Disabilities don’t start at 9:30am
Disabilities don’t start at 9:30am, so neither should disabled bus passes argues Harrogate & Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon.
It builds on a petition he has been running online for some time.
Today he moved an amendment to the Bus Services Bill to reflect this.
He said:
"I will start by speaking to new clause 2, which stands in my name and is supported by over 70 colleagues from across the House. It calls for the removal of time restrictions imposed on disabled bus passes.
"Under the English national concessionary travel scheme, eligible disabled people are entitled to free local bus travel. The policy rightly recognises that, for a variety of reasons, disabled people rely on public transport to access healthcare, work and education, as well as for family and community purposes. The policy also recognises that disabled people are more likely to require financial support, as they face disproportionately higher costs of living. Yet from 11 pm to 9.30 am on weekdays, that entitlement becomes void, dependent instead on whether travel authorities choose—or even can afford—to extend the benefit.
"Disability Action Yorkshire, a charity in my constituency, first highlighted the absurdity of the restriction to me last year. Since that meeting, I have been campaigning to have the time restrictions removed. I have met and received support from a number of charities that work with disabled people, including Transport for All, Whizz Kidz, Bus Users UK and the RNIB. The consensus is clear: the current restrictions have huge impacts on the everyday lives of disabled people. The amendment would require the Secretary of State to remove the time restrictions imposed by the ENCTS, allowing disabled passengers to travel for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of their postcode.
"The facts are simple: disabilities do not disappear at peak times. Why, then, are our policies based on arbitrary timeframes? To design a scheme intended to promote accessibility, only to limit it when most people need it, undermines the very purpose of the policy. The issue came to light when my mum put me in touch with her friend Amy, who gets in a taxi with her son to drop him off at school. She then has to spend 30 minutes waiting before she can use her disabled bus pass to get home. In South Yorkshire, a disabled bus pass holder got in touch with me about how their travel journey included one stop in a different local authority. Kurt, who is registered blind, ended up being thrown off the bus at 9.25 am. Liberal Democrat councillors have long campaigned on this issue, including John Lawson in Kirklees, who raised the case of a Cleckheaton resident with epilepsy who suffered from the restrictions too.
"There are around 870,000 disabled bus pass holders in England, making up about 10% of all concessionary users. Although the DFT points out that most local authorities offer some form of free travel before 9.30 am, only a third provide unrestricted, 24/7 access. For many, that means that commuting to work, attending education or making early medical appointments is either unaffordable or impossible. The DFT has a responsibility to improve accessibility. It cannot keep kicking the can to local or transport authorities, claiming it is up to them to make discretionary changes. Just as the Department can enforce the restriction, so it can remove it. It is time to stop passing the buck.
"Provision remains patchy, insecure and vulnerable to cuts."
Lewes MP James MacCleary (Lib Dem) interrupted to say, “My hon. Friend may be aware that in East Sussex, where I am lucky enough to be an MP, the county council has already removed the restriction on timings. Indeed, he has met my former Liberal Democrat council colleague Sean Macleod to discuss that. Does my hon. Friend agree that that creates a postcode lottery across the country, where some people are fortunate to live in places that have removed the restriction and others are not so lucky?”
Tom continued:
"My hon. Friend makes an excellent point and I highlight the work that Liberal Democrat councillors, including him, have done over the years to ensure that such provision is made. That postcode lottery is completely unfair.
"Economically, the argument is equally strong. We know that disabled people already face higher living costs. Removing the 9.30 am restriction would open up work and training opportunities that begin before that cut-off, and crucially, the cost of doing so is modest. Research by Whizz Kidz showed that it would cost about 1% of the current annual spend on concessionary travel, and we know that for each pound spent on concessionary bus passes, it is thought that over £3 is brought back in economic benefit.
"Ending the restriction would deliver more than just transport access. It would promote independence, reduce isolation, improve health outcomes and encourage greater use of sustainable public transport. Charities such as Whizz Kidz have shown that young disabled people overwhelmingly support 24/7 access, with many saying it would help them build confidence, friendship and skills.
"The amendment has support from leading disability charities such as the RNIB, as well as cross-party support in this House. Now is the time for this Labour Government to show their commitment to improving access and tearing down barriers to inequality by supporting the amendment. The Minister and I have had many interactions on this subject and I am sure he is not surprised to see me pushing for it again today. I urge him to consider it, whether through the Bill or further down the line in different possible measures and arrangements.
"It is high time that disabled people had the same freedom to travel, the same independence and the same opportunity as everyone else. That is what the amendment would deliver and I urge all Members across this House to support it. Disabilities do not start at 9.30 am, so disabled bus passes should not either.
Another Lib Dem MP, Charlotte Cane (Ely and East Cambridgeshire), added: "I rise to speak in support of new clause 2, which was tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon) and has cross-party support. I really hope that that cross-party support holds up in the vote.
"As we have heard, disability does not stop at peak times. I represent a rural constituency and our buses are very infrequent, so having a time restriction on a bus pass is even more serious. As a member of the all-party parliamentary group on classics, I enjoy a good tale about mythological creatures such as centaurs and the minotaur, but unfortunately for some of my constituents, seeing a bus is almost as likely as seeing one of them.
"Remarkably, there are no Sunday bus services at all in most of my constituency. We have one of the greatest cathedrals in the world, but many of my residents cannot get to it for Sunday worship. Some of my villages have no buses at all, and the likes of Coveney and Wardy Hill have one bus per week. Others have bus services every two hours—those services are probably some of the best. If we restrict disabled people to using their passes after 9.30, they cannot catch the 9.20 bus and have to wait for the 11.20, so effectively they cannot do anything anywhere else in the morning. That cannot be right. We have to remove that restriction.
"The current situation is not sustainable or acceptable. For rural communities, the situation is so dire that the recent risk of the 9 bus route between Littleport and Cambridge being halted meant that communities faced being unable to get to work or college. Constituents referred to this service as a lifeline for them, and they were right. To have a situation in 2025 where the ending of a single bus route makes entire communities a transport black hole is dreadful. It is just not acceptable. Had residents been properly consulted, I am certain the proposal would have been comprehensively rejected, which is why I support new clause 32 tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (John Milne) to require consultation before any discussions on the alteration or withdrawal of a local bus service. I know the new clause has not been selected, but I hope the Minister will consider it.
"The Government’s decision to increase the bus fare cap hit my constituents hard, because many of them have to get more than one bus to complete their journey. I ask both for the cap to be brought back to £2 and for it to be a cap on the journey, not the fare for each bus someone catches. It should not be too much to ask for a basic, functional and affordable transport service for rural communities. Pensioners should not have to miss medical appointments because there is only one bus per hour, students should not have to worry about missing classes, disabled people should not have to miss anything in the morning, and people should not have to move from their home village for the sake of getting to work on time.
“This Bill is positive, but the Government need to do a lot more to improve transport services in rural communities such as mine. It would be a start if we allowed the disabled members of those communities to catch buses at any time.”
Anna Sabine, Lib Dem MP for Frome & East Somerset said:
"I will speak to new clause 2 brought forward by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon), which would extend the eligibility of disabled bus passes.
"The current restrictions, which mean disabled bus passes can only be used after 9.30 am, have real and disproportionate consequences for disabled constituents, particularly those who rely on public transport as their only means of getting around.
"For many disabled people, buses are a lifeline. They are the gateway to essential medical appointments, employment opportunities, education and social connection, and they mean the difference between isolation and independence. In rural areas such as Frome and East Somerset, where bus services are already limited, there is a particular challenge. As has been pointed out by my colleagues, if someone misses the morning bus because their pass is not valid until 9.30 am, that can mean waiting several hours more and being late for work.
"Furthermore, some of us in this place represent constituencies that straddle more than one local authority. In those areas, a postcode lottery has emerged: disabled residents living just a few miles apart are subject to different rules. One person’s bus pass might allow travel before 9.30 am, while their neighbour, who lives just across an invisible council border, is forced to wait. I have seen that issue arise at first hand in my constituency. I have been campaigning with Hettie, a diamond bus pass user who lives in Radstock in my constituency and commutes to Bath for work. Radstock falls under the West of England combined authority. When Hettie raised the unfairness of the 9.30 am restriction on disabled bus passes, I wrote to WECA, and I am pleased to say that it responded positively and extended the validity of the pass to 24 hours a day. That was a significant and meaningful win for people in one half of my constituency. However, the other half, who live under Somerset council, remain restricted and are still unable to use their passes before 9.30 am. How can that possibly be fair when all that separates them is an invisible line?
“We cannot talk about levelling up or dignity in public life while ignoring the daily barriers faced by disabled people. Nor can we claim to support rural communities while expecting vulnerable residents to navigate a postcode lottery of restrictions that limit their independence and opportunity. I urge the Minister to look closely at the benefits of removing those time restrictions altogether. Let us give disabled people one less barrier to face in their everyday lives and move toward a system that treats all with fairness, dignity and respect.”
Vikki Slade, Lib Dem MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole said:
"I rise to support amendments that will serve to ensure the most vulnerable and isolated people in our communities are not cut off from employment, health services, education and leisure. I will start with new clause 2, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon), who has just returned to the Chamber. That new clause would remove the start time from the use of disabled bus passes. I must declare an interest, as my own son George has one of those passes. It is a crucial element of helping young people with disabilities to gain their independence, and for teenagers and young adults with additional needs, it is a far more cost-effective option for accessing college and school than providing costly and isolating taxis.
"The bus pass that George and many of his classmates hold cannot be used on the way to school—in our case, that is two buses and two fares—but can be used on the return journey. While that causes frustration to parents such as me, for others, it is completely unaffordable. It forces many of them to use the offered council taxis, which are crippling councils. For those who are able to drive, blue badges are not time-restricted; why should those on a bus pass be discriminated against? We know that people with disabilities are less likely to be in employment, so anything that reduces barriers to work should be grasped by this Government. When this issue was raised in an Adjournment debate by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough, the Minister pointed to the cost, but as the proposal would affect only disabled bus passes and not the whole concessionary bus pass scheme, it would apply to only 10% of passes, so the cost is fairly low.
Clive Jones (Wokingham) commented on the wider bill, noting “I wholeheartedly support new clause 2, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon), which proposes that time restrictions be removed from disabled people’s concessionary passes. That would be widely welcomed by many of my constituents.”
South Devon MP Caroline Voaden said, “Since the election last year, the cuts have continued. The Gold bus, which goes from Plymouth and Torbay and is a vital connection for lots of rural communities between larger economic centres, has been downgraded this month. This is not just about inconvenience; it is about opportunity or the lack of it. Buses connect people to jobs, education, healthcare and each other. Without a convenient, frequent and affordable service, people of all ages are being left behind. In some areas, the last bus leaves before the working day ends, stranding carers, hospitality workers and students, and stifling our visitor economies. That is why I support amendments 2, 5 and 6, which require local transport authorities to identify socially necessary routes and ensure service provision where commercial services are unable to meet demand.
"Public transport plays a crucial role in ironing out inequalities. In a session on child poverty this morning in this place, transport came up several times as an element that is contributing to child poverty levels. When I visit schools and colleges, I regularly hear about the prohibitive cost of public transport. Even just a few pounds for a journey is a significant amount for a student and hits disadvantaged students the hardest. This is why I support new clauses 6 and 17 to offer discounts for under-25s and those in post-16 education, to ensure that transport is not a barrier to education or employment.
Later she said, “Concessionary travel in the Devon county council area is expected to cost nearly £8 million this financial year, while the cost of offering pre-9.30 am travel to all passholders is estimated to be £2 million per annum. I am really proud to support new clause 2, put forward by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Tom Gordon), which would remove time restrictions on the use of concessionary travel passes, but local authorities must be properly funded for it.”
Sadly the House then voted the proposal down by 70 votes for to 287 against.