In December 2022, Cornwall Council opened a consultation on a proposed change to the concessionary fares scheme, see concessionary fares consultation. The proposal was that concessionary passes could only be used for free travel in the statutory hours of 9.30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Fridays and all days on weekends (instead of the current ability to use passes at any time of the day or night). The Council said at the time, "with increasing demands on services and budgets, the Council is considering options to bring the scheme into line with the legal requirements.”
The consultation period has closed and the Council has compiled the results. A paper is coming to Cabinet at its meeting on 22 March. It was expected that the Cabinet would have been asked to endorse the proposal to reduce the hours at which concessionary passes could be used with a saving to the Council budget of an estimated £150,000 per annum. Admittedly, this estimate has a very large degree of uncertainty and it would never actually be possible to measure exactly how much had been saved by the move. But, it would certainly save the Council something.
However, instead of recommending proceeding with the proposal, the report’s authors are recommending no change to the current system. Furthermore, there is no recommendation as to how the impact on the Council budget already set for 2023/24, which assumes that the proposal would go ahead, would be mitigated. No real reason is provided for this change of heart - there is no evidence that the consultation resulted in a torrent of opposition from the public for the proposal. It just seems that whoever first proposed the idea has changed their mind! As I have explained in my previous writings, I believe that most concessionary pass holders would not be opposed to the change and many have expressed bewilderment as to why they continue to get free travel - they would prefer some of this money be used in ensuring that reasonable bus services are maintained across Cornwall. They fully understand that having the right to free travel is of no benefit if there aren’t the services on which to use it.
Overall, it seems that the consultation exercise was a complete waste of time and money.
An additional proposal tacked on to the report is to provide concessionary passes to young people who have left the care system. This also has a budgetary impact estimated to be approximately £150,000 per annum. I think that this is a good idea and care leavers are probably more in need of this financial support than many of the current concessionary pass holders who qualify on the basis of age alone (myself included!).
The report and recommendations to Cabinet can be viewed on the Council website at Cabinet 22 March (item 10 on the agenda) or the reports can be downloaded from here: Cabinet report concessionary fares and Concessionary fares appendix.
Update 22 March
As expected, Cabinet accepted the proposal as put forward in the officers’ report and agreed to continue to allow concessionary pass holders to use their passes at any time of the day. The decision by the Cabinet was:
"RESOLVED:
1. That the continuation of the existing unrestricted ENCTS scheme for pass holders be supported, meaning that the ENCTS would continue to offer free local bus travel to all pass holders at all times of the day and night, facilitating continued unrestricted access to employment, education, healthcare, social and leisure opportunities.
2. That partnership working with Bus Operators to deliver a scheme to provide free bus passes for care leavers up to the age of 25 be supported. The aim is to deliver this scheme by June 2023."