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Bus Passes for the Over 60's

England: From April 2008 if you are resident in England and age 60 and over, or an 'Eligible Disabled' you are entitled to England-wide Free bus travel during off-peak times (9.30am to 11pm Monday to Friday and at any time during weekends and public holidays). Some local authorities may also offer additional benefits to their residents such as free or reduced off-peak tram or rail travel, so travelling about in your own local area can be come really cost effective and with this option have a really good look at what is in your local patch to photograph - there will be much more than you think.  Inside Greater London they have a slightly different system called a Freedom Pass, visit this link to find out more.

Wales: Both if you are over 60 or an 'eligible disabled' person you're entitled to a free bus pass from your local authority which you can use at any time of the day and are entitled to travel on local bus services in any council area.  However these passes are not valid on National Express coaches, Trawscambria or the Swansea Shuttle. A disabled person who is so severely disabled or handicapped and unable to travel without assistance may also be entitled to take a companion with them free of charge. You apply to your local authority. See the Welsh Assembly website page for more details on the benefits and you will need to contact your local council to find out how to go about applying.

Scotland: Everyone over 60 and 'eligible disabled' people, who live in Scotland, is entitled to free, local bus and scheduled long-distance coach services at any time of the day, including the morning rush hour. You can also use it to get to and from Carlisle and Berwick on Tweed, although it is not valid for travelling around in these areas, and you will need to pay the bus fare. This scheme is run by Transport Scotland and you will need to apply for an Entitlement Card to travel for free. See this link for more details.

We have also put together as list of Local Bus Pass Authorities which links direct to their Bus Pass page and where you can get details on how to apply for a bus pass in your area.

Alternatively if you can' t find your authority listed within this list then take a look at the A-Z list of local councils in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the Direct.gov website.  From here look up the name of your local council in the alpha list, then take the link to their website, once on the council website you will need to find the page on bus passes/concessionary fares, which is usually under Transport or you may find it under Our Services, or Community headings - different councils have different web layouts.