Concessionary fares schemes are very widespread and account for a large proportion of local authority public transport budgets. The reorganisation of the public transport industry as a result of the Transport Act 1985 means that concessionary fares schemes have to be made available to all operators within the local authority area. Operators are reimbursed for carrying these concessionary passengers. Reimbursement is calculated according to the principle of revenue foregone so it is necessary to take into account any extra travel that such concessions might generate. This report uses the 1985/86 National Travel Survey (NTS) to describe the local authority provision of concessionary fares schemes for Old Age Pensioners (OAPs) on local bus services. It looks at the effects of these local authority provided schemes by estimating the extra travel generated by different types of concessions.
Abstract