Greedy bus companies - or strapped for cash councils?
29/09/2008
Since the introduction of free bus passes for the over-60s last April, more than 30 local authorities in England say they are having to cut other services to cover the costs - but the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), has hit back by suggesting that the real problem lies with the government and greedy bus companies.
When the free bus pass scheme was introduced, the government made a grant of £212m spread across hundreds of councils to cover costs - a sum that was agreed in advance with town hall officials. A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "We are now spending around £1bn on concessionary travel each year, including an extra £212m to cover the extension introduced in April. This new funding is allocated based on a formula that local authorities requested and takes into account people who travel to popular tourist towns and coastal areas."
Of the 100 (out of 322) local authorities in England contacted by the BBC on the impact of the scheme, some 33 said they faced budget shortfalls which they directly attribute to the scheme. To solve the problem some intended to raise council tax and increase car parking charges, whilst others were looking at axing jobs at local theatres, closing public conveniences and cutting back on road maintenance.
But the NPC are far from convinced. They claim that local authorities receive a range of grants from central government up to a total of £1bn to fund concessionary travel for pensioners - but many bus companies are overcharging councils for the services they provide.
Peter Rayner, NPC transport advisor said: "Many local councils are concerned about the dubious methods of calculation and assumptions on cost put forward by various bus operators. Many charge for a full journey from one end of a route to another, when the passenger might only be travelling a few stops. As a result of such sharp practices, costs of the new scheme have been over estimated and local authorities have started talking about having to make cuts in other services.
"One major flaw in the system is that the government allows each local council to negotiate with each bus company - rather than doing it centrally. This effectively means that councils have little power to influence how much they have to pay, and then pensioners are then being blamed for what is little more than company greed and government inefficiency."
Rayner continued: “We want to see a national scheme that is properly funded by central government. The grants for concessionary travel should be ring-fenced to ensure the councils spend it properly, and the Department for Transport should have tighter controls on the charges made by bus operators.
"The benefits of free bus travel to those aged 60 and over is widely acknowledged, and includes greater independence and less social exclusion, growth for local economies, improved services for fare paying travellers by spreading the cost, and reductions in demand for health and social services. Free travel for pensioners has got to stay.”
The NPC is staging a conference on Tuesday, September 30th to discuss how the new free bus travel scheme is going and what improvements could be made to it. For more information visit the website linked below.