Kingdom of Fife, plan to scrap senior rail fare concession scrapped (or put off)

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From the Dunfermline Press

Those naughty seniors have been using split ticketing in a way it was never intended - to get them to the edge of the Kingdom for £1 so they can then hop across the watter into Auld Reekie as a cheaper journey from Inverkeithing.  So to put a stop to that and provide a more "equitable" service, the Government of Fife (a.k.a. Fife Council) was looking to remove the funding from the over 60s rail concession scheme, and spend it instead on demand responsive buses within the Kingdom.  In the light of objections and publicity the plan the scrap the scheme is scrapped for the moment.

Article nicely illustrated with an electric train ... are there any electric trains in the Kingdom of Fife yet?

Comment ... strikes me that putting up the cost of going by train to Edinburgh from Glenrothes / Dunfermline / Cowdenbeath / Leuchars / Burntisland is going to persuade some people to drive all the way.   Also strikes me that the number of journeys made per £100 of subsidy will be far less on a bus (where each journey may cost the taxpayer £15) than on the current rail concession (where at a guess the subsidy is around £3 per journey).

[RichardB]

Next Fife Council elections are next year so I'll predict there will be no change to the rail concession........

[infoman]

Are there any other local councils that have a local rail discount card scheme for senior citizens?

[grahame]

Are there any other local councils that have a local rail discount card scheme for senior citizens?

I'm not sure of the mechanisms on funding, but there is the Westbury to Weymouth and Swindon to Worcester via Gloucester scheme where an ENCTS^▸ (English National Concessionary Travel Scheme) bus pass will get you a third off your rail fare at ENCTS valid time.   Then there are Devon and Cornwall resident cards, I believe.  I can also recall rail concession cards available in place of ENCTS cards in some local authority areas - mention I recall of use of them on the coastway between Brighton and Worthing ...

[TaplowGreen]

Are there any other local councils that have a local rail discount card scheme for senior citizens?

Probably those that benefit the most from the Barnett formula?

[infoman]

With the nathional senior railcard at 30 pounds (or 70 pounds for three years)

not sure if any local rail card for local journeys will be of any benifit.

Unless say (in the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) area) it was a flat rate of ten pounds

[JayMac]

Are there any other local councils that have a local rail discount card scheme for senior citizens?

Not a direct fares discount/subsidy, but a few local authorities subsidise Senior and Disabled Railcard purchases. A couple I know of:

-Mid Sussex Council offer Senior Railcards for £26 and Disabled Persons' Railcards for £18.
-Bracknell Forest Council offer Senior (to over 65s) for £16, and Disabled (on renewal only) for £9. The discounts from BFC are offered as an alternative to a Buss Pass.

[didcotdean]

An ENCTS^▸ (English National Concessionary Travel Scheme) card issued by Leicester City Council is valid for half price rail travel to/from Leicester for all stations in Leicestershire, plus Derby, Nottingham, Grantham, Peterborough, Kettering and Nuneaton.