The Sick Moon Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Proposals to raise the entitlement age for a free bus pass have been met with dismay by Age Isle of Man. It's one of the changes being considered by the Department of Infrastructure as it looks to make £5 million-worth of savings. The charity says the passes are highly valued - and for many older people are vital for getting out and about. Age Isle of Man's chief executive, George Quayle, says it's far from clear what savings would be achieved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sick Moon Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 I don't know. We charge them for nursing care, forcing them to sell their homes if necessary. Why not buses? Unless they're skint of course, then they could have a free pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Let's tax sock-puppets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sick Moon Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 And don't forget, it covers the railways too. Hardly an essential service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wright Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 60 was introduced when women had to retire at 60 and men at 65. We are now at an equalizing pension age of 67. Why shouldn't it be pension age. I'm all in favour of free travel for the retired and those on social benefits. So, if you are working, or retired on a public service or private pension at 60 and are not yet drawing state pension what is the issue. Maybe its another benefit that should be means tested, Question is would means testing cost more than blanket allocation. The alternative is free or nominal fixed fee (say 50p or £1 a ride) public transport and huge parking fees, taxes on private parking spaces and large edge of town parks for park & ride schemes. Nationalise the Tesco car park and shoprite ones and charge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VikingRaider Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 As someone said on the radio yesterday ... these so-called savings from not issuing free bus passes will only happen if said individuals then go on to pay for their journeys ... this simply won't happen ... most will use their cars so the 'savings' are totally spurious. Quite frankly anything which persuades half blind pensioners who shouldn't have a licence in the first place to use a bus rather than drive should be encouraged, whatever the so-called cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost Login Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I am in favour of free bus passes for the elderly in general, although why they are also valid on the railways which are meant to be a tourist attarction I am not sure. However as in parts of the UK I do not see why at the least the use should be restricted to the less busy times e.g post 10:00am and pre 4:00pm and outside this say if you have a hospital appiontment. Mabe even means test? I think though that at the same time many of those who also receive free travel should have it cut. I believe in the past family of bus drivers and many others had free bus passes. In addition I know the consultation is also looking at free travel for school kids. I am also in favour of amending this so that it basically only applies if you live say x miles depending on age from your local school. If you live within x distance you should not need to use public transport and if you choose to go to a school outside your catchment area then travel costs should be your responsibility Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x-in-man Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Money raised by introducing charges 500k Money raised by delaying free passes 50 quid. Money spent in administrative costs and enforcement 1.5 million - it'll be the way it'll go, the Manx way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolley Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I am in favour of free bus passes for the elderly in general, although why they are also valid on the railways which are meant to be a tourist attarction I am not sure. My admittedly controversial theory on this is that it is to disguise how few tourists are actually using them. I say it with heavy heart because I think our railways are great and should be promoted more internationally. I remember the headlines about the "huge increase" in patronage on the railways. The article was rather quiet about it coinciding with the introduction of free pass availability on the railways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolley Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 As someone said on the radio yesterday ... these so-called savings from not issuing free bus passes will only happen if said individuals then go on to pay for their journeys ... this simply won't happen ... most will use their cars so the 'savings' are totally spurious. Quite frankly anything which persuades half blind pensioners who shouldn't have a licence in the first place to use a bus rather than drive should be encouraged, whatever the so-called cost. This. Spot on. No savings there at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 To quote (or misquote) “before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes”, maybe MHK's and civil servants should, prior to spouting thoughtless ideas, get their bums off their ergonomic office chairs, get out of their cosy offices, leave their cars in their free parking spaces and 'walk a mile or two' in a pensioner's shoes? Then and only then, would they be barely qualified to consider making any changes. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wright Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Addie, but that is just it, its not pensioners. The scheme for pensioners will stay. Its just those aged 60 to 67; who are not pensioners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manx-person Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Nationalise the Tesco car park and shoprite ones and charge? If it works for Mugabe then why not for Tinkerbell ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nellie Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Passes are valid on the railways because one of their 'Key Performance Indicators' is/was the absolute number of passengers carried, and also, the subsidy per passenger, so it made 'sense' to carry as many passengers as possible,even if they contributed no revenue. Obviously, since those days, the revenue has become more important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambon Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I think it is a good idea and will save tens of millions of pounds. If everyone is charged to use buses, nobody will use them, then they can close the whole service down. Quite frankly, on the odd occasion I use the bus, I rarely see anyone pay, and the buses are already nearly empty. If these idiots really think charging will improve there finances, they are even more stupid than I thought. Actually, no, that is not possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.