Michelle Bond, a disabled person's bus pass holder in Manchester, expresses her desire to change the rule requiring her to pay a £1 fare before 9:30am on weekdays. Despite the inconvenience, she praises the Bee Network for its improved accessibility.
A bus pass enger has named the rule she would ‘love to change’ as the first weekday Bee Network services started in south Manchester. Michelle Bond, 47, has a disabled person’s travel pass which gives her free bus travel in Greater Manchester — but there’s a catch five days a week.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) rules say some passholders travelling before 9:30am on weekdays must pay a concessionary £1 fare, rather than travel freely as she can later in the day, but other passes allow free travel all-day. Government rules say authorities like TfGM only have to follow ‘mandatory concessions’, which allows bus operators to charge the full fare before 9:30am. But the government also says local travel authorities can relax their rules to allow all disabled or elderly pass holders to travel for free before the 9:30am cut-off. Michelle lives in Crossacres, Wythenshawe, where the Bee Network took over running the bus services she uses most, on Sunday (January 5). Prior to that, she would catch privately-run buses, which she was largely happy with. “Stagecoach was fine,” she said on Monday (January 6), “The only thing was l have a disabled bus pass and I cannot use it until 9:30 am. “I do not have a clue why. I’m usually up for 6am, I’m ready by 8am, but I cannot go out I would love it to change. I do not have a problem otherwise.” When the MEN contacted TfGM, a spokesperson confirmed the 9:30am rules remain in place. Despite this, Michelle says the new Bee Network services are an improvement: “I like the Bee Network buses because the new ones’ disabled seats have more room. They are nicer and better.” The mayor’s plan to bring buses back into public control was completed over the weekend, so every service in Greater Manchester is run by TfGM. Sunday was the culmination of a process which began in Wigan, Bolton, and parts of Bury and Salford in September 2023. Six months later, Rochdale, Oldham, north Manchester, and the rest of Bury followed sui
BUS PASS DISABILITY BEE NETWORK GREATER MANCHESTER TRANSPORT REGULATIONS
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