Do schemes exist that help with transport/commute costs?

[Legoisthebest]

This might be an odd one because I have no idea if any help like this would be available.
My family (me, husband, 13 year old girl) are currently all struggling from a mental health point of view and would really benefit from living close to family.
My daughter has ASD and other health and education issues and we feel we are currently drowning in trying to cope by ourselves.
We live in London. My husband earns around 30 thousand. I don't work as I can't with my daughter. She receives DLA and I get Carers Allowance for her. We get Child Benefit but that's it. We aren't entitled to anything else and what we get actually is enough for what we need.
However...if we were to make a move to where our families live for their help and support we would have the added cost of my husband commuting back to London. Timewise the commute is fine. It's about an hour. But it's just so expensive.
Rent and bills would be pretty similar (or slightly less) but we just can't afford it the train fare. It would be around £3000 or £4000 a year depending on route.
This is the only thing stopping us from moving.
Our lives and mental health would be so much improved if we had closer family support.
Anyway....are there any schemes that help with commute costs? Either government or charity? I have seen schemes for car ownership but neither of us can drive and where he works in London would be terrible to drive/park in.
It sounds a cheeky ask but we would probably be saving lots of NHS mental health costs by having family help
I would pack up and move 'home' tomorrow if I could. It's just this damm commute cost.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

Ummm no. That’s something you have to
Absorb just like everyone else’s commute to work. His workplace may offer season ticket loans etc but otherwise I know of nothing that will pay/subsidies your costs of commuting. Otherwise we’d all be doing it!

No.

Can be not move jobs to the new area?

No. You just need to do what everyone else does. Pay for your commute or move jobs when you relocate.

Changing jobs would be hard. He is in his 50s and where he is now is secure. Equivalent jobs are hard to come by (he has been looking for years).
I know it sounds cheeky but as I said I have read of schemes that fund people having cars due to the extra needs because of disabilities/health (or family member with disabilities/health issues).
If either of us could drive I could apply to one of those schemes right this minute but neither of us can.
People can get Freedom Passes for buses because of disability/health needs. Schemes are out there but I was just wondering if there are any ones that would work for us.

Many large employers offer interest-free season ticket loans, which reduces the cost somewhat.

To be fair 'everybody else' don't all have children with a disabilities, mental health issues and educational issues.
Lots of people do sadly and we sometimes need a little extra help.

The statutory disabilities which make someoneeligible for a disabled persons Freedom Pass are:

1. People who are blind or partially sighted

2. People who are profoundly or severely deaf

3. People without speech

4. People who have a disability, or have suffered an injury, which has left them with a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to walk

5. People who do not have arms or have a long-term loss of the use of both arms

6. People who have a learning disability that is defined as 'a state of arrested or incomplete development of mind which includes significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning'

7. People who, if they applied for the grant of a licence to drive a motor vehicle under Part III of the Road Traffic Act 1988, would have their application refused pursuant to section 92 of the Act (physical fitness) otherwise than on the ground of persistent misuse of drugs or alcohol.

You are getting dla
And carers allowance
But if she does not qualify for high rate mobility you cannot get a mobility car

Ask Bout a,season ticket loan
Maybe he can cycle part way

Won't you save a lot on housing costs by leaving London though?

Or would you be able to get a part time job once you had some support with your daughter?

I know it sounds cheeky but as I said I have read of schemes that fund people having cars due to the extra needs because of disabilities/health (or family member with disabilities/health issues).

They are generally really hard to qualify for - I used to help people appeal rejections from them as a part time job.

Would family help mean you’d be able to work, and that could offset the commute cost?

Or would there be any way to lower costs, but still be closer to family, so you could make it work that way?

If not, you’re probably looking at ways to spread the cost - interest free credit, commute clubs, season ticket loans - or reduce the cost - a new job for your husband, a cheap hotel/bedroom rate for the working week so he only does it once or twice, it really depends on the costs and what you can find.

I hope you find a way to make it work if this is the best way forward for you, though.

You're getting a little extra help with your DLA and carer's allowance.

There are schemes for mobility cars, but you sont qualify for those. It wouldnt even be your daughter using the car; it would be your husband for driving to work so you dont need a tax payer funded car. He doesnt qualify for a freedom pass either because he does not have the health needs which allows for that.

I'm not trying to be horrible, but everyone has a story. I'm a single mum with 2 kids and their dad literally packed up and left when I was at work one day. I came home and his stuff was just gone. We weren't married, so no money from a divorce. Took a year for CMS to track him down and start getting child support from him. I was alone. I couldnt afford my commute on top of paying childcare costs and everything myself. But I found a way, because there was no choice.

Many thousands of people have disabled children, or have disabilities themselves but not enough to qualify for help with transport. They pay for it themselves.

No one is going to pay your commute That's what a salary is for. You have to do what everyone else does, many thousands of whom are in difficult or untenable situations.

I have a child with autism who gets dla and I don’t qualify for any discounted travel, you can also only get a mobility car if she gets HRM which I’m guessing she doesn’t?

@Pterfanodon

Won't you save a lot on housing costs by leaving London though?

OP addressed that.

Yeah.... I am thinking this is all just a nice daydream.
We have had a few bad days and I have been feeling a bit sorry for myself (and at several points was just thinking I want my mum to swoop in and me be the kid again).
Daughter gets middle rate DLA so I have realised we wouldn't count for the car schemes.
Thanks for some of the suggestions. Some are worth looking into. Although I don't think my husband has been on a bike since about 1980 so I won't suggest that option to him

My other "would this work" daydream is we go live feral in the woods living in an abandoned Victorian train carriage and eating berries from trees.
That would save commute costs I suppose
Oh well.

(and when we wanna pop down to London we can just attach our Victorian carriage to the back of one of the commuter trains)

Have you checked how much it is to buy or rent property in the new location ? Surely, it would be cheaper than living in London

You could spend the difference on the commute

394 unfortunately not a major difference in what we pay now. We pay quite a cheap rent for where we live (very lucky for this) and thing good thing about London is it public transport is really much cheaper compared to distances travelled when we are 'at home' .
This was all just a vague thought but I think deep down I knew this was a really hopeful but "yeah no" idea.
Oh well.

If you moved near family, and the reason is for them to help support you why can’t you find a job?

Chloemol because she's already said her daughter has additional needs and receives a disability benefit to support this, which means there's evidence of it being life impacting on a daily and/or nightly basis.

It's not as easy as just getting a job when there are medical appointments to get her to and not enough annual leave to manage it, the likelihood of struggling to get her up and to school some days, the impact the week at school can have on the weekend routine and generally, the routine her daughter will need and be used to. Finding an employer that is willing to accommodate.

The specific type of care OP's daughter might need her mum (i.e. her carer) to provide, that she might not be able to receive from another family member. She might have violent meltdowns that other family members aren't willing or able to deal with regularly. She might have sensory needs that mean she struggles in environments that aren't home, making childcare tricker than it usually would.

Being nearer family will help but it won't make life suddenly "normal", there will still be challenges that other families won't have and two working parents is a big one.

Thank You Kimchi a lot of what you describe is how it is for us.
Chloemol if I wasn't so tired from being in hospital with my daughter for 48 hours and having had about 23 minutes of sleep, I would say something really really rude to you. But I can't be arsed.
"Get a job"
Oh if only it was that simple.

Lego you probably guessed I'm speaking from experience

I do work and I'm fortunate that I have a flexible job with term time and part time contracts as the norm, where paid special leave is available but even then it's not sustainable and one parent not working, if financially viable, would be best for my ASD child.

Thank You Kimchi