I welcome news that bus travel time restrictions for disabled passengers will come to an end across the England.
From April 2027 eligible disabled people will be able to use their bus pass for free 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
At the moment, the national concession generally only provides free travel from 9:30am to 11pm on weekdays (with all-day travel at weekends and on bank holidays).
These restrictions can create real barriers for disabled people, particularly when hospital or medical appointments are scheduled early in the morning, or when people need to travel home later in the evening.
Nobody should have to worry about whether they can afford to get to an essential appointment simply because it falls outside the hours of their bus pass.
For Greater Manchester, this is particularly welcome as we continue to develop the Bee Network and work towards a more accessible and inclusive transport system with central government funding being allocated to expand the entitlement. Locally disabled passengers have been able to travel without restriction since March and shows Greater Manchester was leading the way on buses run for the public good, as they always should have been.
A positive step towards making public transport work better for everyone.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 