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 think there's a good argument for increasing the age of entitlement to state pension age.

What a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

It already has been in most areas, including where l live. DH became eligible last year at the age of 66. I will have to wait until I am 67 as that is when I will receive my state pension.

It's not the rich ones who take the bus.

I'm pretty sure it saves money and lives for pensioners to be a)active and getting out and about and b)not driving when they might not be up to it any more.

Many older people can't drive they have either never learned or they have given up and many have limited mobility and can't walk as far as younger people or up hills .
The bus pass is very , very important to many older people or means they can go out, have independence and socialise.

In most places it is. Nationally it is only available from pension age but London makes it available from age 60 I don't know if any other areas do

It does seem to be area dependent. I know someone who happily takes a two hour bus journey to go and get his hair cut at a place he's found that's cheap (he doesn't have much hair - hair cut probably takes 5 minutes) and have a pint in the pub he likes, and then takes a two hour bus journey home. It's a day out for him. He could afford to pay the fare (although he's not super well off) but it's all the more enjoyable to him because he can do all this for under a tenner. Well I haven't checked recently - but it was a tenner 5 years ago. It's probably gone up now. Very cheap haircut!

I don't begrudge him it at all, and I could see myself doing something similar if I had the time!

[Edited to say - and yes there are closer hairdresser options, including within a 10 minute walk!]

I have a friend whose husband gets free train travel. He spends a lot of time in first class, going to London and back, enjoying the free paper, tea and sandwich.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01499/

£877 million is spent on concessionery travel of which 90% is oap,

yet train travel is subsidised by £12bn annually and shareholders get their dividends- how come that’s ok?

65 trips a year on the bus pass, on average once every 5 days

Am I being unreasonable in telling you to get stuffed!!!! IF you live you will grow old!

What does getting old have to do with free travel?

The well off probably don't even use them much.

Don't be mean spirited, you could be old one day

Would rather someone gets free bus travel than pushes to keep driving at an older age when perhaps not really safe driver anymore. Also surely it’s better for environment for more people using the bus than multiple car journeys.

Bus pass starts from 9.30am so most working people would already have arrived at their place of work by then so can’t imagine many millionaires working and getting free bus in.

And if older people with disposable income can get into town surely that benefits the local community as they more likely to spend in shops and cafes rather than them lose income due to workers usually working weekdays 9-5 and not out spending locally.

Of course it does.

@richardosmanstrousers If there was a vote, I'd need evidence from both sides. At the moment, I lean towards means testing, but that doesn't mean I couldn't be persuaded otherwise.

Should have added, I'll be eligible for a bus pass pretty soon. I don't drive, and I'm certainly not loaded, but I can afford bus fare.

You have to consider how much it would cost to implement means testing, which would mean staff, systems etc - that's a huge cost. If you weigh that up against the cost of issuing a bus pass to all, but remember the key fact all will not use, it's basically already testing itself.

No way should free travel be abolished. Many older people can't drive or walk very far.

@richardosmanstrousers I didn't think about those who don't use it. I suppose you could also say that if they did means-test it, many people who could make use of it, wouldn't even try to fill in the forms.

You have to apply for a bus pass, you don’t just get one through the post. I would imagine many pensioners who don’t use buses don’t bother getting one.

There you go then. It's already testing itself better than I realised.

It is daft how many people think you just have one turn up once you hit pension age. They have your photo on! Where do they think that comes from? CCTV images form B&M?

It is daft how many people think you just have one turn up once you hit pension age. They have your photo on! Where do they think that comes from? CCTV images form B&M?

I actually got the idea from other posts on the thread. I didn't even know they have a photo on them, I have never seen one.

If they were means-tested, you'd have to fill in a lot more paperwork.