All good things come to an end as the saying goes, and after a review by the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) they have decided to call it a day for free “bus pass” travel on Northern Rail in South and West Yorkshire.
The cost of the subsidy for the 60+ years olds who held a free travel pass amounted to £240,000 per year. In these days of austerity the cost was deemed to be unsustainable and have withdrawn the free train travel option within South and West Yorkshire from 31st March 2014. The downside of this move is whilst it is expected some of the 60+travelers will continue to travel and pay the fare at reduced rate using their senior rail card a significant portion will abandon their trips to the shops etc. Bad news for the shops that enjoyed the silver shopper, and bad news for fellow train travelers. Northern rail will be £240,000 down in income and will inevitably seek to recover the loss with a price rise next year. Ouch!
Free travel on buses still remains although this concession has been re-timed to start from 09:30 each day (was 09:00).