Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced that disabled people across England will be entitled to free bus travel around the clock from April next year. The time restrictions on disabled bus passes will be scrapped, allowing unrestricted travel at any hour.
Current restrictions and the change
At present, disabled bus passes are only valid for weekday travel between 9.30am and 11pm, unless local authorities fund an extension. Greater Manchester introduced such an extension earlier this year, when Burnham served as mayor.
The time limitations will now be abolished across all areas in England, marking a significant change for disabled passengers.
Funding and cost
The £60 million required to finance the initiative comes from existing budgets, with £40 million from the Department for Work and Pensions and £20 million from the Department for Transport.
Burnham has introduced several measures since taking office as Prime Minister to combat the escalating cost of living. These include reducing business rates for pubs, capping bus fares at £2, and scrapping VAT on electricity bills.
Reactions and political context
Burnham said: "Buses are a lifeline for so many people - making it easier to get to work, education and healthcare. It's simply not right that many disabled people cannot travel using their pass during certain times of the day. So we're fixing that. Disabled people will now have unlimited free bus travel 24/7. I did it before in Greater Manchester and I'm proud to do it now for the whole country. This is part of our ongoing action to bring back hope and give people some much-needed breathing space on the cost of living."
Liberal Democrat Tom Gordon has been pushing for the reform for nearly two years and welcomed the decision. The MP stated: "Disabilities don't start at 9 o'clock, neither should disabled bus passes and soon enough they won't. This is a huge win for the disabled community."
The proposal to scrap the time limitations was initially blocked by MPs last year. A Conservative Party spokesman remarked: "This is simply the shuffling around of existing departmental budgets. Andy Burnham needs to come clean about how he is going to fund this growing list of policies."
