Bus passes

Our local authority issues a pass to all over 60, which gives free bus fares and half fare on off-peak trains. Observation suggests it's very well used, even by folk - admittedly including me until recently- who are still in work. I'd be willing to pay a set fare or even an annual contribution as for the paid-for Senior Railcard, but wouldn't like to see those who really need it deprived of cheap or free transport. It does create problems on those "off-peak" trains and city-centre buses which overlap with late or early commuting times. These are hugely over-crowded and the validity of passes at these times needs an urgent rethink.

It must depend where you live.
When we lived in Gateshead in the '90s I had a bus pass which gave me half fare. At the time I heard the pensioners in SE got a pass to completely free travel.
But the public transport system there was so good - it included the Metro, where you could go out to the NE coast for the day for next to nothing. Don't know if it's the same now.
But if it was, I would be happy to contribute something.

I have used my bus pass precisely twice locally in the years I have had it, because the buses around us are somfew and far between. But it comes into its own when I am in Birmingham or London or Oxford.
£25 a year? I would rahther get an Uber!!

I often said a £1 would be fine by me but an annual charge is also a good idea.

£2 is cheap compared to the fares around here. To get from the outlying areas to the nearest High St and supermarket it's £5.60 each way for a journey of approx 8 miles.
There is a small free community bus for those that can proove their need but it only gives 2 hrs in town once a week.
I'm sure several people who rely on their bus pass would be stuck without it.
A small annual charge is not unreasonable.

In rural areas like this, to be honest it's only the people with bus passes who keep the bus services going. Otherwise for most of the day there would only be one or two passengers on the bus. How many would stop using the buses if they had to pay I don't know - I would guess it's an important part of their life to many who use it who don't have other transport and would be isolated - and to be quite frank are some of the poorest in our community. Even on the town service round our quite small town, without the bus pass the cost there and back would be over £2 wherever you start or stop, which is chelseababy's suggestion - and that would be quite a lot for many of the very elderly pensioners around here who only have their state pension to live on.

I don't get mine yet but would be willing to pay a one off fee or something (say £1) a trip. There has been uproar locally when the Council brought in a £1 charge for pre 9:30 journeys.