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Changes to concessionary pass rules

From Monday October 5th 2008 there were two changes to how the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme will operate across Lancashire. These rule changes have been determined by the local councils and apply on the buses and trams of all operators:

1. Holders of Disabled Passes who are resident in Lancashire will be able to travel for a flat fare of 50p before 0930 in the morning on Mondays to Fridays, instead of paying full fare. They can still travel free after 0930. This change only applies to holders of Disabled passes – Senior Citizens do not qualify for this concession.
   
2. The local concession which allows all ENCTS holders to travel after 2300 at night ON MONDAY TO FRIDAY ONLY is being withdrawn. The Government-funded national scheme does not apply to journeys starting after 11 o’clock at night, and this change brings Lancashire into line with the national scheme.

English National Concessionary Travel Scheme passes of the new design are valid on Blackpool Transport buses for free travel after 0930 in the morning (Monday to Friday) until 2300 at night, There are no time restrictions on Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays. This includes London Freedom passes that have been uprated by TfL and carry the red rose logo and the extra hologram.

In addition, from 05 October 2008, Lancashire residents (paying Council Tax to one of the 14 councils listed below) who have an ENCTS Disabled pass can travel for a flat fare of 50p when boarding a bus before 0930 in the morning. However this additional concession does not apply to Senior Citizen passes, only to Disabled passes.

The ENCTS pass is a bus pass – it is not automatically valid on trams because the Department for Transport have specifically excluded all railed vehicles from their central funding arrangements. However Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council have arranged that local residents with a “NoWcard” ENCTS pass issued by one of the 14 Lancashire councils listed below CAN travel free on Blackpool’s trams. This extra concession, funded locally, is valid for the same times and dates as on the buses*.

Visitors to Blackpool from beyond Lancashire’s boundaries have to pay full fare on the trams or you can travel free* on the parallel Line 1 bus service on production of an English ENCTS card. This policy is the inevitable result of the Government’s very strict guidelines and we apologise for any confusion.

A frequently asked question is that people from (say) Manchester can ride free on their trams in Manchester, so why can they not ride free here on Blackpool trams? The answer is that local authorities can extend their concessionary bus travel scheme to cover more than just buses, but the extra cost comes out of local council funds and only applies to local ratepayers. So Greater Manchester has extended their concession to allow Mancunians to ride free on Manchester trams, just as Lancashire has extended its concession to allow Lancastrians to ride free on Blackpool trams. But Lancastrians cannot ride free on Manchester trams and Mancunians cannot ride free on Blackpool trams - and so on for other areas with trams (Tyne & Wear, West Midlands, Nottingham, London). As stated above, we apologise for any confusion, we are just implementing the rules set out for everybody by the various fundholders.

Visitors should also note that we scan the computer chip in each ENCTS card, which must be handed to the driver or conductor to qualify for free travel – the ticket machine will check the pass is valid and you will then be issued with a zero fare ticket. You must keep this proof of purchase throughout your journey, and our inspectors may wish to examine both pass and ticket during the journey. We issue free tickets to satisfy the funding rules for free travel – as you can imagine, with so many visitors from so many places claiming free travel, Blackpool’s ticketing and reimbursement system is very complex behind the scenes.

The local councils which have agreed to fund free tram travel* for their residents are:

• Blackburn with Darwen
• Blackpool
• Burnley
• Chorley
• Fylde
• Hyndburn
• Lancaster
• Pendle
• Preston
• Ribble Valley
• Rossendale
• South Ribble
• West Lancashire
• Wyre

The same list of councils also fund 50p flat fare travel before 0930 Mondays to Fridays to their council tax payers with Disabled passes.
* Remember, the free travel concession applies 0930-2300 Monday to Friday and there are no time restrictions on Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays..

Carer’s Passes

Some local authorities issue passes for carers who are accompanying passengers with pronounced disabilities. These are only valid in the area of the issuing authority and are not national passes. Currently no Lancashire district council issues carer’s passes and therefore we are sorry but no carer’s passes are valid on our buses or trams in any circumstances. This is not a transport operator policy but has been decided by the fundholders. Lancashire has declared an intention to start issuing Carers Passes to some profoundly disabled local residents but at present none have been issued. Please do not be offended if the driver or conductor refuses to give free travel to someone producing a carer’s pass as it is simply not valid in this part of England.