Jacqui fights for free
bus passes.
Thank you for taking the time to sign the
petition against plans by Conservative and Liberal Democrat
Councillors to end free bus passes for the over 60’s in
Redditch.
There is to be a public meeting
of the Borough Council to discuss this issue on Monday 1
December at 6.30 pm at the Town Hall. The Council will vote to
either retain a free travel scheme or replace it with a half or
flat fare scheme (fares of 30 or 40p have been
mentioned.)
What is my
view? My
solution is not to scrap the scheme like the Conservatives and
Liberal Democrats would, but to say to Redditch people that free bus travel should be
kept AND services improved. I am proud that the
people of Redditch have backed the investment in the scheme for the
last twenty years and nothing has
changed.
I think Redditch will support free bus passes – here’s
why. Last
week I visited Mendip House and talked to people about what free
bus travel means to them. They told me that they
have to visit their doctor, chiropodist, clinics, the hospital and
shops regularly and that they visit the Town Centre, go to clubs or
meet friends and family - all on the bus. Add
all those journeys up under a flat fare scheme and older
people are looking at pounds disappearing from their purses each
week.
Pensioners tell me that
paying fares would discourage them from going
out. That’s bad for their quality of
life (and they deserve better) but inactivity is very bad for their
health too. Those that think that they might
save taxpayer’s money by scrapping free bus passes are forgetting
that care and NHS costs will go up if older and disabled people
become housebound. Finally, the Conservatives say that
Dial a Ride needs investment and that this should be achieved at
the expense of free bus passes. Not one person
that I have spoken to agrees with this
notion.
I will continue
to fight for free bus passes to be retained AND for services like
Dial a Ride to be improved. The over 60’s
deserve nothing less.
Yours
sincerely
Jacqui
Smith MP
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