Council's bus pass fears

Oswestry Borough Council is facing a £60,000 overspend because of the popularity of a free county-wide bus pass introduced six months ago.

More than 4,000 people over the age of 60 across the council's area have taken up the free county bus pass.

The number of free journeys they are enjoying is far greater than expected and the authority is now facing a huge overspend on its transport budget.

Government money was given to the borough in its annual spending allocation for the new initiative, but the funding has proved insufficient to cover the cost to the council.

In a report to Oswestry's borough cabinet, which meets tonight, finance chief Mark Taylor says: "There is a predicted overspend of £60,000 against the concessionary travel budget due to a higher than anticipated take-up of the scheme.

"This is despite the budget being based on Government guidance."

Council transport officer Richard Jones said despite the overspend, he was delighted that the county bus pass had proved so popular.

He said that last year about 1,000 people had used the half price bus pass that had been available for pensioners.

But the number choosing the new, free pass has rocketed to more than 4,000.

"It is really good news that people are now choosing to take advantage of free, off-peak, bus travel," said Mr Jones.

"It is helping to keep the buses on the roads and it is also good for the environment, in that it is taking some of the cars off the roads."

As well as being able to travel across Shropshire, passholders in Oswestry can also use some cross-border bus services, allowing them to visit towns in Mid Wales and also Wrexham and even as far afield as Crewe.

One popular route is to Shrewsbury, with pensioners being able to take advantage of the free travel pass to keep appointments at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

The pass can be used with bus companies including Arriva, which operates services across Shropshire, and Tanat Valley.

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