Is the council being ripped off by the bus companies?

[alsteph]

In April this year I acquired my first bus pass. On two or three occasions when I have used it I have been of the opinion that the bus companies are cheating on the councils. I got on the bus at Church and told the driver I was going to Ossy library, when I looked on my ticket it said the destination was Blackburn centre. On another occasion I got on at the library going to Church and the ticket destination said Accrington centre. I assume that these prices are claimed back through the council. Are we being ripped off?

[Margaret Pilkington]

There has already been a discussion on this subject.
If you are concerned then the answer is to contact the bus company concerned and ask them what their policy regarding the matter is.
I travel by bus regularly using my bus pass.....all over the country(England, that is...you cannot use your pass in Scotland or Wales) and have found that my destination on the ticket is the one I have asked for.
I cannot recall having a ticket for a stop way past the one I requested.
But if you have, then make enquiries.......and if you wouldn't mind letting us know what the bus company says....I for one would be pleased to read it.....I'm sure others would too.

[gpick24]

Here`s the thread Margaret mentioned -
http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/f...ard-64361.html

[Neil]

Maybe it depends on which bus company you use, which one had the wrong destination on it?

[Neil]

It's wrong you can't use them in Scotland or Wales, it's time the UK had the same rules/benefits in each member country or we should just split into 4.

[cashman]

Originally Posted by Neil

It's wrong you can't use them in Scotland or Wales, it's time the UK had the same rules/benefits in each member country or we should just split into 4.

My questions to that comment are (1) Do scotland @ wales have bus passes? n if so (2) can they use them in England?

[Margaret Pilkington]

Cashy, I met some people from the highlands when I was in Lytham with Ma.....they had bus passes but could not use them down here. I think it is same for the welsh too.
Yes Neil, You should be able to use them all over the UK....and the rules about what travel is covered should be the same.
In Manchester metropolitan Borough, the residents can use their cards on the trams.....but non residnets cannot.
You used to be able to use your bus pass on the Blackpool trams, but now you cannot(not sure if this rule applies to the residents of the Fylde).
Personally, I would prefer to pay a flat fare and be allowed to use all forms of transport.

In Melboure...you buy a train ticket to the city and it allows you free travel on the buses right up to the zone where you bought your train ticket...so you could travel into the city by train and (as long as the ticket was a return) travel home by bus.
Other countries seem to have affordable transport costs...so I don't get why we can't follow their models and have the same ability to travel.

I get really P'd off when people(some bus drivers are the biggest culprits) look at us OAPerishers and think we are getting free travel. I pay for my travel through taxes...both local and national.
There arfe issues about loneliness in the elderly...well, if you can get out and about at a reasonable cost there is a good chance you will meet, speak to and socialise with others like yourself.
Getting out and about also ensures that you move, you are active..... you walk......and this has a positive impact on fitness/heart health/lowering of blood pressure/prevention of obesity.
Walking also means that you are less likely to suffer from bone thinning and spend time in a hospital bed with a hip fracture.
those who get the bus for a day out will often spend some money at their destination(ok,it might only be for a cup of tea and a sandwich)so it boosts the economy of where ever they have gone.

Recently a bus driver told me that he 'would be glad when the bl**dy government got rid of the bus passes - he didn't want his bus full of old and wrinklies' or words to that effect.
I dropped a few short sharp words in his ear. He apologised to me at the end of my journey...but by then it was too late I had already composed the e-mail to the bus company.....Wi-fi on buses can be a godsend.

[Bob Dobson]

I think it safe to assume that there is no need for Margaret Pilkington to declare an interest. That's a common enough surname.

[accyman]

Originally Posted by Neil

It's wrong you can't use them in Scotland or Wales, it's time the UK had the same rules/benefits in each member country or we should just split into 4.

lol just look at the precription fiasco you can get free prescriptions regardless of wealth , job status etc in the other 3 countries but people on what was the old incapacity benefit and sick couldnt get a free prescription or even free dental treatment in England

i cant help but think the person who made the rules up on paying for prescriptions didnt like teh English too much because not only do we have to pay for our prescriptions unless we have something really bad wrong with us but we pay for everybody elses medicines as well

its a poor do when people in wale sand scotland on good wages can get what they desire for free as long as they can get a doctor to prescribe it yet in England people have to pay for asthma inhalors because its deemed not a serious illness

its not the other countries fault though its this contries divvy goverments past and present that fail to reduce teh NHS bill by making everyone who can pay their way but as it is one county out of 4 is footing the bill for teh other 3 .Its mainly because it will loose votes for teh party who makes it fair

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by Bob Dobson

I think it safe to assume that there is no need for Margaret Pilkington to declare an interest. That's a common enough surname.

Yes Bob it is a common name.....a name I married into. With no connections to the rich Pilkingtons(in either glass or transport).
Just in case anyone was wondering.