Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the full-fare cost of journeys undertaken by older people using free bus passes was reimbursed to bus operators by each local authority in 2005–6, 2009–10, and in each financial year since, including the current year.

The Department for Transport publishes concessionary travel statistics for each local authority in England showing, for older and disabled people: the total reimbursement of bus operators; the average reimbursement per journey; the average reimbursement per pass.

These figures are obtained from bus operators through the annual Concessionary Travel Survey. They do not show reimbursement as a proportion of the full-fare cost of a journey and, as the figures include both older and disabled travellers, it is not possible to provide figures for older people only. In addition, if bus operators indicate that the information is commercially sensitive, it is not included in the final published table.

The available statistics cover the years 2010/11 to 2012/13 and can be found on the GOV.UK website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/265955/bus0832.xls

We do not hold these statistics at local authority level for 2005/06 or 2009/10.