End of the road for cheap coach fares

As the concerns over the impact of welfare reform on disabled people’s choices and lives continue to grow, Helen Dolphin reports on the disappearance of a scheme which has increased opportunities to travel over recent years

It seems that hardly a day goes by without an announcement from the Government that yet another benefit for disabled people is going to be cut.

It was therefore less than a surprise to hear that from 1st November, 2011, disabled people and pensioners will no longer receive half-price concessionary coach fares, saving the government around £20m. This is part of the Government’s spending cuts programme.

The only way for me to get on most coaches is to be carried over someone’s shoulder so I can’t profess to be an avid user of this scheme. However, for people with impairments or conditions which prevent them from driving or travelling on planes, or who cannot afford expensive train fares, this scheme has been of great benefit.  

Last year 2.9 million passengers travelled on National Express using the concessionary scheme and they run 18 routes where 32-51% of passengers receive concessions. With concessionary pass holders making up such a significant proportion of passengers the end of this scheme also risks the future of some coach routes, especially in rural areas, precisely where they may often be most needed and of greatest use.

Although National Express is looking to introduce a replacement scheme they say they will not be able to make the discounts as high without government funding.  A spokesman said: “We have written to the Government to ask that they reconsider this decision. We have also written to a number of MPs to raise our concerns. Many MPs have told us they agree and have written to ministers at the Department for Transport to ask them whether they have considered the potential impact on eligible passengers’ ability to travel.”

During the 2010 election campaign, Conservative MPs pledged they would not take away bus passes and travel concessions from disabled and older people but it seems this promise has been broken. There was also no public consultation conducted on this issue. This could mean that the measure, or at least its implementation, is possibly unlawful as legislation requires the Department for Transport to ensure that the impact of decisions such as this on disadvantaged groups, like older and disabled people, is fully analysed.

Sophie Allain, a campaigner at Campaign for Better Transport said: “This has been a hasty and poorly assessed decision which is bad news for older and disabled bus passengers but also threatens to tip a number of coach routes into decline and closure, especially in rural and disadvantaged areas. When difficult decisions have to be made it is vital that the Government assesses the impacts fully, consults the public and communicates with operators. Unless the Government pauses to do these things it will be vulnerable coach passengers who lose out.” 

The removal of this scheme is yet another cut that is going to affect disabled people, many of whom will face greater hardship over the next few years as changes to other benefits are put in place. It all adds to the cumulative effect of the erosion of benefits under current welfare reform initiatives and spending cuts in other areas. Although not all disabled or elderly people are poor, these groups of people don’t have the same freedom of choice as non-disabled people and the concessionary 50% off coaches is a viable option for those who cannot just jump in their own car.

With the removal of this concession I’m sure many disabled people will be wondering what’s next? And I sincerely hope that this decision is not the first step towards ending the locally based concessionary bus pass scheme, without which many older and disabled people would find their freedom severely restricted as travel options vanish.