bus pass routes and forum

[Jimmy]

I retire in October, assuming I live that long.
Anyway I get a free bus pass soon.
Is there a forum anywhere that discusses issues etc.
For me I want to know how to get from say Preston to Whitby on it.
What buses, what times, cheap digs, pubs, toilets on route etc.

I have told the wife I will be going "walkabout" once I retire.

Jimmy

[Jimmy]

For example like
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...us-passes.html

[Chestnut]

Try looking on local authority websites and/or bus company websites.
Where do you fancy going?

[mothhawk]

What I'd like to know is, what is the "pensionable age" these days? Now that the government has decreed different retirement ages depending what year you were born, does that mean some people get all the benefits at 60, and other poor s*ds who were born a year too late have to wait till they are 65, or, in my case, 66?
Doesn't seem very fair if so. I notice that on entrance fees, most places now use "concessions" where at one time the wording was "senior citizens" or plain "OAPs". So when exactly do we all become senior citizens?

[veggiechicken]

Check your bus pass age at https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-age/y/bus_pass

Its 60 in Wales & Scotland.

[Kitchen Gardener]

Worth saying that you are 60 plus and ask if concessions apply.

[Chestnut]

I just checked on the government website. I have to wait until I am 67 years, 5 months and 6 days!
Unless I move to Wales, Scotland or NI before then....

Maybe I should just buy a good pair of boots and walk instead- it’d certainly be quicker than waiting for my bus pass....

[veggiechicken]

Interesting that the bus pass age is linked to the female retirement age. Hope that doesn't mean you qualified for your pass a few years ago, Jimmy - or are you female?

[Jimmy]

Am I female, well having been married for 40 odd years it's difficult to know, I suppose I could check my birth certificate that might say. I had to dig it out to apply for the pass.

One thing that annoys me about the bus passes (not having one yet) is that all the people (old crones) with passes assume they should get on first. I my opinion it should be paying passengers first!

Jimmy

[Thelma Sanders]

Whoever is at the front of the queue gets on first, is normal practise here, age and gender make no difference nowadays, unless it young pensioners letting older pensioners and pregnant women on first - cos some of us still have old-style manners

[veggiechicken]

One thing that annoys me about the bus passes (not having one yet) is that all the people (old crones) with passes assume they should get on first. I my opinion it should be paying passengers first!

Jimmy

Wonder how much your views will change when you're travelling around on your free pass?
Good manners are free, everyone can have them but a lot choose not to use them. You can't buy good manners, they come with being a decent person and age is no barrier to having or using them.

[Nicos]

As an aside....we have to be 60 in France to get a train pass (no idea about buses -I imagine we'd need a separate one for them!)
BUT!!!!...we have to pay 60€ a year to buy one!

Free bus and train passes in the UK? * wonders when they'll catch on and start charging for them too

[Mikey]

What I'd like to know is, what is the "pensionable age" these days? Now that the government has decreed different retirement ages depending what year you were born, does that mean some people get all the benefits at 60, and other poor s*ds who were born a year too late have to wait till they are 65, or, in my case, 66?
Doesn't seem very fair if so. I notice that on entrance fees, most places now use "concessions" where at one time the wording was "senior citizens" or plain "OAPs". So when exactly do we all become senior citizens?

When we start to sound like Victor Meldrew MH........ Congratulations.

[Lumpy]

We are very lucky here as our County Council has a very long list of medical conditions that qualify for a bus pass.
As my OH falls into some of those conditions he was given a bus pass.
I also got one as he can’t travel on his own.
I’m really thankful as a return fare into Lincoln is £7.80 each.
Downside is the last bus home is at 6.15 in the evening and it does take a very scenic route.
About bus manners. We always wait our turn in the queue. The other day we were at the front but let a lady with a wheeled walker on first so she could navigate to a seat without passengers being in the way.

[mothhawk]

So the Welsh, the Scots, the Northern Irish, and Londoners all get their passes at 60 irrespective of retirement age while the rest of us, second class citizens not deserving of perks till they absolutely have to be given, toil on and pay for our transport. Sometimes the unfairness of life hits home. No, I don't expect life to be fair, I just don't appreciate the unfairness being so "in my face"