Disabled commuter calls for bus pass rule change
A campaigner has called for time restrictions on disability bus passes to be scrapped.Hans Gording said current rules which allow those eligible to travel for free between 09:30 and 23:00 on weekdays needed changing. "We get the carrot of the free bus pass but then we get beaten up by the stick because we are not allowed to travel when normal commuters travel," he said.A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said local authorities had the power to extend the passes, with 77% of councils offering free travel before 09:30.
Mr Gording, who works for Harrogate-based charity Disability Action Yorkshire, has Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) and can no longer drive from his home in Knaresborough to his workplace in Harrogate so uses public transport to get to work."It's almost the assumption that disabled people don't work, as most businesses start work from 9am but you can't travel before 9am," he said.In York and North Yorkshire, disabled passengers can travel for free from 09:00, but in neighbouring West Yorkshire they cannot travel for free until after 09:30.Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said he had spoken with the government about the issue."At the moment we have a postcode lottery across England, in different places you have different restrictions on the times that people who have a disabled bus pass can use it."We know many people want to use them to go to hospital appointments, to go to work, to employment, to education and training and, at a time when people are worried about potential cuts to disability benefits, the restrictions on those bus passes just adds to that additional cost."
A DfT spokesperson said: "We fully recognise bus passes are vital to many and provide access to job opportunities, essential services, and keep people connected."Local authorities have the power to extend the times when disabled passholders can use their concessionary bus passes locally, and 77% offer free travel before 9.30am."We're already in the process of making ambitious reforms to improve bus services for passengers, supporting local areas to improve reliability and helping to cap fares."
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