Andy Burnham has announced plans to introduce unlimited free bus travel for eligible disabled people across England from next April.
Currently, the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme generally allows disabled bus pass holders to travel free between 9:30am and 11pm on weekdays, with some local authorities choosing to extend the hours using their own funding.
Burnham said the current restrictions are unfair to disabled people who need to travel outside those hours.
> “It’s simply not right that many disabled people cannot travel using their pass during certain times of the day. So we’re fixing that.”
He said eligible disabled people would be able to access unlimited free bus travel 24 hours a day, seven days a week, describing the measure as part of efforts to ease the cost-of-living pressures facing people across the country.
Burnham also highlighted his previous experience introducing similar arrangements in Greater Manchester, saying he was “proud” to now extend the policy nationwide.
Who can qualify?
Eligibility for a disabled person’s bus pass includes people who are:
● Blind or partially sighted
● Profoundly or severely deaf
● Without speech
● Unable or virtually unable to walk because of a disability
● Without arms, or unable to use both arms
● Living with a learning disability
● Unable to obtain a driving licence on medical grounds, except where refusal is due to drug or alcohol misuse
The proposed change would remove the current weekday time restrictions, allowing eligible disabled passengers to use their free bus passes around the clock.
