Comment posted Time for a serious rethink on concessionary travel by Barcaldine Tyger.
For the last eight years I have used my bus pass EXCLUSIVELY for the 25 mile return journey from Barcaldine to Oban and back by scheduled bus service whenever possible. Translate that total distance into CARBON FOOTPRINT via a Transit van. Surely NOT to provide free transport at the point of use is the ‘obscenity’. Actually, if you are serious about global warming etc then ALL public transport should be free to users. Grr
Recent comments by Barcaldine Tyger
- Herald loses judgment in blatantly political excursion on school closures
I agree with the Doc. – the ‘cock up theory of history’ is often a more accurate account than ultra-Machiavellianism. Nonetheless, the fact remains that on 25th November 2010 the Naughty Nineteen (Independents, Lib Dems and Tories) voted to close 25 schools. The SNP would have none of it, and said so (not least with posters out in the car park at Kilmory) and have said so again more recently in their campaign literature. The moral is surely obvious to the electorate. And now we hear of this out-going adminstration queering the financial pitch for the new incumbents. What other mayhem will they get up to in the next three weeks? - More controversy as outgoing council Executive meets tomorrow on unexplained Education Capital budget
It’s exactly what you’d expect from this lot: queering the pitch for the next administration. Typical. And the sooner they are all OUT the better. Three weeks to go, and counting……GRRR and more GRRR - Lomond North case highlights need for urgent reform of council social services
Hmm Cleland Sneddon again. Pity he’s not a Councillor. We could vote him out. How DO you get rid of someone like that? (Legally, I mean…..) GRR - Argyll Rural Schools Network puts all candidates to the test on rural schools
Given the recent COSLA report,the unrepentant stance of many Councillors currently in post, and bearing in mind the imminence of the Local Council Elections on May 3rd, it is perhaps timely to remind everyone that on 25th November 2010, and in the face of huge and vocal opposition, the following 19 Councillors voted to close 25 Primary Schools in Argyll and Bute:• Rory Colville, Liberal Democrat
• Robin Currie, Liberal Democrat
• Vivien Dance, Independent
• Alison Hay, Liberal Democrat
• Daniel Kelly, Independent
• David Kinniburgh, Conservative
• Neil MacKay, Independent
• Bruce Marshall, Independent
• Donnie Macmillan, Independent
• Duncan McIntyre, Independent
• James McQueen, Independent
• Ellen Morton, Liberal Democrat
• Gary Mulvaney, Conservative
• Andrew Nisbett, Liberal Democrat
• William Petrie, Provost, Independent
• Al Reay, Liberal Democrat
• Elaine Robertson, Independent
• Len Scoullar, Independent
• Dick Walsh, Independent and Council Leader.It might be prudent for voters to bear this record in mind in respect of those of the above who are offering themselves for re-election. Is the future of our children safe in their hands? The record suggests not, and the remedy is obvious. DON’T VOTE FOR THE NAUGHTY NINETEEN! Vote instead for candidates who have a CLEAR MANIFESTO COMMITMENT to keeping our schools open. This is our one chance to put things right once and for all. A new brush sweeps clean! GRRR
- Dot Scot go ahead
This is good news. It would be nice too if internet companies could have an address box for ‘Scotland’ rather than making us put ‘UK’ every time we buy something on line. A small thing, but quite important nonetheless. Alex Salmond please note!
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http://www.newsnetscotland.com/index.php/scottish-politics/4668-snp-condemn-labours-scaremongering-over-concessionary-bus-travel
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I disagree.. the money paid out on this concession saves the NHS a fortune. By encouraging the elderly to get out and about keeping them mobile means less imput from Doctors and other medical staff.
With day care service costs spiriling better to have people out and about as often as poosible this also encourages mental stimulation. The benefits far outway the costs. Tampering with this concession would be at any politicians cost ,just as we will not forget this latest budget.
I know for a fact that some bus companies are ripping the government off. Always check your ticket and look at the destination!!!!..If not correct send it to the SG Transport office….many have.
Many buses would run half empty without us, better get something than nothing.
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And what about the ‘seniors’ who need to travel daily to work or visit a relative/friend in hospital? I suppose that falls into the ‘obscenely exploitative’ category too.
There are far greater obscene and exploitative ways in which subsidies are used, especially by the wealthy (which includes ‘seniors’). FiTS for renewables for example.
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There are surely two extremes – for example people in rural areas for whom the free bus is a lifeline to the nearest community, and at the opposite extreme people in Glasgow who are tempted to occupy their days swanning around the country at very considerable cost to this scheme.
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Many chronically sick and disabled people who depended on transport from the NHS and Local Authority were told that the concessionary fares system was sufficient to their transport needs. both agencies reduced their transport fleets accordingly.It was negation on their part.
Yes there needs to be a concessionary re-think by the NHS and the 11 or 12 councils that operate the scheme in Strathclyde Region.
They must reinstate the fleets that was in place for therapeutically social and recreational activities.
The result of taxing personal incomes for free universal transport could be the last straw for the uncaring Westminster playboys and playgirls
I do understand the anger if free universal transport for pensioners and the chronically sick ends up being another tax hike by central government. We should have a voice in order to influence the decision makers of the SPTG
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There is a good point here – which is that specifc needs related travel might best be delivered by the services to which folk need access – like the NHS.
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I found the whole article quite baffling.
Some questions . . .
a) Who decides what is sufficient travel and what is excessive? Surely the need to travel is intimately linked to personal circumstances.
b) Who exactly are these ‘endlessly travelling seniors’ using their bus passes in an ‘obscenely exploitative’ manner, and how many of them are there in relation to the total number of bus passes issued?
c) How exactly is this issue related to the alleged stifling of enterprise in Scotland?
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The government is entiteld to decide what is sufficient travel TO SUBSIDISE.
Re (C) – bit of a Doh moment here.
The more Scotland chooses to spend on the periphery of a dependancy culture, the less it will have the capacity to foster the enterprise that alone can lift the country into growth; and the less it will have the ability to maintain and develop the infrastructural efficiency that underpins a confident and confidence inducing economy.
At the moment the Scottish Government is taking every soft option so as to limit any negatives in play when we get to the independence referendum. This is irresponsible and will exact a price whichever way that vote goes.
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Reading the Newsroom article, anyone might think that special buses are laid on for the seniors to ‘obscenely exploit’. Like all bus travellers, they are using scheduled services that have fixed costs.
We should be celebrating the fact that our seniors remain active in society, not downgrade them to indulgent sterotypes.
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Another slow news day for ForArgyll. Without hard facts this Article’s a rant.
Haven’t ForArgyll run recent favourable articles on West Coast Motors. So did they check their facts with them then?
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Not sure how the free travel scheme works, but I presume the bus companies get a fixed amount from the government each time someone uses the service.
In which case, isn’t the scheme helping to subsidise rural transport and keep services viable, as well as providing older people with free transport?
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Not when it’s paid for below cost.
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I could suggest one economy – stop issuing bus passes and ferry cards to second home owners. If you can afford 2 houses when others have none you can afford to pay the full wack. Don’t be mislead into thinking the wealthy do not make full use of them either when it suits them.
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For the last eight years I have used my bus pass EXCLUSIVELY for the 25 mile return journey from Barcaldine to Oban and back by scheduled bus service whenever possible. Translate that total distance into CARBON FOOTPRINT via a Transit van. Surely NOT to provide free transport at the point of use is the ‘obscenity’. Actually, if you are serious about global warming etc then ALL public transport should be free to users. Grr
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An interesting and valid point. This would mean a state service, though – which has value but is not what we have at the moment.
We do not think that it is defensible for the government to require private sector operators to carry concessionary travellers at a loss.
State services of any kind – like the NHS and like education – are a different matter and a different argument.
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Why shouldn’t bus operators make a social contribution? Surely we are ‘all in this together’. And let us not forget that Transport Scotland provides an annual subsidy of £66.5 million to the bus industry, the aim of which is to keep fares at affordable levels and enable bus operators to run services that might not otherwise be commercially viable.
And let’s face it, how much does it actually cost the bus company in reality to have an extra bum on that empty seat? If that seat would otherwise be empty then it is surely better to fill it at a lower fare – something the airlines have understood for many years.
In fact, prior to the introduction of electronic ticketing machines bus companies have been doing very well out of this, being able to present estimates of numbers and fares to the government for remuneration. According to Scottish Executive’s review of the scheme there were £700,000 of inaccurate claims last year and two firms were charged with fraud.
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There are other considerations. The Gov puts a lot of money into public health initiatives and preventative measures to keep seniors engaged, fit and active. This can be viewed as one of the more cost effective of those kinds of measures. Mental health and wellbeing is greatly enhanced by planning to go out, getting out and about etc
The other aspect is the increased footfall in tourist destinations in rural Scotland that you get from more people travelling – not to be sniffed out for fragile rural economies. I know of many seniors who travel because of this who would not be and supplying that extra little bit of income in the place they go to, multiple it a few times and it can make the unsustainable sustainable.
I could go on,,,,,,,,,,,
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Well said Lorna.
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I also do not agree with the view of Forargyll.com and it is obvious that the editor is not nearly 60 years of age. The bus companies currently get 67% of a single full fare. Surely it is better that there are 10 concession card holders on a bus than 1 person paying a single full fare of £2. The bus company would recive £13.40 instead of £2.
Recently on a visit to Dundee I travelled on the Travel Dundee local city bus service. The dearest single fare is £2.10 which is the fare I paid. If I was old enough to have a bus pass Travel Dundee would receive £1.41 (to the nearest penny) from the Scottish Government.
I also noticed an advert on the bus advertising a 10 journey ticket at £14.40 which equates to £1.44 per journey.
If the bus companies are struggling financially they should all stop selling cheap tickets and charge everyone the full fare.
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I’m the only one who thinks that the current scheme is just far too complicated and thus open to abuse? The additional cost involved in actually conveying a passenger will be minuscule compared with the fixed cost of the bus (capital and maintenance) and the driver’s salary. Why does the Government not just negotiate a flat rate with the various bus companies, annually adjusted for inflation, that allows all card carrying seniors to travel free?
Just the initial negotiation, then a monthly doling out of the subsidy. It will save lots of civil servants’ time, administrative overheads at the bus companies and, not to mention, faster passenger boarding times.
Or is this all just too simple?
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