County set to consult on scrapping free tram travel
STOPPING PASSES FOR ELDERLY AND DISABLED WOULD SAVE £1M PER YEAR
TRAM subsidies for elderly and disabled people could be scrapped by Nottinghamshire County Council, saving more than £1m each year.
The local authority currently provides concessionary travel to help those who need it get to work, training, health, shopping and leisure facilities, and has done so since 2011.
While the county council is legally required to subsidise bus travel, it is not legally bound to subsidise tram travel, according to a council report.
Those who benefit from the scheme can travel free between 9.30am and 11pm on weekdays and all day on weekends and bank holidays, currently using buses or trams.
But while the council is reimbursed for its bus passes, it is not for tram services, and pays Nottingham Express Transit (NET) for it.
Elderly and disabled passengers are currently able to get free tram passes to travel.
And as it is not a legal requirement, the council is considering the future of the tram scheme, as £1.03 million is spent on it each year.
£900,000 is spent on free tram travel, £70,000 on a companion travel facility attached to passes issued for certain disabilities, and £58,000 for free travel for disabled pass holders on Section 19 minibuses.
It’s proposed the free tram travel is discontinued, but that the other areas continue.
A report titled Nottinghamshire Concessionary Travel Scheme Arrangements for 2022/23, which was presented to the council’s transport and environment committee, details the changes.
It states: “Due to the significant cost of non-statutory tram concession, it is considered prudent to publicly consult on a range of options around the tram concession in the future.
“The options to be considered will include the continuation of current tram concession arrangements, revised arrangements or full withdrawal.
“A further committee report will follow the consultation in summer 2022.”
The recommendation for the committee to approve a consultation on the tram concession, was passed unanimously.
But a number of councillors raised concerns.
Among them was Labour’s Glynn Gilfoyle, who said: “I think it would be a retrograde step and I think you’ve got to put everything into the mix because clearly, there is a cost to certain things, and there is a cost to this.
“I personally am not happy that looking at reducing the subsidy that is already there is being considered.”
Labour councillor Penny Gowland said the issue of trams was “affecting her residents more than most” in West Bridgford.
She said: “We want an integrated transport system, and if we have people considering which way to go, they just won’t use public transport.
“Having part of it available to some people, and not other parts, is silly.
“I really hope that it isn’t considered in the long term.”
Ashfield Independents councillor Tom Hollis said: “The tram is a big one, and we want to be encouraging people to use public transport whether that’s buses or particularly trams, as it’s a lot better for the environment.
“Any steps that put people off or provide extra obstacles is not welcome, particularly bearing in mind the tram network will only expand during the lifetime of this council.”
Gary Wood, head of highways and transport, said: “Around 60,000 of the 154,000 concessionary pass holders use the tram for part of, if not all of their journey’s each year, at a cost of around £900,000.
“Following approval at the county council’s transport and environment committee, we will soon be seeking views from residents and pass holders on whether changes should be made to the scheme or whether the existing arrangements continue.”