{"id":333751,"date":"2025-08-10T18:08:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-10T18:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/333751\/"},"modified":"2025-08-10T18:08:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T18:08:13","slug":"its-an-embarrassment-calls-for-disabled-bus-passes-as-north-remains-the-only-place-in-ireland-and-uk-without-free-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/333751\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s an embarrassment\u2019 \u2013 Calls for disabled bus passes as north remains the only place in Ireland and UK without free travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

A disability campaigner<\/a> has said it is an \u201cembarrassment\u201d the north is the only region in Ireland and the UK where those with disabilities are not entitled to free bus travel.<\/p>\n

Aaron Savage, whose petition on the issue has gathered more than 2,000 signatures, is organising a protest outside Stormont<\/a> on November 12. <\/p>\n

Currently, free bus travel is only available in the north for those aged over 60, the registered blind, or war disablement pensioners. <\/p>\n

Read more: <\/b>A5 land will be vested back to Stormont department following appeal, MLA says<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Police<\/a>\"‘It’s<\/a><\/p>\n

Half-fare concessions are available to those who receive the mobility component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)<\/a>, those who have had their driving licence revoked on medical grounds, those who have a recognised learning disability, and those who are partially sighted. <\/p>\n

\"AaronAaron Savage pictured with infrastructure minister Liz Kimmins after a meeting in Stormont in June. PICTURE: AARON SAVAGE <\/p>\n

In 2022, then-infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon announced she intended to extend the concessionary fares scheme to include free passes for disabled people, but this was halted by the collapse of power-sharing. <\/p>\n

More recently, a Department for Infrastructure (DfI)<\/a> review into the scheme was published in 2024, with 81% of respondents agreeing that the qualifying criteria should be widened to include those with disabilities as part of a consultation.<\/p>\n

However, concerns over cost meant it was not implemented at the time. <\/p>\n

Campaigner Aaron Savage told The Irish News it was \u201cvital\u201d that parity with the Republic and Britain was achieved. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis protest is happening because I can\u2019t sit here and wait,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to take action on this and many people with disabilities need public transport to participate in society; they need it to attend their employment and education and then they also need it, most vitally, for their medical appointments. <\/p>\n

\u201cHalf-fare doesn\u2019t feel like half-fare for most people. It\u2019s flawed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Savage, who has a hidden disability and is on the autistic spectrum, added that it was \u201cembarrassing\u201d and \u201cfeels very discriminatory\u201d. <\/p>\n

In the Republic, a free travel pass for state-owned rail and bus services can be claimed by anyone in receipt of disability allowance. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, free bus passes are available in England between 9.30am and 11pm on weekdays and all-day on weekends and holidays, with access to all public transport in London at any time. <\/p>\n

In Scotland and Wales, free travel on buses is available at all times for people with disabilities. <\/p>\n

\u201cCost of living is going up; there\u2019s talks about our benefits being taken away. Thankfully, it\u2019s all come to a standstill but it\u2019s still not great,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s putting on more anxiety that it\u2019s not going to go ahead and that\u2019s the reason why we\u2019ve got to take action on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Savage said he met with infrastructure minister Liz Kimmins in June but added there was \u201cno indication\u201d that there was a move to extend the free passes. <\/p>\n

A DfI spokesperson said the minister has \u201casked officials to consider the viability of extending free travel for people with disabilities\u201d but that \u201cno decisions have been taken at this stage\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe minister is committed to inclusion, which is one of her foundations for a better future, and she recently hosted an inclusion conference on the topic of inclusive transport,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A disability campaigner has said it is an \u201cembarrassment\u201d the north is the only region in Ireland and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333752,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[46715,92995,1144,11191,183,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-333751","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-bus","9":"tag-dfi","10":"tag-northern-ireland","11":"tag-stormont","12":"tag-travel","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115005810688140469","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333751"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333751\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}