You'll probably like this book - 'Route 63: Around England on a Free Bus Pass' by Dave Hadfield. It's an easy to read account of taking about a month to travel around the outside borders of England
I think it's unfair that Scotland, NI and Wales give passes at 60, whereas we in England have to wait until we are 67. If we are "Great Britain" the eligible age should be same for all. 😡
Yes but Jockistan and Taffystan are separate countries and the natives can only use their free luxury travel vouchers in their own kingdoms,just as us wealth laden toffs in England can't cripple their economy by using our passes in their countries,,passes should serve the whole of the UK and be bestowed on all at the same age, I feel for those who live near the borders,while at it why can children up to 11 ride free in London when in Manchester it is 5?.
@@FACup-eu2dt got your facts wrong , unless he got one on health grounds , in both places it is given at pension age ,scottish and welsh passes can only be used in their own country just as an english one is no good for their countries ,as a small Island it should be the same age and full uk use, Just as bad or worse, kida go free on buses in london till 11 yr old. Manchester its 5yr old
@@IBIZABIKE I got my bus pass when my pension started in August this year, five months after I was 65 years old. My brother received his bus pass eight years ago at 60 years of age.
I got my bis pass and im 18 and autistic and its made my life traveling easier and i can use it all over wales and i can take another person with me and dont cost me or the person a penny and it don't cist me £4.40 for a day to go it has been the best thing i ever have
In answer to your first question: yes, we do - we paid taxes while you were going through school at our expense, and paying your parents child allowance, medical costs, etc., so its nice to get some back. You're second question is spot on - we haven't learned much, we should be making people under 60 sit at the back of the bus.
To be honest, buses should be free in the same way as the NHS. Roads are paid for through general taxation and most are free at the point of use, in spite of how expensive they are to maintain. People need to be able to get out and get to work, shopping, errands and generally just to be able to socialize. That is worth paying increased taxes for, although with the number of cars that would remove from our roads our bill for maintaining and expanding wide roads would come down anyway! Before having my bus pass, I felt kind of limited with the high cost of living in where I could go, now between my bike and my bus pass, I can go wherever I want without having to pay to clog and chew the roads up further by putting another car on them! And all of the businesses other than the bus companies benefit from me being able to go spend money that woud just have went to the greedy, monopolistic Worst- um First Glasgow bandits!
I have just got my husband a bus pass. It is great. He has worked hard all his life and he likes travel. It means he will travel a lot on his own as wive's don't get a free bus pass until they retire. It is much safer to be on a bus with a professional driver than in a car driving yourself when you are old and having to put up with car fines, parking charges, insurance etc. You can get a bus direct to the High St and shop rather than hunt down a car park which is far away. I wish more older people actually used their bus pass.
CORRECTION: You don't "Get the run of the country at age 60" if you ever did. The national pass for England matches the date you receive the State Pension for a woman and for a man the same date as if you were a woman (even though you might not receive a State Pension until a later date). For men that's currently age 63 up to 66 for those born too late. For women the age has been raised from 60. My wife born Nov. 1954 wont now get a national pass until aged 66. Our local council gave us a pass just for the council area at age 60 but this is a rare exception.
Over 66 in my case, I have similar benefits to the Freedom Pass with a 60+ Oyster Card here in London, except that I hadn’t country-wide bus travel, I shall have a London Freedom Pass when I reach 66 in 2022.
@@ShippingTV Thank the tories for that and also retire at 67 now instead of 65 as we are now living longer..HA!...Nobody on my side of the family have made it to 70..It's all in the genes...
I’m 15 and I’ve just yesterday got my free bus pass 😂 you might be wondering why but it’s because I’m disabled and the exact same scheme as the elderly persons one also offers a disabled one
Same here lol. I have major anxiety and didn’t know if I just flash my bus pass and walk past or if I should stop and tell the driver I have a bus pass. Like do they even care that much? God life would be easier without anxiety.
Over 66 now to qualify, I now have the London Councils Freedom Pass, I have the use of the tube, most UK buses, TfL Rail, Overground, National Rail, London Tramlink and more, and not restricted to the 09:30-23:00 use outside of London, in London weekdays it between 09:00-03:45 or 04:45 the following day, free at anytime weekends.
I have a Disabled freedom pass for London now that's a bus pass to end all bus passes in England as somebody should put the most powerful bus pass to the least powerful one. I think London would top the table compared to my sister's (lancashire county) equivalent
how is it you can get a bus pass at 60 yrs old in scotland,wales, etc but not in england. and we have more population paying in . this is to the councilors in england get us a pass also . or is it discrimination .
I'm Scottish and don't get free bus travel in England. I'd like to explore their historic sites, but they want me to pay. I should get free bus, train, and airline travel in England considering the money we pay them in taxes.
I think its great most of the time but sometimes at busy school times when school kids need to get the bus to be in school on time, elderly people with these passes literally push in front of the kids and then some kids cant get on because the bus is full. This was mainly a problem last year when for some reason there were never enough buses but its gradually improving
I don't mind the elderly having a free bus pass as most have worked hard all their life. What I do mind is when foreigners get a disabled pass. And, when people get a disabled pass when they can get on and off a bus unaided. The system needs a radical rethink and a revamp.
Some people may be mentally disabled and may appear to be “normal” when in fact they struggle with every day problems. Not every disabled person is your typical “person in a wheelchair”. Personally I think it’s a great idea for any disabled person to get a pass because if you had to travel quite a while for work or school, it can help you to get there. Ps: I’m disabled.
And that epileptic person might end up not having a enough money on him/her, ends up being told to walk home and has an epileptic fit in the middle of the road, at least when on a bus, there is plenty of people to get to his/her aid, unlike a busy road, when he/she could get run over and killed due to it!
Again, it's not free, you get your bus pass from your local council, who then pay the bus companies via the government, where do the councils get their money? from the rate payers, this includes pensioners, so please explain how its free.
Depends on the operator (bus company) & the ticket machine or local authority e.g Stagecoach west in Gloucestershire. Or Grant Palmer in Bedfordshire. You do.
So everything needed except what i asked for, plus you are well out of date. I had to wait until i am 66 to get my bus pass, i also asked which way to use it, photo upwards or the other way up. You did not either actually swipe it or show how and where it should be done or explain about the time limit am to pm. What a complete waste of time this was.
Oh Lorry ... if you seriously imagine that pensioners actually enjoy "making people pay", then I suggest that says more about you than you should be revealing in public. The reality, as has been pointed out several times, is that pensioners have already paid for this "extravagance" by forking out of their hard-earned for 40 years or more. Let's hope you grow up before you grow old.
Oh I'm sorry is my income triple locked???? Buses have been privatised for 35 years, if I fly to Australia for 40 years, do I get to travel at taxpayers' expense afterwards. No. I won't get any state pension so I don't see why I should pay for triple locked pension increases AND freebies like the bus pass.
The education system obviously failed you Mr Lorry L. As has been pointed out to you due to your complete failure to think, those over 60 have paid through the nose in taxes for years. How much have you contributed?
Oh really. So VAT was higher? Income tax was higher? Rates were higher? rents were higher? council houses were more difficult to get? Houses were more expensive?
Exuse my anger, what I see is my parent's generation being handed this privilige/allocation when they seem amused because they don't even use the busses. VAT is a big cost for me now as I am working with materials and a factory process. I'm taking risks trying to earn money because the only paid work I can find is at a fish factory during chistmas. I actually regret having been made to spend so much of my time at school, I would have got more out a far shorter and higher quality school schedule.
No one gets handed a bus pass, you have to apply,,Many busses I get on are full of pensioners, remove the pass, put more people in cars, the route becomes less used, they cut the service, some drivers are laid off, some inspectors are laid off, mechanics are laid off, tea shops, bingo halls, suffer, charity shops loose volunteers,loneness and health problems ensue, socialising suffers.a simple trip to the doctors may now cost you a couplenof pounds from your £130 state pension I have what I call my prepaid pass, I chipped in for 50 years, Also state pension is not a benefit, I have a small private pension that I bought, it is never called a private benefit
You'll probably like this book - 'Route 63: Around England on a Free Bus Pass' by Dave Hadfield. It's an easy to read account of taking about a month to travel around the outside borders of England
Thats the Plough pub in Ipswich.... been there
I think it's unfair that Scotland, NI and Wales give passes at 60, whereas we in England have to wait until we are 67. If we are "Great Britain" the eligible age should be same for all. 😡
The same with prescriptions and include Northen Ireland
Yes but Jockistan and Taffystan are separate countries and the natives can only use their free luxury travel vouchers in their own kingdoms,just as us wealth laden toffs in England can't cripple their economy by using our passes in their countries,,passes should serve the whole of the UK and be bestowed on all at the same age, I feel for those who live near the borders,while at it why can children up to 11 ride free in London when in Manchester it is 5?.
For my brother In Durham it was 60 years old, yet in Sunderland, 20 miles away, I had to wait until I was 65.
@@FACup-eu2dt got your facts wrong , unless he got one on health grounds , in both places it is given at pension age ,scottish and welsh passes can only be used in their own country just as an english one is no good for their countries ,as a small Island it should be the same age and full uk use,
Just as bad or worse, kida go free on buses in london till 11 yr old.
Manchester its 5yr old
@@IBIZABIKE I got my bus pass when my pension started in August this year, five months after I was 65 years old. My brother received his bus pass eight years ago at 60 years of age.
apart if you are from the Roma ,in Wales I have been denied a bus pass since they found out i am roma
I LEFT IT IN THE SHOP HAHA Remember that oneeee.
I got my bis pass and im 18 and autistic and its made my life traveling easier and i can use it all over wales and i can take another person with me and dont cost me or the person a penny and it don't cist me £4.40 for a day to go it has been the best thing i ever have
In answer to your first question: yes, we do - we paid taxes while you were going through school at our expense, and paying your parents child allowance, medical costs, etc., so its nice to get some back.
You're second question is spot on - we haven't learned much, we should be making people under 60 sit at the back of the bus.
In Scotland under 22 year olds get free bus travel, ha ha.
To be honest, buses should be free in the same way as the NHS. Roads are paid for through general taxation and most are free at the point of use, in spite of how expensive they are to maintain. People need to be able to get out and get to work, shopping, errands and generally just to be able to socialize. That is worth paying increased taxes for, although with the number of cars that would remove from our roads our bill for maintaining and expanding wide roads would come down anyway!
Before having my bus pass, I felt kind of limited with the high cost of living in where I could go, now between my bike and my bus pass, I can go wherever I want without having to pay to clog and chew the roads up further by putting another car on them! And all of the businesses other than the bus companies benefit from me being able to go spend money that woud just have went to the greedy, monopolistic Worst- um First Glasgow bandits!
I have just got my husband a bus pass. It is great. He has worked hard all his life and he likes travel. It means he will travel a lot on his own as wive's don't get a free bus pass until they retire. It is much safer to be on a bus with a professional driver than in a car driving yourself when you are old and having to put up with car fines, parking charges, insurance etc. You can get a bus direct to the High St and shop rather than hunt down a car park which is far away. I wish more older people actually used their bus pass.
CORRECTION: You don't "Get the run of the country at age 60" if you ever did.
The national pass for England matches the date you receive the State Pension for a woman and for a man the same date as if you were a woman (even though you might not receive a State Pension until a later date). For men that's currently age 63 up to 66 for those born too late. For women the age has been raised from 60. My wife born Nov. 1954 wont now get a national pass until aged 66. Our local council gave us a pass just for the council area at age 60 but this is a rare exception.
I got one 😊
Over 66 in my case, I have similar benefits to the Freedom Pass with a 60+ Oyster Card here in London, except that I hadn’t country-wide bus travel, I shall have a London Freedom Pass when I reach 66 in 2022.
Don't forget this was made back in 2011, Jack - lots of changes since then! :-)
@@ShippingTV Thank the tories for that and also retire at 67 now instead of 65 as we are now living longer..HA!...Nobody on my side of the family have made it to 70..It's all in the genes...
I’m 15 and I’ve just yesterday got my free bus pass 😂 you might be wondering why but it’s because I’m disabled and the exact same scheme as the elderly persons one also offers a disabled one
Same here lol. I have major anxiety and didn’t know if I just flash my bus pass and walk past or if I should stop and tell the driver I have a bus pass. Like do they even care that much? God life would be easier without anxiety.
@@katekat6379 which county are you in? And what is your bus operator? If you tell me that I can pretty much tell you exactly what to do
Over 66 now to qualify, I now have the London Councils Freedom Pass, I have the use of the tube, most UK buses, TfL Rail, Overground, National Rail, London Tramlink and more, and not restricted to the 09:30-23:00 use outside of London, in London weekdays it between 09:00-03:45 or 04:45 the following day, free at anytime weekends.
I have a Disabled freedom pass for London now that's a bus pass to end all bus passes in England as somebody should put the most powerful bus pass to the least powerful one. I think London would top the table compared to my sister's (lancashire county) equivalent
how is it you can get a bus pass at 60 yrs old in scotland,wales, etc but not in england. and we have more population paying in . this is to the councilors in england get us a pass also . or is it discrimination .
I'm Scottish and don't get free bus travel in England. I'd like to explore their historic sites, but they want me to pay. I should get free bus, train, and airline travel in England considering the money we pay them in taxes.
I think it's 66 in England except London
I think its great most of the time but sometimes at busy school times when school kids need to get the bus to be in school on time, elderly people with these passes literally push in front of the kids and then some kids cant get on because the bus is full. This was mainly a problem last year when for some reason there were never enough buses but its gradually improving
I don't mind the elderly having a free bus pass as most have worked hard all their life. What I do mind is when foreigners get a disabled pass. And, when people get a disabled pass when they can get on and off a bus unaided. The system needs a radical rethink and a revamp.
Some people may be mentally disabled and may appear to be “normal” when in fact they struggle with every day problems. Not every disabled person is your typical “person in a wheelchair”. Personally I think it’s a great idea for any disabled person to get a pass because if you had to travel quite a while for work or school, it can help you to get there. Ps: I’m disabled.
Not every disability is visible
And that epileptic person might end up not having a enough money on him/her, ends up being told to walk home and has an epileptic fit in the middle of the road, at least when on a bus, there is plenty of people to get to his/her aid, unlike a busy road, when he/she could get run over and killed due to it!
Please Stop calling it free it has been paid for many times over,
Also I do not get a free pension
I got one as well
Congrats
Again, it's not free, you get your bus pass from your local council, who then pay the bus companies via the government, where do the councils get their money? from the rate payers, this includes pensioners, so please explain how its free.
Do you have to say where you're going?
TBH I'm not too sure - I usually do, but dunno if you actually have to!
Depends on the operator (bus company) & the ticket machine or local authority e.g Stagecoach west in Gloucestershire. Or Grant Palmer in Bedfordshire. You do.
A NEW VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY!
So everything needed except what i asked for, plus you are well out of date. I had to wait until i am 66 to get my bus pass, i also asked which way to use it, photo upwards or the other way up. You did not either actually swipe it or show how and where it should be done or explain about the time limit am to pm. What a complete waste of time this was.
I agree with lorry l. Same with prescriptions it should be means tested. Not all pensioners need bus passes FFS
Now you must be 66
Oh Lorry ... if you seriously imagine that pensioners actually enjoy "making people pay", then I suggest that says more about you than you should be revealing in public.
The reality, as has been pointed out several times, is that pensioners have already paid for this "extravagance" by forking out of their hard-earned for 40 years or more.
Let's hope you grow up before you grow old.
Oh I'm sorry is my income triple locked???? Buses have been privatised for 35 years, if I fly to Australia for 40 years, do I get to travel at taxpayers' expense afterwards.
No. I won't get any state pension so I don't see why I should pay for triple locked pension increases AND freebies like the bus pass.
@@squamespeach7258 oh dear
The education system obviously failed you Mr Lorry L. As has been pointed out to you due to your complete failure to think, those over 60 have paid through the nose in taxes for years. How much have you contributed?
Oh really. So VAT was higher? Income tax was higher? Rates were higher? rents were higher? council houses were more difficult to get? Houses were more expensive?
@@squamespeach7258 sooo bitter.....oh dear
Exuse my anger, what I see is my parent's generation being handed this privilige/allocation when they seem amused because they don't even use the busses.
VAT is a big cost for me now as I am working with materials and a factory process. I'm taking risks trying to earn money because the only paid work I can find is at a fish factory during chistmas.
I actually regret having been made to spend so much of my time at school, I would have got more out a far shorter and higher quality school schedule.
No one gets handed a bus pass, you have to apply,,Many busses I get on are full of pensioners, remove the pass, put more people in cars, the route becomes less used, they cut the service, some drivers are laid off, some inspectors are laid off, mechanics are laid off, tea shops, bingo halls, suffer, charity shops loose volunteers,loneness and health problems ensue, socialising suffers.a simple trip to the doctors may now cost you a couplenof pounds from your £130 state pension
I have what I call my prepaid pass, I chipped in for 50 years,
Also state pension is not a benefit, I have a small private pension that I bought, it is never called a private benefit
@@IBIZABIKE ..