Freedom Pass
| Location | Greater London |
|---|---|
| Technology | |
| Manager | London Councils |
| Validity | |
| Variants |
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| Website | http://www.freedompass.org |
Freedom Pass is a concessionary travel scheme, which began in 1973, to provide free travel to residents of Greater London, England who were aged 60 and over (eligibility age increasing by phases to 66 by 2020) or who have a disability. The scheme is funded by local authorities and coordinated by London Councils. Originally the pass was a paper ticket, but since 2004 it has been encoded on to a contactless smartcard compatible with Oyster card readers.
The scheme was created in 1973 by the Greater London Council, although there had been concessionary bus fare schemes in London before that. When the council was abolished in 1986, responsibility for the scheme passed to the London borough councils. The cost of providing the travel concession is negotiated between London Councils and the local transport operator Transport for London. It is funded through a mixture of national grant and council tax. In 2007 there was a dispute between Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and London Councils on the negotiation process, in particular the ability for the Greater London Authority to impose a charge should no agreement be reached.
Freedom Passes have two main versions, an Older Person's Freedom Pass (OPFP) and a Disabled Person's Freedom Pass (DPFP); the former has a blue right hand edge and the latter a yellow one to enable transport operators to quickly identify which concessions are applicable. Greater London residents who turned 60 before 6 April 2010 were eligible for an OPFP but from then on the qualifying age increases in a graduated way, until it becomes 66 by 6 October 2020, although the 2011 government spending review proposes speeding the process to be fully implemented by 2018. London residents over 60 can get a 60+ oystercard on payment of £20. This has all the benefits of the Freedom Pass, but only within Greater London. Unlike the Freedom Pass, it is not valid on buses outside Greater London.
Disabled residents for whom an Older Person's Freedom Pass is inappropriate (if they are too young or specifically require a Disabled Person's Freedom Pass) are, if they do not automatically qualify (e.g. if they are already certified as blind), assessed to determine whether their degree of disability allows issue of a disabled person's pass. In early 2010 the responsibility for judging the degree of disability passed to local councils, and there were complaints of people who had been assessed as needing a pass for many years not having their passes renewed although their condition had not improved.
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