Buses had to stop 80p fare

TRANSPORT chiefs have defended controversial changes to concessionary bus fares.

Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority (GMITA) is increasing prices from April 3 to balance its budget in a bid to save £40million over the next three years.

As reported in the Chronicle, the local concessionary bus fare scheme will change from a flat fare of 80p to half the normal adult fare for the journey being made.

The changes will affect the under-17s and students who use a bus pass to travel to and from college, as well as some disabled people and passengers aged over 60 travelling before 9.30am on weekdays.

The over-60s will continue to travel free on buses after 9.30am on weekdays under the national concessionary scheme but will have to pay a full adult fare when travelling before 9.30am on weekdays.

GMITA will continue to fund free travel for the over-60s on local trains and trams after 9.30am on weekdays. Holders of Concession Plus passes will still be able to travel free on local services at all times.

GMITA says changing the local concessionary bus fare will allow it to protect its spending on subsidised bus services.

These are services which are not commercially viable for bus operators and would not run without GMITA’s financial support and include services on the general bus network, dedicated school buses and demand-responsive services such as Local Link.

Chairman, Councillor Ian MacDonald, said: “I know how important concessionary fares are, especially at a time when household budgets are under strain, but changing the concessionary fare means we are able to protect the subsidised bus network as far as possible to ensure that people still have bus services to use in the first place.”

Vice chairman, Councillor Keith Whitmore, said: “Changing concessionary to a half fare will bring us into line with neighbouring municipal areas such as Derbyshire and West Yorkshire.

“This is not the only way of making savings that we looked at, and it certainly wasn’t the first — we found £20 million of savings from our own cost base before we looked at anything else.

“We are making these changes to concessionary fares in order to protect our essential services for the benefit of everyone.”