Londoners Over 60: Scrap Free Travel?

Travel passes for the over-60s are still in abundance. Should it be, even for the rich?

Why not? We don’t get much for free while we’re here on Earth, but I’m not sure if it should be given to everyone. But those who are on a low income should be allowed a free pass.

The Freedom Pass is given to the over-60s and disabled travellers, and it costs TfL and the London Councils more than half a billion pounds each year.

One would say that this is unaffordable and extremely unfair, but when we have immigrants coming to our shores, and our government is dishing money out for them, then no, it’s not unaffordable or deeply unfair.

As a taxpayer, I would prefer to pay for bus passes rather than help a migrant who comes to our nation with nothing to support themselves.

And don’t forget that people have been paying their entire life for their pension, only to then be told it’s a benefit. I mean, how much more do they want to take from us? It’s not a benefit, it is a contribution that we paid into so that we could get a return when we become of pensionable age, but now our government are making us look like scroungers, and that we are stealing it. But we didn’t steal it, our government did, similar to a Ponzi scheme, which I might add is illegal. It is illegal and considered a form of investment fraud that lures you in with the promise of money.

Putting it into idiot terms, if you pay into something with the assurance of a return, then that is illegal, especially if that said money has been used for something else, other than what it was supposed to be used for.

One has to apply for their Freedom Pass to travel; it’s not automatic. I believe that it should be because the elderly need passes to get around – doctors’ appointments and shops, especially if they live in rural areas, and to have to pay out of their pensions is a lot, and they don’t get a lot to begin with.

Don’t assume that if a person is a pensioner, that they are well off; that is the furthest from the truth.

Retirement, I’m pleased that I reached it, but without a bus pass I wouldn’t be able to enjoy all the benefits like going for hospital appointments and seeing friends – I would just be stuck at home looking at four walls. So, before anybody chews my a*se off for speaking out. Let me tell you, there’s no joy in staring at four walls all day, and it’s definitely not good for your mental health.

We have served our time, paid our taxes, worked our entire lives, and so on, but now our government wants to take away everything from us.

Our government treat us like their old toys, and when they don’t want us anymore, they just toss us out – they just don’t care.

Lots of people die before they turn 60 years old, and a large portion of people over the age of 60 have some kind of health issue. Whether it be bad knees, back pain or arthritis, but our government and NHS are slow to react to support these people.

Despite not being classified as disabled and the fact that the majority of them would prefer not to apply for this status, they persevere and don’t raise any red flags, but how are they supposed to get around, do their shopping and go to medical visits when there is no bus pass?

Many of these people have paid tax all their lives, but the sad thing is, some of them won’t make it past 67, which means that a fair number of them won’t even see their pension for which they have contributed all their lives, and this is totally unfair.

To take money from the elderly is despicable, and I know there are a lot of people who still work after retirement age, but you also need to look around you and see how many people over 50 are not in good health or have underlying issues, so they should be leaving the free bus passes alone.