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    Over-60s free travel costs taxpayers three times as much as fare dodgers
    United Kingdom

    Over-60s free travel costs taxpayers three times as much as fare dodgers

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    42 Comments

    1. raven43122 on

      They really want to push this “hate the old” agenda don’t they?

      I’d rather pay a bit more tax than have  more old people behind the wheel. 

      Means test it. 

    2. thejackalreborn on

      You don’t want old people stuck in their homes and free travel can help keep independence but it does feel a bit ridiculous when I’m out with my retried parents and they aren’t having to pay for travel when their disposable income after housing costs is something like ten times mine

    4. aegroti on

      I don’t really mind this but it should atleast be retirees only and only for off-peak travel. (which retirees would hopefully be able to do if they aren’t working)

    5. CommunityFear on

      I’m fine with pensioners having free travel.

      If the rail organisations and police would do their jobs, that’d be great ta

    6. Bullinach1nashop on

      Stop fare Dodgers and restrict free travel to those that get winter payments.

    7. brookfresh on

      I for one don’t mind. we’ll all be old one day and I feel ive earned a bit of this

    8. Usual-Journalist-246 on

      Public transport should be free for all paid for by increased fuel duty.

    9. Spare-grylls on

      Getting rid of winter fuel allowances, free public transport and raiding pensions all sound brilliant ideas… To young people that one day intend on retiring.

    10. WebDevWarrior on

      An ever increasing triple locked OAP, free travel, free prescriptions, free tv licenses, free eye tests, free dental checkups (if they can get an appointment), discounts on all sorts of shit…

      You want to know where all the tax money is evaporating, ask the silver surfers.

      Meanwhile, by the time the rest of us get to retirement age the doors of entitlement will be firmly locked and bolted and a bankrupsy notice will have been hung on the door ensuring we get fuck all.

    11. PurahsHero on

      It should also be noted that as this is a statutory requirement to provide, local councils have to make up any shortfall in the grant that they receive from central government to cover the costs.

      The best idea is to means test it, and if pensioners want to chip in say £1 or £2 to the cost of each trip they can do so.

    12. Saint_Sin on

      So they pull the ladder up after them with their cheap homes and triple lock pensions, and we still have to pay their bus fares?

      We would rather kill off our disabled to protect their pensions too?

      This is some multi-tier society we live in. Special clubs everywhere.

    13. kaleidoscopememories on

      100% in support of pensioners having free travel although truthfully wouldn’t be opposed to raising the age from 60 to 65, at least for those fit and healthy and in employment.

      My dad for example (age 60) works full time on a comfortable salary with no mortgage, has his own car (plus a company car!) but brags about using his bus pass on the weekends as it’s free.

    14. tremendousdump on

      Woah the Telegraph might be onto something here – Now turn that same critical thinking about the challenges of a rapidly ageing population onto the obvious need for unskilled labour and we all might have a chance to move forward as a country

    15. HumbugBoris on

      Meanwhile in the universe where Boris “let the bodies pile high” we’re all living in a low tax paradise with well paved roads and functioning public services.

    16. Captain-Griffen on

      Can we not just, you know, raise taxes a bit and give everyone free travel outside peak (actual peak, where there’s capacity constraints)? Economically it would be vastly more efficient, socially it would be a big boon, the roads would be less crowded, and environmentally it’d be a win.

    17. ShortNefariousness2 on

      London residents get free travel over 60. Most other areas it is pension age (66-67)

    18. geod5 on

      Natural causes kills way more people than murderers so why does everyone make such a bit deal out of murdering ?

      One is a social programme designed to help people in later stages of life. The other is a crime. How are you comparing the two ?

    19. telaughingbuddha on

      All across the democracy world: Old People are choosing other geriatric people or people with pro-geriatric policies.

      Only russia is different. They don’t let people grow old.

    20. SpencersCJ on

      I mean yeah…I put money to pay for over 60’s free transport, fare dodging costs nothing. Like my taxes dont go on to pay for those people’s tickets, they never got one. Id rather most public transport be free at the point of use for everyone anyway.

    21. IamBeingSarcasticFfs on

      The issue here, surprisingly, isn’t the free travel, it’s the travel pass. We pay for pensioner travel like we pay for a weekly pass when we should be paying on a per journey basis, with a discount. That way we only pay for those that use it.

    22. steak_bake_surprise on

      Another “who can we blame today, apart from millionaire tax dodgers” story.

    23. Monkey3066 on

      Are train companies going to add extra services? Such a scam, most trains outside rush hours are mostly empty! Why should they get extra money?

    24. PuppetPatrol on

      Here we go, first reduce their pensions so that electricity bills are a concern, then take away subsidies, plus underfund the healthcare so that ambulances take 5 years to arrive at a heart attack, then make it a cost for them to get out of their home

      I’m not saying we can magic money from nothing but the decisions made will also cripple us at retirement sigh

    25. Brief-Fox879 on

      It’d be good if the government means tested a lot of these pensioner benefits on the £35k p.a.

      But maybe that’s their plan.

    26. GitGup on

      I mean I think it should be down to how much income the elderly people have as to whether they get free travel to help em out.

    27. phangtom on

      Mainstream media loves pushing narratives to hate everyone except the rich.

      We should blame the poor, homeless, immigrants, the disabled and the elderly for all of our problems.

    28. Gatecrasher1234 on

      This is a London story

      The rest of the UK have to wait for state pension age to get their bus pass.

    30. GuessWhosBackDude on

      Why are we comparing a service to a crime? This is incredibly stupid from the telegraph

    31. Jo__Jo__Jo on

      Don’t fall for this attempt to fuel a war between generations.

      Public transport would run regardless so it is a very cost effective program… if anything privatising a number of routes is what costs taxpayers money because the government and private companies have agreements where government funding is conceded to private transport companies that have very opaque financial reports.

      Don’t fall for this propagandistic news pieces, they aim to turn people against each other and then the private companies come out looking like the heroes of the day by saying ‘We want to continue serving the people of the UK’ when in fact they get more revenue with the government funding rather than with people over 60 having to pay for the transport themselves because they wouldn’t be able to afford it.

    33. Arcon1337 on

      Shouldn’t we focus on the billionaires and massive companies that are dodging taxes first, before attacking citizens? What about the banks that lose millions of pounds and then get bailed out? Isn’t that a better priority?

    34. YesAmAThrowaway on

      Such schemes are typically there to help people with lower income, e.g. due to being retired, being a student etc. Oddly enough, this intention is never applied when it comes to the average adult who is poor, but somehow rich young and old people are allowed to benefit regardless.

    35. Monkeyboogaloo on

      The blanket awarding of benefits to older people is wrong.

      I get my over 60s travel in 3 1/2 years.

      I am still very much working. While I’d like it, I dont need it.

      Wait till people retire.

    36. Disillusioned_Pleb01 on

      And the telegraph reading billionaires that want the mob to go after others rather their offshore loot, if they paid their fair share, we could all travel by public transport for free.

    37. tony220jdm on

      Lmaooo, what a comparison, old people having freedom or people who going out there way not to pay

    38. Mad_Mark90 on

      Maybe we should have affordable public services in this country so people would be able to pay for transport no matter their age.

    39. Some-Background6188 on

      Oh cmon don’t go for the old people. They need mobility ffs I am happy paying taxes towards that.

    40. Office_Drone_ on

      One group are criminals the other aren’t. Didn’t think there would be confusion…

    41. ___Steve on

      Price worth paying to get them off the road to be honest. Should make them hand in their license to get the bus pass though.

    42. fitzgoldy on

      Two problems to sort out then really.

      Hell just charge over-60’s, £1 per journey. Easily affordable, and a lot right now are £2.50-£3 anyway for adults.