English National Bus Pass on metro.

[Coolguy22468]

I carry a disabled bus pass and I know I can use my pass on the Sheffield Supertram but are there any other metro's I can use it on and can I use it on the London Underground or any rail services? cheers Coolguy22468.

 

[transportphoto]

I carry a disabled bus pass and I know I can use my pass on the Sheffield Supertram but are there any other metro's I can use it on and can I use it on the London Underground or any rail services? cheers Coolguy22468.

As far as I am aware Sheffield Supertram and possibly Blackpool Trams are the only two to accept ENCTS passes on trams. Unless your pass is issued as a 'Freedom Pass' by the London Councils, no it can not be used on LUL. Some local authorities give entitlements to use passes on heavy / light rail in their own areas, see your own local authority documentation for this.

TP

 

[Coolguy22468]

As far as I am aware Sheffield Supertram and possibly Blackpool Trams are the only two to accept ENCTS passes on trams. Unless your pass is issued as a 'Freedom Pass' by the London Councils, no it can not be used on LUL. Some local authorities give entitlements to use passes on heavy / light rail in their own areas, see your own local authority documentation for this.

TP

No its just a Staffordshire one and I can't use it on trains in the county. If I was HM Government I would make it a requirement for extras issued by certain counties must be given to anyone who has a valid pass and not just residents in that area.

 

[SS4]

No its just a Staffordshire one and I can't use it on trains in the county. If I was HM Government I would make it a requirement for extras issued by certain counties must be given to anyone who has a valid pass and not just residents in that area.

Presumably HM government would pay for it too - at cost price at least.

WMPTE allow West Midlands holders to use their passes on the Midland Metro (and the train within the zones) from 0930 to end of service.

 

[transmanche]

If I was HM Government I would make it a requirement for extras issued by certain counties must be given to anyone who has a valid pass and not just residents in that area.

Why? If council tax payers in particular county want to offer additional benefits, surely they're entitled to decide who to offer those benefits to?

So if London council tax payers have voted to allow Freedom Pass holders free travel on LU/LO anytime and on NR trains after 09:30 - why should they be forced to pay for non-residents too?

 

[Coolguy22468]

Presumably HM government would pay for it too - at cost price at least.

WMPTE allow West Midlands holders to use their passes on the Midland Metro (and the train within the zones) from 0930 to end of service.

The Staffordshire Card allows for travel 24hrs per day in Staffordshire (except Stoke-on-Trent) which I suppose is better than other counties but it would be better if I could use it on the trains as well.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Though not specifically relevant here, for reference (from a reliable source), the Senior Bus Passes are valid as follows:
Blackpool* and Sheffield - valid**
Midland and Tyne & Wear*** - not valid
DLR, Croydon, Nottingham and Manchester - only local passes valid

* - NOT valid on Illuminations trams, and a nil value ticket is usually issued.
** - NOT valid until after 0930 Mon-Fri.
*** - However holders can obtain a yearly Metro Gold Card for £25 Resident and £35 Non-Resident, which holds usual morning peak restrictions.

 

[Ivo]

A lot of it is dependent on expected uptake. In a densely populated area, why allow people to travel at 0800 - much less on "alien" passes - when the capacity is needed for people to travel to work or school? By contrast, in the middle of nowhere, why not allow people to do so, to encourage use of public transport?

The former issue is especially prevalent on metro routes. For example, and I appreciate that this isn't comparing like-with-like, consider Blackpool and Manchester. Blackpool want everyone to travel on the tram, partly to get cars off the seafront but also (and this is rather cynical) to justify the huge cost of its modernisation programme. Manchester, by contrast, is for the most part struggling with capacity already - surely the last thing they would want to do is encourage every 70-year-old Joe Public to hop on the tram just because it saves them the walk between the bus stations at Piccadilly Gardens and Shudehill?

I agree that we should have an all-or-none playing field - but for me, and I don't like saying this because it means I lose out as well - the answer should be "none".

 

[MidnightFlyer]

The Staffordshire Card allows for travel 24hrs per day in Staffordshire (except Stoke-on-Trent) which I suppose is better than other counties but it would be better if I could use it on the trains as well.

Aye, I'm sure it would be wonderful, however someone would have to pay for it, usually taxpayers or those using the services as fare-payers!

 

[transmanche]

Midland and Tyne & Wear - not valid
DLR, Croydon, Nottingham and Manchester - only local passes valid

Slight correction...

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Thanks, altered

 

[transmanche]

Thanks, altered

Oh and for the sake of completeness; Tyne & Wear residents with an ENCTS card can pay £25 a year for a 'Gold Card' to get free travel [*] on Metro, Shields Ferry and Northern Rail trains between Newcastle & Sunderland.

[*] After 09:30 Mon-Fri, all day in July & August.

 

[Coolguy22468]

Tyne and Wear metro is £35 per year for non-residents who hold and ENCTP to have unlimited metro journeys and its £25 for residents.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Nottingham residents get free travel on the NET at all times and Nottinghamshire residents get it free from 9:30-23:00 and everyone else gets nothing. It seems a bit stupid in my opinion that people can use busses but not trams as in reality the two are relatively similar.

 

[yorkie]

It seems a bit stupid in my opinion that people can use busses but not trams as in reality the two are relatively similar.

If they are similar, it won't be an inconvenience to take the bus instead

 

[Coolguy22468]

If they are similar, it won't be an inconvenience to take the bus instead

You have a point.

 

[starrymarkb]

I get this a lot at work, some demand that National Express accept them too or complain that they have to wait till 09:30 or it's not valid on tourist services. If someone else is paying for you then abide by their rules...


I think the best one I had was someone demanding that hotels accept them for when they are trying to get from one end of the country to the other and can't do it in a day...

 

[Coolguy22468]

I think the best one I had was someone demanding that hotels accept them for when they are trying to get from one end of the country to the other and can't do it in a day...

That is a bit over the top. Someone really asked that?

 

[starrymarkb]

That is a bit over the top. Someone really asked that?

yep, they were expecting me to find them the hotel too... I wish I could have told them to Furka Oberalp, but politely said that with senior discount the National Express would almost certainly be cheaper then the overnight accommodation. I have had some also want to camp in the bus station too :roll:

Oh and I once had one wanting to know why Eurostar didn't accept them...

 

[Coolguy22468]

Oh and I once had one wanting to know why Eurostar didn't accept them...

Eurostar, you should of let them and they could of then god stuck in france with the french conductors then refusing to accept them and then with them left on the wrong side of the channel.

 

[tbtc]

If someone else is paying for you then abide by their rules...

Precisely

 

[Tomonthetrain]

Midland metro is west midlands PTE residents only

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Eurostar, you should of let them and they could of then god stuck in france...

hock:....translation required....and what's the Almighty got to do with it ?..

 

[Ivo]

This is getting ridiculous now. Partly because of Labour's actions prior to 2010 (any chance for a Labour criticism ), but also due to numerous other issues, the OAP force with these passes seem to think that they shoukld have everything handed to them on a plate. I am reminded of this thread from earlier this year - for the elderly, perhaps means-testing is best...

Now, I know I had that idea for the summer (which didn't happen because I had so little money to go out I may as well have been grounded ), but that would have been a charitable matter, and we would never have pulled a stunt like "Why won't the Park Lane Hilton accept it?" because that is just pathetic. The pass has been a life-saver at Uni - without it, my lack of money would have probably gone too far.

My father likes to criticise the pass and the actions of the elderly. He will tell me how he once had a "heated debate" with an elderly gentleman at a council meeting of some sort, held by the jurisdiction of Boris Johnson (but not the man himself), whereby he advised the man of drivers' frustrations with things like using the pass to go on stop and using it as an excuse to keep warm (a common one in the Midlands I believe?)...

Anyway, enough of that. These passes are for bus provision only, and then at certain times, and holders must ensure they are aware of any and all restrictions associated with the pass. If councils wish to offer further incentives (another one not mentioned to date, which annoyed me a bit, is the Gravesend to Tilbury ferry being available to Gravesham and Thurrock only), then fine - but we should have an all-or-none situation to make the system easier for people that don't think. And if that is the reason, the choice should definitly be "none".

No more Supertram freebies for me then!

Eurostar, you should of let them and they could of then god stuck in france with the french conductors then refusing to accept them and then with them left on the wrong side of the channel.

But if starrymarkb did that he'd probably have found himself out of a job...

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

... for the elderly, perhaps means-testing is best...

I note that when General Elections come around, the "grey-power" vote is always looked at. I note that certain parties shied away from what you suggest.

Of course, the fact that I am now 67 years old will not "colour my view" on this matter one iota...

 

[185]

Manchester Metrolink - Only local TfGM (GMPTE) passes valid.

Amazes me how many people with London Freedom Passes expect to travel for free, when their own local system is off limits to passholders from the rest of the country.

 

[dvboy]

Though not specifically relevant here, for reference (from a reliable source), the Senior Bus Passes are valid as follows:
Blackpool* and Sheffield - valid**
Midland and Tyne & Wear*** - not valid
DLR, Croydon, Nottingham and Manchester - only local passes valid

* - NOT valid on Illuminations trams, and a nil value ticket is usually issued.
** - NOT valid until after 0930 Mon-Fri.
*** - However holders can obtain a yearly Metro Gold Card for £25 Resident and £35 Non-Resident, which holds usual morning peak restrictions.

Midland Metro should say only local passes valid after 9:30.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Though not specifically relevant here, for reference (from a reliable source), the Senior Bus Passes are valid as follows:
Blackpool* and Sheffield - valid**

* - NOT valid on Illuminations trams, and a nil value ticket is usually issued.
** - NOT valid until after 0930 Mon-Fri.

Can you clarify if both the Blackpool and Sheffield trams can only be used by the holders of the ENCT passes that are issued to residents of either of these two authorities, please.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I believe both accept passes issued from anywhere in the country, certainly I've read in rail media that Blackpool does. I would probably wait for someone to confirm before trying it though!

 

[Ivo]

I believe both accept passes issued from anywhere in the country, certainly I've read in rail media that Blackpool does. I would probably wait for someone to confirm before trying it though!

This comes straight from the Supertram site:

Holders of a South Yorkshire or English National Senior Citizen concessionary pass are entitled to free travel after 09:00AM Monday to Friday and all day Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays. Full fare is payable at all other times. Holders of South Yorkshire or English National disabled persons passes are entitled to free travel all day, every day. London Freedom pass holders are also be entitled to free travel on Supertram as above.

So apparently I can use my pass at 0700 on a Monday hock:

And this is from the Blackpool site:

Holders of English National Concessionary Travel Scheme passes can travel free of charge between 0930 and 2300 Mondays to Fridays and at anytime on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays on Tramcar services in Blackpool and Wyre (except after 6pm during the Illuminations Period on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and the October half term).

 

[tbtc]

Yup - South Yorkshire subsidises pensioners from outside the area to use the kind of facility that South Yorkshire pensioners cannot use in other cities (Manchester Metrolink etc)