course it's effectively a subsidy to the individual. The individual gets to travel for free when they otherwise would have to pay. If you were working then it would be considered a benefit in kind and you would be taxed on it accordingly.

Right so the bus pass is encouraging older people to take non essential bus journeys at off-peak times, making it economically viable for the bus company to run the bus service that you're using...and this is a bad thing?