Concessionary Fares
In April 2008, the Bus Concessionary Fares Scheme was extended so that anyone aged 60 or over, or who is registered disabled, is entitled to free travel on any off-peak local bus service in any part of England. The Government has invested £1.2bn in the scheme, resulting in around 11 million people being eligible for free travel. Operators are reimbursed a percentage of the full fare by local authorities for each journey taken.
Overall, we believe that the scheme is a positive step for the industry as it increases bus use. However, the implementation of the scheme is complicated and has given rise to a small number of disputes with some local authorities. Concessionary fare passengers have continued to grow beyond April 2009, the first anniversary of the scheme, as ‘free’ travel has further increased in attractiveness as a result of the economic downturn.
Concessionary passengers now represent just over 30% of Go-Ahead’s bus passengers and just over 20% of bus revenue.
