OAP pass, getting out and about/potential cuts

[dutch 68]

Last week I was again asked by someone sitting behind a computer.

Epilepsy? It is not on my pc filing system, how do you qualify that, physical or mental?

 

If it costs the government money they always try, attempt to consider someone with epilepsy enabled enough to not be so disabled to qualify for getting costly assistance.

 

In reality it is often treated as a confusing grey area with little consistency. UK police has no proper training on it whatsoever.

Edited February 26, 2014 by dutch

[verydull 10]

non epileptic eplipesy is worse as it does fit into both categories. Eplipesy is physical as it can be treated by drugs and is to do with the brain (afaik). non eplipectic fits and seizures are the physical manifestation of a mental health difficulty..

[sheffbag 227]

Actually Julado, it costs a damn sight LESS than that. It's only £2 per person per year (approx £2.6 million/year, divided between roughly 1.4 million residents) to provide the "extras" - the half hour bonus of an 0900 start for the pensioners' pass, and the train concession.

 

We have been sold down the river for a penny-pinching less than one penny a day!

I'm disgusted about this and will be raising it most strongly with my councillors and my contacts at sypte.

 

And what do you expect them to do PT? - change it back?

 

"Sold down a river for penny pinching." - Really?

 

Lets look at the facts

 

ENCTS national requirements is for 9:30 - 23:00 on bus only - thats it, nothing else. Its up to the respective TCA's / PTE's to offer any additional benefit on top of it.

 

SYPTE had previously decided to offer additional funding to cover both 9:00 - 9:29 plus post 23:00 services and additional benefits on rail. Did we see Sheffield Forum members saying thanks then for providing it?

 

The money coming into the PTE has been cut and cut, my own personal views on the PTE are evident from my other posts but they are in a position where money has to be cut back and the funds that have been spent on "extra's" has been one of the funds identified.

 

If you look at our neighbouring counties then;

West Yorkshire - ENCTS guidelines on bus - Half price on rail (and i would expect that to go soon)

Derbyshire - ENCTS guidelins on bus, no rail concession

Lincolnshire - ENCTS guidelines on bus - no rail concession

 

so how exactly has the PTE "Sold you down the river" by removing a benefit that was over and above what all our neighbours do and is above the guidelines set down by Govt?

 

is it a PR disaster for them when you calculate the potential money saved considering that quite of lot of people who can move their journey time to 9:30 probably will so the concession reimbursemetn will not be much less? - probably

 

Do not take a luxury as a standard and then moan when it is taken away, be grateful that you had it in the first place. Im sure the residents of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire would have liked to have the same that South Yorkshire residents have had for the past few years.

[verydull 10]

Disabled people could travel before 9am, but thanks for the attempt...

[kidley 48]

Disabled people could travel before 9am, but thanks for the attempt...

 

Only in South Yorkshire though, one exception noted.

[verydull 10]

not only in SY, if you look at the table I found there are other LA who offer the pre-9am concession to disabled people..

[sheffbag 227]

Verydull - if you wish to be pedantic you are correct, you could travel pre 9. but again that was an extra paid for and offered by the PTE so in effect thank you for backing my point up.

 

I assume the table you are referring to is BUS0840? which also demonstrates that the number of authorities offering additional concessions on bus travel has dropped by nearly 12% in the last 4 years and i would expect the figure to drop lower when 2014/15 is announced.

 

It also shows that previously SY was one of only 9 authorities out of 89 to offer Rail subsidies (within its local area). 4 years ago there was 17 so a near 50% reduction on that figure.plusit demonstates that SY actually was one of the better TCA's when it came to giving enhancements when you look at your own stats.

 

But that doesnt support the moaning does it?

[Andy C 86]

Put simply (again), the English National Concession Travel Scheme for Senior Citizens and the Disabled, funded by the government, offers travel on local bus services in England from 09:30-23:00 Mondays to Fridays and anytime at weekends. Anything above and beyond that is funded by the local authority out of their general transport budget at their discretion.

 

Since the current government started with the austerity cuts, the general transport budget for South Yorkshire has been cut each year. This year a further 10% in savings has to be found.

 

The current proposals of cutting things provided 'above and beyond' along with some redundancies at SYPTE save the required amount.

 

The alternative is to cut all tendered bus services which would see a lot of rural, evening, Sunday and local minibus services vanish. This potentially would leave some pensioners and disabled people with no buses to use their pass on! All I'd say there is be careful what you wish for.

 

There are perfectly valid arguments as to why bus passes should be offered with the extras including peak travel and rail travel, however that argument is higher up the chain at government level, not locally where councillors and transport managers are basically being forced into making a decision on what cuts are 'less worse'.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Andy C

[verydull 10]

ok. Lets move away from the rights and wrongs of the cuts for a bit. Lets look at the process that took place that got us to this point. O wait, no proper consultation or discussion with anyone affected. Lets look at the vast publicity explaining the changes? O wait, there isn't any.

 

Now, i am aware that cuts need to be made. But to arbitarly cut off all subsidy for these passes without letting disabled and elderly people contribute and bear the brunt of the costs themselves (which as i said costs around ten pounds per person a year) is in my opinion wrong.

 

I know about the budget cuts, iv been hit many different ways without recognition of the fact im disabled. Im just arguing that we should have been properly consulted and given the option to keep these 'perks' (if you want to call this lifeline that) and given more choices as to how to resolve it.

 

as a disabled person who holds a carer pass i am being doubly penalised. That is really not fair. But as i said, im not asking for the 'free' stuff back, or making stark choices, but a creative solution where there is a happy medium (which i believe is totally possible).

[Andy C 86]

ok. Lets move away from the rights and wrongs of the cuts for a bit. Lets look at the process that took place that got us to this point. O wait, no proper consultation or discussion with anyone affected. Lets look at the vast publicity explaining the changes? O wait, there isn't any.

 

Now, i am aware that cuts need to be made. But to arbitarly cut off all subsidy for these passes without letting disabled and elderly people contribute and bear the brunt of the costs themselves (which as i said costs around ten pounds per person a year) is in my opinion wrong.

 

I know about the budget cuts, iv been hit many different ways without recognition of the fact im disabled. Im just arguing that we should have been properly consulted and given the option to keep these 'perks' (if you want to call this lifeline that) and given more choices as to how to resolve it.

 

as a disabled person who holds a carer pass i am being doubly penalised. That is really not fair. But as i said, im not asking for the 'free' stuff back, or making stark choices, but a creative solution where there is a happy medium (which i believe is totally possible).

 

I'm sure it must be more than £10 per passholder per year unless many pass holders are making very little use of the facilities, for every journey made on a pass SYPTE pay the bus/tram/train operator an amount which is calculated on roughly speaking the average fare.

 

But that is an interesting proposal - pass holders buy an annual upgrade at a reasonable price.

[verydull 10]

according to the stats available that is the price for covering all the addtional benefits (ibcluding younger peoples concession too).

[sheffbag 227]

ok. Lets move away from the rights and wrongs of the cuts for a bit. Lets look at the process that took place that got us to this point. O wait, no proper consultation or discussion with anyone affected. Lets look at the vast publicity explaining the changes? O wait, there isn't any.

 

Now, i am aware that cuts need to be made. But to arbitarly cut off all subsidy for these passes without letting disabled and elderly people contribute and bear the brunt of the costs themselves (which as i said costs around ten pounds per person a year) is in my opinion wrong.).

As Annie has pointed out the actual cost per journey is approx £1.22 so unless you are only making 9 journeys a year it wouldnt be £10

 

 

I know about the budget cuts, iv been hit many different ways without recognition of the fact im disabled. Im just arguing that we should have been properly consulted and given the option to keep these 'perks' (if you want to call this lifeline that) and given more choices as to how to resolve it. ).

And how would you have been consulted.

They are perks - anything over and above the norm is a perk. If, from the beginning, the PTE/ITA had decided to only implement the conditions of the scheme then we wouldnt be having this conversation and you would have accepted it and adjusted accordingly because you wouldnt have known any different

 

as a disabled person who holds a carer pass i am being doubly penalised. That is really not fair. But as i said, im not asking for the 'free' stuff back, or making stark choices, but a creative solution where there is a happy medium (which i believe is totally possible).

 

And how would the "happy medium" be collected

Who would set the rate (which would be a lot higher than £10)

What would you do about the people who complain that they would rarely use the enhancement but be expected to pay for it?

What would you do if you thought the rate set was too high?

woudl you prefer to pay only for the travel you do?