Disabled people will be able to travel for free by bus all day, every day across the majority of England after Andy Burnham lifted all restrictions.
The government argues the measure will improve access to workplaces and help to ease the cost of living. Current rules limit free travel until after 9.30am in most parts of the country – meaning a free pass cannot be used to commute to work in most instances.
From April, time restrictions on disabled bus pass holders that limit free travel to between 9.30am and 11pm during the weekdays in most parts of the country will be lifted.
Bus travel is already free for eligible disabled people at the weekends, but it is up to local authorities to fund an extension of this to peak hours during the week, which charities warn sends a message that disabled people “can’t or shouldn’t work”.
Announcing the plans during his summer cost of living tour, Burnham said it is “simply not right” that many disabled people cannot use their pass at all times, and that the action is intended to “give people some much-needed breathing space on the cost of living”.
No new funding needed, government says
The policy will be backed by £60m funding, made up of a £40m contribution from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as well as £20m from the existing Department for Transport (DfT) budget.
It is understood that no new funding will be required to implement the policy, but it is not clear where the money will come from in existing departmental budgets.
The Prime Minister faced criticism over how previous cost of living policies to cut VAT on energy bills over the winter and to cap bus fares at £2 would be funded.
Former Cabinet minister Darren Jones accused the Government of announcing an “unfunded” VAT cut on energy bills in Burnham’s first week in office, while money for the bus fare cap is being reallocated from the existing Energy Security and Net Zero budget.
It comes as Burnham is travelling across the UK in “listening mode” as he announces a string of changes aimed at tackling rising costs for families.
Recently, this included measures to accelerate a policy introduced under Sir Keir Starmer’s government to make subscriptions easier to cancel and to prevent shops from issuing “rip-off discounts”.
Postcode lottery
Ministers hope the latest plans to give disabled people unlimited free bus travel will address the current “postcode lottery” and remove barriers to accessing the workplace.
“We’re putting an end to this postcode lottery, so disabled people can travel on buses for free whenever they need, wherever they live – unlocking opportunities and access to jobs, learning, and more,” said Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.
Currently, disabled people in some areas, such as London and Greater Manchester, can travel on buses for free at all times, as local authorities have chosen to fund the extra hours. In contrast, people in other areas are limited to off-peak travel during weekdays.
The move comes as the Government has renewed its focus on youth joblessness, with Labour grandee Alan Milburn due to give his final recommendations on how to help people not in education, employment or training (Neets) this autumn.
In Milburn’s interim report, he noted that cash disability benefits are not always the best way of supporting young people into work, and that more must be done to remove barriers to the workplace.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the new rules show the Government is “serious about breaking down the barriers that have held disabled people back for too long”.
Jon Sparkes, CEO of the learning disability charity Mencap, welcomed the move, calling it a “welcome relief for disabled people struggling with the cost of living as well as the extra costs of being disabled”.
“Most importantly, though, it removes the inference that disabled people can’t or shouldn’t work,” Sparkes added.
James Taylor, executive director of strategy, impact and social change at the disability charity Scope, said making buses free for disabled people will “put money back in people’s pockets and remove barriers to everyday life”.
Who is elegible:
Eligibility for a disabled person’s bus pass is set out in the Transport Act 2000, which defines seven statutory categories of disability.
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; people with a learning disability; and people who would be refused a driving licence on medical grounds (other than because of drug or alcohol misuse).Hence then, the article about disabled people will be able to travel free on buses all day everyday was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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