Carmarthenshire council scraps half-price rail travel

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Rail users in west Wales have voiced concern at the end of half-price travel concessions on local trains.

Carmarthenshire council has agreed with Arriva Train Wales to remove the benefit for people aged over 60 and others with certain disabilities.

It allowed them half-price travel between Swansea and Pembroke and on the Heart of Wales line.

The council said it made the decision reluctantly in tough economic times, while Arriva declined to comment.

Rail volunteer Hywel Jones said the elderly were "going to feel the pinch" in a measure saving ^60,000 a year.

The Carmarthenshire pass has given people aged over 60 or with certain disabilities the right to half-price standard single or day return fares on rail journeys operating within the county.

It has also been valid on local train services to and from Swansea, Pembrokeshire and Llandrindod Wells, provided the journey began or ended in Carmarthenshire.

Mr Jones, a rail user and a volunteer at Llanwrda station in the Tywi valley, said he was shocked by the decision. He accepted the need for councils to save money, but claimed the end of the rail concession would hit vulnerable people hard. "A lot of elderly people depend on the rail service and a lot of people on low income can't afford a car, or maybe they're not allowed to drive because of illnesses or some disability," he said. "They depend on the trains a great deal."

Mr Jones cited the case of a man from Llandeilo who had made 32 trips to Singleton Hospital, Swansea, in seven weeks for cancer treatment who had benefitted from half price rail travel.

He said he would approach the Carmarthenshire East and Dinefwr MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) Jonathan Edwards to ask the council to think again. "They should consider the elderly people - those are the ones that are obviously going to feel the pinch," he said.

Carmarthenshire council said it was one of the very few authorities offering concessionary rail travel, in addition to the Welsh Assembly Government's travel pass giving free local bus travel throughout Wales to elderly and disabled people.

A council spokesman said the decision to remove the rail concession from 30 April "was taken reluctantly and his been driven by the tough economic constraints placed on the authority in these austere times".

Free bus travel was unaffected, he added.

[matt473]

As usual the older generation complain but given that they already have free bus passes, this was not sustainable. Ultimately fare paying passangers have been subsidising free/cheaper travel which is unfair on people that rely on public transport that have to pay. Along the majority of the routes in Carmarthenshire, a suitable bus service already runs already so this sort of made sense in the long term

[devon_metro]

All they need to do is buy a Senior railcard, then they've got 34% off everything anyway.

[anthony215]

I do admit it was a bit stupid doing this, what about the line to Blaenau festinog, i know the local bus operator has been complaining about passengers using the train when they can get free travel.

For the heart of wales, maybe a scheme could be done for passengers where they have no bus service at all and the train is their only public transport

[matt473]

For the heart of wales, maybe a scheme could be done for passengers where they have no bus service at all and the train is their only public transport

They do have something to benefit users on the HOWL which is the HOWL railcard only available to residents along the route at the cost of ^5. It may not be free travel but it allows discounts at a reduced rate for a railcard which is available to everyone regardless of age. This reduces the price of journies on the route which aren't that expensive if travelling a reasonable distance