Issue - meetings

Report to follow.

Steve Warrener, Finance and Corporate Services Director outlined a proposal to introduce an annual charge of £10 for ‘older people’ (those who qualify for English National Concessionary Scheme (ENCT) Pass) to access the local concessionary travel scheme which currently enables free travel on Metrolink and train within Greater Manchester.

Under the 2007 Act, eligible older and disabled people are entitled to free off-peak travel on all local bus (only) services anywhere in England from 9:30 until 23:30 on weekdays and all days at weekends and on Bank Holidays via the use of an ENCT pass.  The Act stipulates that the travel permit for the ENCT pass must be issued free of charge.  The only charge that TfGM is able to levy is to cover the cost of the replacement of lost, stolen or damaged passes.  This currently stands at £10. 

In addition to the national scheme ENCT, TfGM currently offer an enhanced scheme which offers free travel for older and disabled people:

·         on Metrolink trams between 09:30 and midnight, Monday to Friday, and all day at weekends and on public holidays; and

·         on trains on journeys scheduled to run at or after 09:30, Monday to Friday, and all day at weekends and on public holidays.

The report proposed that TfGM introduce a £10 charge per annum for older people for access to the enhanced local concessionary scheme.  Should older people not wish to pay the £10 charge and opt out of the enhanced scheme they would still be entitled to free off-peak travel on all local bus services as outlined in the 2007 Act.

It was reported that to enable the continued use of the ENCTS cards in circulation, and therefore to implement the proposal at the lowest possible cost, TfGM would issue an ‘entitlement product’ that would be loaded on to a concessionaire’s existing card once they have paid the £10 annual charge.   It was highlighted that the proposal would align the charges for older people with the charges for other discretionary concessionary travel schemes in Greater Manchester.

This proposal is to be presented to the GMCA on 26^th July for approval.

Members provided the following questions and comments

·         Members expressed concern that the charge may present financial difficulties to some individuals from accessing their travel pass, potentially creating a barrier to take-up.  It was acknowledged that the sum of £10 will not be an issue for all, but there are those that may find covering this extra charge challenging.

·         A Member stated that that the older generation have already made large contributions to tax and national insurance with transport highlighted as already being funded via council tax levy. This demographic had also been recently affected with other recent rising costs such as the removal of free TV licensing for over 75s.

·         The point was made that there are reliability issues with public transport in GM, and asking for an additional payment for the current quality of service is a challenging message.

·         A Member noted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 168