How many Bus Pass users use it to have an outing for a day

I can count on one hand the number of times I have used my bus pass. The last time I used it was for park and ride to get into the next city for a Carol service in the cathedral.

We do use them a lot when we are away from our home area. Love exploring new places and the bus routes from both Poole to Swanage and Eastbourne to Brighton are stunning. When we are at home, by the time we reach the nearest town time is getting on and to go on an adventure would need an overnight stop. We are thinking of doing just that.

DH and me use our passes a lot. Sometimes we go to a different town for the day, using buses, trams or local trains which are all free with our passes. We have used them on holiday in Devon, Dorset and The Lakes. I meet friends in town and use mine. It has saved us a fortune in fares, petrol and parking.

Oh, I wish, I wish.... 64 now and just two years of sky high bus fares to go.

Though I dare say the powers that be will have done away with them by then.

I use my bus pass more or less every day I ve just been an hour and a quarter today to my nearest city then same back again but I don’t normally do any circular routes

We are not on a bus route so the pass is not much use.

Ohh this is my domain.....

Once I got my bus pass at 60 (Wales) I became evangelical about using it at every possible opportunity and persuaded each of my friends to get theirs in turn (some very reluctantly as they thought they’d ‘feel old....!)

We now go on Jolly Girls Outings by bus arranged by me (I’m the eldest and was always the organised one when we were at school). The girls give me a date when they’re free to meet up and I simply tell them which bus to catch and we’re off on another mystery trip!

So far we’ve been for afternoon tea in Llandudno, lunch at Betws-y-coed, Slate Caverns, then they opened a gin distillery within a few miles of my home.....oh dear! It does mean we can enjoy a glass or two without worrying about drink driving.

On a serious note, the more we use our bus passes the less likelihood of services being axed so I implore everybody who can get one to do so and use it!

We hardly ever use ours cars are too convenient . I have met a lady on our local bus who sets off at the crack od dawn and just gets on any bus then changes somewhere to continue her jaunt. We were lucky we can go anywhere in Scotland with our bus passes but it takes almost 2 hours to the nearest big town whereas the car takes 30 minutes.

That’s a lot of buses Mick !
Must say I find any bus journey longer than 45 minutes too much.
I use my pass between two large towns, but know people who do much longer journeys and enjoy a day out.

We use our passes even when the car would be more convenient because we think it is better for the environment.

I do think it is unfair that those of us who live in big conurbations often get free rail travel as well. It is great for us but not for so many others. I have heard MPs talk about the Freedom Pass and assume we all get one but it is only in London.

If the Labour party gets power they have talked about nationalisation of public transport so would that mean all older people could travel for free or would it means that those of us who currently can would lose it?

I really should use my bus pass more - and the bus stop is just behind my house - so used to just jumping into the car and driving away ?

I've never used mine for days out as such, but since we have very good public transport, and Freedom Passes, we use them a lot. I use my car far less since I've had mine, so does dh. (Though he was reluctant at first, not wanting to feel like an old fart....)

If nothing else, I suspect that the Freedom Pass keeps an awful lot of cars (and their pollution) off the road, and out of the car parks.

Dh and I went to Exeter for a break, and used our passes to Dawlish and Exeter. The journey on the top of a double decker was breathtaking. We didn't use the car once. My friends and I go to Oxford and Cambridge for days out in the summer using the passes. We think we are really lucky.

My aunt is 81 and lives on the Isle of Wight. Every Monday she and a friend go on a bus tour round the island, stopping off at Morrisons to share a plate of chips and a cream tea!

We've been discussing going on holiday with ours.
I get all excited about going but then I think of the getting back. That wouldn't be quite so adventurous as we would have a destination that HAD to be reached.

I use mine often, and I can use it in the trains in the West Midlands area. Our U3A have just started a 'Bus Safari' group where will will use our passes to have days out together via buses an trains.

I always use mine in London - prefer the buses to the tube.

I don’t use mine as much as I should . I did however have a good day out visiting the lovely Shibden estate near Halifax .Had a great walk and some lunch beautiful place .

I use my freedom pass often for bus or tube. I like to use my car for convenience but the bus saves on time and parking and fees. I have on occasion just gone for a ride somewhere different.

We use ours a lot, and when I see people having to pay, I cringe at how expensive the fares can be. It has been a lovely perk to offset the ‘getting old(er)’ bit.
When on holiday we try and use the buses and leave the car parked up. It is so useful for popping into town, if we are organised enough to time it right!
On Wednesday, we thought we would go to Windsor, but just as our first bus arrived at the bus station, we saw the Green Line, drive out ?. Bracknell may have been regenerated, but it’s no substitute for Windsor. So it was an early trip home again.
I must say it is great for hospital visits, as their car parking is horrendous.
So we must use it or lose it, as someone upthread said.

Rarely use mine at all. Prefer my bike.

One journey , I did in the Torbay area , last November when down in Paignton at a Turkey & Tinsel weekend at a hotel there.
I used the bus route 22 , left Paignton ,and headed to its northern terminal at Newton Abbot , explored two pubs in the Good Beer Guide being a CAMRA member , returned south calling at a pub in Torquay, then caught it to furthest south point at Brixham, getting to the pub there also added a steep climb, and a ski slope decent , before heading back to Paignton.

With direct bus routes locally to places like Northampton and Bicester through county council cut backs in subsided bus routes.

Mick

I have a bus pass but have never used it. Good luck to those who do use to travel to places in the UK; that's what it's for.

I think I have mentioned this before but when we were on holiday in Lyme Regis, there was a man at the bus stop with a large backpack and a holdall. He was telling people that he was going around as much of England as he could using his free pass. He said a lot of the time he camped out.