Disabled bus pass holders to get free travel at all times, government announces

People who have a disabled bus pass will be able to travel at all hours for free from April next year, the government has announced.

Currently, disabled bus passes are only valid for travel on weekdays from 9.30am until 11pm, except in local authorities which funded an extension. Greater Manchester did this when Andy Burnham was Mayor.

However new funding from the government will see time restrictions removed in an effort to relieve cost of living pressures.

In total, £60 million will be given in funding - £40 million will come from the Department for Work and Pensions and £20 million from the Department for Transport.

This is the latest in a series of policies from the new prime minister which aim to tackle living costs.

In the first few weeks of his premiership, Burnham has cut business rates for pubs, capped bus fares at £2 and axed VAT from electricity bills.

Burnham said: “Buses are a lifeline for so many people – making it easier to get to work, education and healthcare.

“It’s simply not right that many disabled people cannot travel using their pass during certain times of the day. So we’re fixing that. Disabled people will now have unlimited free bus travel 24/7.

“I did it before in Greater Manchester and I’m proud to do it now for the whole country. This is part of our ongoing action to bring back hope and give people some much-needed breathing space on the cost of living,” he added.

Liberal Democrat Tom Gordon has been campaigning for the change for almost two years.

He welcomed the move, calling it a "huge win for the disabled community.”

“Disabilities don’t start at 9 o’clock, neither should disabled bus passes and soon enough they won’t," the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough said.

Gordon had been looking to force a second Commons vote seeking to remove the time restrictions for disabled bus pass holders this September, after MPs rejected his first attempt last year.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “This is simply the shuffling around of existing departmental budgets. Andy Burnham needs to come clean about how he is going to fund this growing list of policies.”

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