Concessionary Travel
| Service Deliverer: |
Havant Borough Council |
| Contact: |
Please call at the main reception desk, situated on the
ground floor at the Civic Offices between 9 am and 5 pm Monday to
Friday. |
| Telephone No: |
023 9244 6012 |
| Address: |
Havant Borough Council, Civic Offices, Civic Centre Road,
Havant, PO9 2AX |
| Email: |
customer.services@havant.gov.uk |
| Details: |
IMPORTANT NOTE: The concessionary travel
scheme will be changing in April 2011. See
below for more details and your chance to comment on what the
future scheme should look like.
Pensioners aged about 60 years and over ( see the
detailed note on eligibility below), and disabled people aged 5
years and over who are registered with Social Services or in
receipt of Disability Living Allowance, can apply for a bus
pass.
Application forms can be obtained by contacting the offices
above.
|
What is Concessionary Travel?
Havant Borough Council issues a travel concession to
qualifying residents. This entitles eligible persons to a free
off-peak bus pass which allows free bus travel providing journeys
start between 9.30
am
and
11
pm
on a weekday, or any time on
weekends and on public holidays. You are able to make
free journeys by local buses (excluding express coaches, shuttles,
dial-a-ride, special tourist services or community
transport) anywhere in England.
The Pass is a plastic, credit card sized 'Smartcard'.
Senior rail cards are available as an
alternative
concession for all new applications or upon renewal of
residents’ existing concessions.
Am I eligible for a concession?
Concessionary Travel is available to residents of the Borough
who are above the pensionable age for women (whether they are men
or women). Due to changes in retirement age legislation, this
age is moving upwards at the rate of two months for
every one month of age. There is a ready reckoner
available on
DirectGov but please note that in order to calculate your
eligibility age, you should enter your gender as 'female' into the
calculator even if you are male (because the concession
age works on the female retirement age, which is now being
realigned with the male retirement age in response to a European
Court of Human Rights judgement).
It is also available to people with disabilities. Applicants
should be over 5 years of age and be a holder of the yellow Social
Services Registration Card or in receipt of the Disability Living
Allowance.
How can I apply for a concession?
You must complete an application form, which you can get from
the Main Reception of the Civic Offices, or by telephoning
(023) 9244 6012 or e-mailing:
customer.services@havant.gov.uk.
What proof of identity do I need to produce?
To process your application, we need proof of age /
disability and residence, for example:
- Birth Certificate, Passport or Driving Licence.
- A Council Tax or Utility Bill
- Social Services Registration Card or Disability Living
Allowance letter.
The bus pass application also needs a recent
passport-sized photograph of yourself. There is now a photo booth
for public use in the Civic Offices, which provides five
photographs for £5.00.
When can I apply for it?
At any time during the year by completing an application form,
which you can obtain from the Main Reception of the Civic
Offices, or by telephoning
(023) 9244 6012 or
e-mailing:
customer.services@havant.gov.uk.
How much does it cost?
The pass is issued for free. The pass is sent to you from our
supplier by post.
What happens if my pass gets lost or is stolen?
A replacement will be provided on receipt of a new photograph
and a £10.00 fee. This can either be brought into
the Main Reception at the Civic Offices, or sent by post, along
with a letter to request a new pass, to:
Customer Services
Havant Borough Council
Civic Offices
Havant
Hampshire
PO9 2AX
What other concessions are available?
As an
ALTERNATIVE to the free off-peak
bus pass, people with an age-related concession (
see above for
eligibility) can apply to Havant Borough Council for a Senior
Railcard. We will issue you with an application form
and a voucher to collect your pass at a railway station.
Please complete both the form and the voucher before you visit the
railway station, to save time for other passengers wishing to buy
tickets.
What about sharing of Data?
This authority is under a duty to protect the public funds it
administers, and to this end may use the information you have
provided on your concessionary travel form for the prevention and
detection of fraud. It may also share this information with
other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds
for these purposes.
What About Travel Before 9.30
am
?
The concessionary pass is not valid for travel before
9.30
am
on Mondays to Fridays. If you
need to travel before this time, you will need to pay the full
fare. However if you know you will be returning after
9.30
am
, then just get a single fare,
since the journey back will be covered by your pass.
Some people have said that that they can't use their pass if
they need to get to an early Hospital appointment. Although
Hospitals tend to offer 9.30
am
appointments without asking you, what many people don't know is
that you do not have to accept this time, and can ask for an
appointment later in the day when you can make the journey to
Hospital free, using your pass. To save yourself money, please make
use of this little known facility. Alternatively, the hospital can
arrange transport for you.
Scheme Changes from April 2011
From 1st April 2011, the management of the concessionary
travel scheme is passing from district and borough councils, to the
County Council. This means that from next April, instead of there
being different schemes across the eleven district and borough
councils across Hampshire, there will be one standardised scheme
operating Hampshire-wide. Since each district council operates a
slightly different scheme, this means that from April those
different schemes - including ours - will change and be combined
into one standard scheme with the same operational hours and
enhancements.