Free Bus Travel for Over-60s and Disabled People

North Norfolk District Council has joined Norfolk's other District and Borough Councils in offering free bus travel for North Norfolk residents over the age of 60 or who have a disability.

From 1 April, 2006, the new arrangements will allow those with bus passes to travel free between 8.30am and 11pm, Monday to Friday, and all day on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, as long as their journey starts or ends in Norfolk. Blind people will get free travel at all times.

Last year the Government announced plans to make bus travel free for eligible people after 9.30am. Norfolk's councils were already running a scheme giving over-60s and disabled people half-price travel on buses, and agreed to extend the eligibility period by an hour, starting at a more helpful 8.30am. NNDC's Cabinet agreed the final terms of the scheme earlier this month [March 2006].

Bus passes, which must be shown on boarding a bus to claim the discount, can be obtained from North Norfolk District Council and are valid for two years. Anyone with a pass for the existing concessionary fare scheme can keep using it (until it expires) to travel for free after the new scheme comes into effect at the start of April.

Councillor Peter Moore, NNDC's Cabinet Member for Resources and Older People's Champion, said: "This Council's contribution of over £500,000 to the scheme in 2006/07 is a reflection of our priorities: building active communities at a time when rural services are in decline, protecting the environment that is so important to North Norfolk's success and appeal, and using resources wisely for maximum benefit.

"This scheme helps people who might otherwise have difficulty travelling, certainly, but has other benefits, in keeping buses running through our parishes for everyone to use."

• The councils participating in Norfolk's free bus pass scheme are: North Norfolk District Council, Breckland Council, Broadland District Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Norwich City Council and South Norfolk Council.

• Under this scheme, bus passes are only available to the following permanent residents:

i) Men and women aged 60 or over;

ii) People who suffer from disability in any one of the following categories:

a) blind or partially sighted;
b) profoundly or severely deaf;
c) without speech;
d) disability or injury which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to walk;
e) without arms or have long-term loss of the use of both arms
f) learning disability, that is a state of arrested or incomplete development of mind which includes significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning; and

iii) People who, if they applied for the grant of a licence to drive a motor vehicle under Part III of the Road Traffic Act 1988, would have their application refused pursuant to section 92 of that Act (physical fitness) other than on the ground of persistent misuse of drugs or alcohol.

Applying for a bus pass:

* The passes are issued for free, but applicants must supply a passport-sized photograph of themselves.
* Applicants must provide proof of their eligibility and proof of their address.

ENDS