Is the government set to means test bus passes?
A report by the Local Government Association has today caused outrage among pensioners and pensioner support groups with the indication that means testing for free bus travel for pensioners could come into play in the short term. Local authorities believe that the £1 billion free bus pass scheme is a waste of taxpayer's money with more and more middle-class pensioners owning their own vehicles and able to drive from A to B. However, the report seems to ignore various other issues.
It is no secret that motorists in the UK are being hit harder and harder by the taxman with petrol duty rising each year, road tax on the way up and the UK government set to install pay as you travel systems in the future. Despite the fact that Gordon Brown promised UK pensioners that they would have access to free bus travel in his 2005 election speech he appears set to perform yet another U-turn. Obviously the blame will be passed onto local authorities, who ultimately pay for free bus travel, but yet again penny pinching by the authorities seems set to hit UK pensioners in the pocket.
It seems unlikely that means testing of bus passes will come into play before the next general election but after that it is literally anybody's guess.
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