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A disability rights group has condemned the removal of a discounted peak time bus fare across most of Lancashire – saying disabled people always pay the price for cuts.
Lancashire County Council’s cabinet last week voted to scrap the flat £1-per-journey rate for disabled people travelling before 9.30am on weekdays. The concession, which is currently available to holders of the disabled persons NoWCard, will end on 1st April.
The free bus travel permitted for disabled passengers between 9.30am and 11pm Monday-to-Friday – and at any time across the weekend and bank holidays – is part of a nationwide scheme and so is unaffected by the move.
The £1 early morning fare will also remain for any journeys that start in the Blackpool or Blackburn with Darwen council areas, as those two authorities provide their own subsidy for the initiative.
Mel Close, chief executive officer for Preston-based Disability Equality North West, said the organisation was worried about the resultant creation of a “postcode lottery” for affordable travel in Lancashire. She added that disabled people in the county council area would face difficulties as a result of the decision.
“Most people we spoke to wanted the concession to stay, particularly for early regular medical appointments or for going to work – where people then pay tax and so are [effectively] paying anyway.
“Every time there’s a money saving exercise disabled people suffer the most,” Ms. Close said.
During the meeting at which the decision was taken – along with another to scrap free bus passes for 16-18-year-olds who are apprentices or not in any form of education, employment or training or are young carers and parents – cabinet member for highways and transport Rupert Swarbrick said the removal of the two discretionary schemes was “regrettable”.
However, he added: “It does allow us to contribute to the overall balancing of the…budget and to reallocate just shy of £400,000 to more pressured parts of our service, including travel-to-school support.”
The proposed cutting of the concessions was part of the 2024 county council budget – set almost 12 months ago – but could not be confirmed until public consultations had been carried out.
Lancaster South East division representative Erica Lewis said equality assessments that were also undertaken by the authority revealed “only negative impacts for vulnerable members of our community” as a result of the plans. But County Cllr Swarbrick stressed that cabinet members only had to give “due regard” to those analyses.
Some of the 510 – out of the total 10,000 – disabled persons NoW card holders in Lancashire who responded to the public consultation estimated they would face a £500 increase in travel costs if the morning peak discount were ditched. A number said they had lower paid jobs or were on reduced hours and may be unable to work flexibly – meaning they could be forced out of employment. Overall, four in five respondents disagreed with the change.
Just over 170 of the young persons free bus passes are issued on average each month – 139 of them to apprentices.
County Cllr Swarbrick said that scheme was “not well used”, while cabinet member for children and families Cosima Townley, said the poor response to the consultation into the removal of the initiative showed that “on the whole, there are other opportunities out there for travel”.
However Labour opposition group leader Matthew Tomlinson said the two decisions were “cruel” and saved the county council only a relatively “tiny amount of money”.
The 16-18-year-old free passes will be phased out through until 31st July – meaning current pass-holders and requested renewals will be honoured, in order to avoid disruption part-way through the academic year. However, no new applications will be accepted.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands at least one county councillor had planned to ‘call in’ the two changes – meaning the authority would have had to formally reconsider them – but not necessarily come to a different conclusion. However, that option was closed off as the items had already been through the budget-setting process.
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