OAPs still waiting for bus passes

7:25am Thursday 22nd May 2008

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Dozens of pensioners are still waiting for their new national bus passes almost two months after the scheme was launched.

The Vale of White Horse District Council has a backlog of about 130 pensioners who still have not received their passes, despite being told they would arrive on April 4.

Although bus companies have said they will accept old style passes throughout Oxfordshire until August, pensioners like Joan Woodmore, of Baker Road, Abingdon, say they are unwilling to use expired passes in case they get refused.

Mrs Woodmore, 65, and her husband applied for their passes in February and although Edwin, 66, received his pass in March she is still waiting.

Her Vale pass bears the expiry date March 31, 2008. She said: "Until I get my new pass me and my husband won't use our passes again.

"There's a fear that the driver will refuse to let me on. I know my husband's pass is valid but mine says it has expired."

Adam Hardiman, of Westminster Way, in Botley, posted his bus pass application more than four months ago and is using his old one.

The 65-year-old said: "Bus drivers are starting to raise their eyebrows when I present this pass to go to Headington. They give you a look like you're trying to pull a fast one."

In March, the Vale council admitted that it had not sent out 1,076 passes from the 16,500 applications it had received for free travel anywhere on local buses.

No other councils in Oxfordshire say they are currently experiencing prob- lems.

Nikki Malin, head of communications at the council, said the backlog was due to the Vale not hiring any extra staff to deal with the applications.

Originally the council told the Oxford Mail there were 700 outstanding but last night it said it had got its figures wrong, and put the total at 130.

She said: "We do apologise for this delay and we are doing all we can within limited resources to get passes out to people as we understand their frustration.

"We are dealing with the outstanding ones chronologically, so the older requests are being dealt with first."

The council said it had about 1,000 temporary national passes to issue but these were only available to pick up in Abingdon for those in urgent need.

• Pensioners in Oxfordshire have taken up the new concessionary bus pass scheme with gusto, early indications show.

Since April 1, OAPs across the county have been enjoying free off-peak travel anywhere in the country.

Despite initial teething problems, Oxford City Council alone has issued more than 20,000 new passes, while Stagecoach told the Oxford Mail it had noticed a countywide increase in people over 60 getting on buses, although no figures were yet available.

Oxford Pensioners Action Group member Jessie MacLachlan said the new scheme was a lifeline.

The Barton Village Road pensioner said: "I have got out to Kidlington and Abingdon and during the summer I plan to go further afield.

"I find that I am using the car less - there's no bother about parking. The only difficulty is coming from Headington I have to change buses in the city. I know some people say there are a lot of older people who can afford to pay for buses, but I think they have forgotten how much fares have gone up."

Kidlington resident Gwynneth Cooke, 73, agreed: "Previously, if I wanted to go to Barton, which is where I work on a Monday, I could only go into the city and then I would have to pay. Now I don't. It's great."

"It's a great scheme. I know some people say there are a lot of older people who can afford to pay for buses, but I think they have forgotten how much fares have gone up."

Kidlington resident Gwynneth Cooke, 73, agreed.

She said: "Previously, if I wanted to go to Barton, which is where I work on a Monday, I could only go into the city and then I would have to pay. Now I don't. It's great."

Bus companies confirmed the uptake of the new scheme had been good, although it was too early to publish comparative figures.

Louisa Weeks, operations director of the Oxford Bus Company, said: "We have noticed an increase in the use of concessionary passes.

Stagecoach spokesman Chris Child added: "We have seen a significant increase in journeys made by older people during April.

"Increases appear across all our services in Oxfordshire, although some are noticeably busier than others such as Service 10."

The service connects Oxford City Centre, Cowley, Wood Farm, Headington and the John Radcliffe Hospital.