Concessionary travel on public transport is available in the UK to pensioners and people with disabilities. The concession varies geographically. There are free travel or reduced fare schemes while other local authorities provided tokens; some schemes are limited to one's home local authority, others allow use in neighbouring authorities. On this hotchpotch, the Government has legislated for new national minima of a minimum half fare within existing scheme boundaries. However, Scotland and Wales have their own ideas. This paper will first consider how much the UK taxpayer currently pays for concessionary travel schemes, and what this buys in terms of discounts. It will then review the data that are available about existing levels of travel by people who are eligible for a concession. Finally, it will consider how the concession is changing and some of the effects that this might have, and the research that is needed to find out whether this use of money represents best value. (A)
Abstract