Free bus travel age bonus to hit Britain

Free bus travel after 9.30am for people 60 and over in Britain is due to come into play next April and already problems are being predicted about younger passengers being squeezed out and left behind in the rush.

The UK Government is spending around $400 million to extend the existing entitlement which allows older people free travel within the local authority where they live. Now it is being suggested that adventurous travellers will cross the country for nothing using local bus services.

The biggest-hit places are expected to be seaside towns and tourist and shopping destinations which attract people from well outside the area. Brighton buses already experience severe overcrowding as elderly residents take trips along the south coast.

The managing director of the Brighton & Hove Bus Company, Roger French, said that “the buses are already full up on sunny days with people who are out to enjoy a free ride but people who want to pay are being left behind”. He said that free passes could force would-be passengers to use cars for essential journeys because there would be so many elderly people “going on jaunts on the bus”.