Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether disabled persons' (1) railcards, and (2) bus passes, are only valid for use after 9.30am; and if so, (a) why, and (b) what assessment they have made of the impact of such time restrictions on the use of those passes to commute to work.

Unlike most railcards, the disabled persons railcard can be used before 09.30am, with no peak time restrictions on its use.

With regard to bus travel, the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme offers concessionary pass holders free bus travel from 09.30am on weekdays and all day at weekends and on Bank Holidays. The times of the concession were set out in the Transport Act 2000. This allows pass holders to take advantage of the increased operational capacity available after the morning peak travel time.

Under the Concessionary Travel Act 2007, local authorities in England have the power to offer additional local concessions, such as extending the hours of the concession, and three quarters of authorities already do so. This policy area is kept under review.