Bus pass discrimination

[swee'pea99]

But you said the concession was being withdrawn in london sweatpea.

If so, news to me.

Yes, the freedom pass age has gone up.

But acky was referring to free bus travel (plus, though he was maybe unaware, also train, tram, tube) - You get this at 60 in London.

The freedom pass at 60 WAS withdrawn along with the rest of the country, it is not BEING withdrawn.

But there is free travel for londoners at 60.

which was accy's point.

You're right! Thanks. Seriously. I thought Freedom Pass was it - I'd never heard of an Oyster 60+ card. It appears that as you say I will after all get free travel in London from my 60th - I just won't get free travel on services in other parts of the country. Which I have to say I'm surprised to find was ever on offer. Jolly good.

 

[snorri]

Hold on. Devolve powers to England, so England can subsidise England to provide free [insert item of interest here] to the English?

No, not quite.
It's not about subsidies to England, an English parliament if there is to be one, may decide to grant from its own budget free travel for English residents.

 

[Blue Hills]

You're right! Thanks. Seriously. I thought Freedom Pass was it - I'd never heard of an Oyster 60+ card. It appears that as you say I will after all get free travel in London from my 60th - I just won't get free travel on services in other parts of the country. Which I have to say I'm surprised to find was ever on offer. Jolly good.

Glad to be of service sweetpea.
And to return back here to find something productive rather than what I feared was going to be one of those cchat odd cross-purpose arguments
I should really have included a link for the Oyster 60 plus thingy.

Belatedly and as a point of info for others, here it is:

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/60-plus-oyster-photocard?intcmp=54724

The process is very simple I think - I think you can apply a little time before the magic 60 arrives.
You will of course have to wait for your northern bus trips (if any buses still exist by then).

all the best.

 

[Andy in Germany]

No, not quite.
It's not about subsidies to England, an English parliament if there is to be one, may decide to grant from its own budget free travel for English residents.

Is this a good time to talk about funding for Crossrail, HS2, et c.. that is attributed to Scotland, Wales and NI?

 

[dodgy]

Can't explain it.
I assume each council has a budget and must decide where to spend it.
We have bus passes which we can only use after 0930.
My Bro lives on the Wirral and they get free bus, train and Mersey ferry. It means they can.......
Travel all over the wirral
Get the underground train to Liverpool
Or
Bus and Mersey ferry. The ferry will take them to Liverpool, Wallasey or even a cruise to to 'bar'.... where it empties into the Irish Sea.
Fantastic.

Yes, Merseyside is one of the few English counties with bus passes issued at age 60. I fully expect it to be done away with on the eve of my 60th birthday.

 

[Drago]

No, not quite.
It's not about subsidies to England, an English parliament if there is to be one, may decide to grant from its own budget free travel for English residents.

Thats not how it works in the devolved governments. They use income from Westminster - last time I checked that was in England - to pay for such jollies. The English pay for the free tuition fees in my Scottish homeland, for example. So to work by the same measure the English would indeed subsidise the English to provide freebies to the English.

 

[BoldonLad]

Oh the irony. The German state run railway company running British privatised bus and railway companies.

The real irony is that they are capable of doing it.

There is even a suggestion in this thread that said company is making PROFITS! (sorry about the language).

Were any of our State Owned Industries ever that capable?

 

[Andy in Germany]

Thats not how it works in the devolved governments. They use income from Westminster - last time I checked that was in England - to pay for such jollies. The English pay for the free tuition fees in my Scottish homeland, for example. So to work by the same measure the English would indeed subsidise the English to provide freebies to the English.

What?

People in Scotland don't pay tax?

Why wasn't I told?

Where's my suitcase?

 

[raleighnut]

The real irony is that they are capable of doing it.

There is even a suggestion in this thread that said company is making PROFITS! (sorry about the language).

Were any of our State Owned Industries ever that capable?

State owned companies were never supposed to make a profit, they were a service.

Just to balance things out look at National Express,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natio...nd long-distance coach services across Europe.

 

[snorri]

Thats not how it works in the devolved governments. They use income from Westminster - last time I checked that was in England - to pay for such jollies. The English pay for the free tuition fees in my Scottish homeland, for example.

For a person who claims to have a Scottish homeland, ......................life is too short to explain.
An English parliament was only a suggestion to get Accy a free pass on the buses.

 

[BoldonLad]

State owned companies were never supposed to make a profit, they were a service.

Just to balance things out look at National Express,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Express#:~:text=National Express Group is a British multinational public,and Morocco and long-distance coach services across Europe.

a) The suggestion elsewhere (not by me) was that Arriva was repatriating profits from UK to subsidise their German operations. My query. was, were any British Nationalised Industries ever as capable?

b) National Express may once have been a Nationalised Industry, but, not during the period of its International operations

Having experienced the transport system in Germany, I was facetiously pondering, did we ever have anything even approaching as effective, could we even (shock horror) learn something from them?

 

[classic33]

Glad to be of service sweetpea.
And to return back here to find something productive rather than what I feared was going to be one of those cchat odd cross-purpose arguments
I should really have included a link for the Oyster 60 plus thingy.

Belatedly and as a point of info for others, here it is:

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares/free-and-discounted-travel/60-plus-oyster-photocard?intcmp=54724

The process is very simple I think - I think you can apply a little time before the magic 60 arrives.
You will of course have to wait for your northern bus trips (if any buses still exist by then).

all the best.

First is getting out of the bus business, having already sold Greyhound.
Arrival is trying to sell/dispose of it's UK public transport services.

 

[classic33]

Is this a good time to talk about funding for Crossrail, HS2, et c.. that is attributed to Scotland, Wales and NI?

No!

 

[Andy in Germany]

No!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...

 

[HMS_Dave]

a) The suggestion elsewhere (not by me) was that Arriva was repatriating profits from UK to subsidise their German operations. My query. was, were any British Nationalised Industries ever as capable?

b) National Express may once have been a Nationalised Industry, but, not during the period of its International operations

Having experienced the transport system in Germany, I was facetiously pondering, did we ever have anything even approaching as effective, could we even (shock horror) learn something from them?

Yes, i did say that and they almost certainly are. But i should also add, that Arriva run many services in other countries far better than here in the UK, Such as Denmark. The question of were any British Nationalised Industries ever as capable? Yes! is the answer... No private company would invest in, pardon the pun, a train wreck. There is money to be made in a deregulated, private system where millions rely on the services. Jacking up the prices, lack of/poorly managed investment and 'record profits' an all too common theme...