Portsmouth residents who hold an older person’s bus pass will be able to use their bus pass earlier in the day from Tuesday 1 November, following changes made by Portsmouth City Council.
All holders of an older person’s bus pass issued by Portsmouth City Council will now be able to catch the bus from 9am – 11pm Monday to Friday, instead of the current 9.30am – 11pm, as well as all-day on weekends and public holidays. This is an extension of previous hours, allowing more accessibility to public transport services across the city.
Additionally, Portsmouth City Council is trialling even earlier travel for older person’s bus pass holders who have early morning hospital appointments. The free bus travel will allow residents to reach Queen Alexandra Hospital or St Mary’s Community Health Campus before 9am if they can provide evidence of a hospital appointment by showing a printed appointment letter, text message, or email confirmation to the bus driver.
Councillor Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation, said ‘I am pleased to see that older person bus pass holders will be able to access early appointments at our hospitals by bus for free and that they will be able to travel for free in Portsmouth from 9am to 11pm. This is a much-needed change especially during a cost-of-living crisis and demonstrates Portsmouth City Council’s continual dedication to both listening to the feedback of our residents regarding their freedom to travel and the removal of their barriers to healthcare.’
These changes are only applicable to Portsmouth City Council issued older person’s concessionary bus passes for journeys starting in the city. Outside of Portsmouth, the pass is applicable for free travel anywhere in England between 9.30am – 11pm on Monday – Friday, and all day at weekends and on public holidays, as part of the English National Travel Concessionary Scheme.
For further information, please see the older person’s bus pass holder page.
