SmartPass proposals are disastrous news for the over-60s

Hundreds of people gathered outside Belfast City Hall at the weekend, demanding the retention of the SmartPass, which allows people over 60 to travel for free.

The protest, supported by trade unionists, disability activists and environmentalists, was organised in response to a 12-week public consultation launched by the Department for Infrastructure in July on whether to raise the age at which people qualify for free public transport.

As it stands, the SmartPass enables people over 60, or with certain health conditions, to travel for free or at a discounted rate in Northern Ireland.

However, the government is considering changes to the scheme. These include raising the age of eligibility for concessionary fares to either 65 or the state pension age, limiting use to off-peak and bus travel only, and introducing fees for the application, renewal and replacement of the pass.

Not many of us get excited about ageing, but at least the SmartPass gave people one thing to look forward to. Taking it away would mean going backwards, removing individual freedoms while putting us further out of step with other countries where free or heavily reduced travel fares are picking up speed.

Read more Age of eligibility for free bus pass in NI could be raised

According to Age NI, the SmartPass consistently cuts through as a priority issue that matters most to older people. This is hardly a surprise. Ask anyone over 60 about scheme, and the response is unwaveringly positive.

Although it’s worth noting that not all over-60s use the SmartPass in equal measure, for many people, the SmartPass is their lifeline. It allows them to get to work, shop, attend medical appointments, meet up with friends and see their families.

With many older adults feeling lonely or experiencing restricted mobility, the SmartPass makes it easier to socialise and connect with others.

UK research backs this up, with one study from 2018 revealing that depression symptoms declined among those who started using their free bus pass when they became eligible to do so.

Members of the Unison trade union were particularly concerned about the social impact that scrapping the SmartPass could have on our older population.

Unison gathered outside the Department for Infrastructure last Wednesday to protest about the proposed changes, expressing fears that, with the increased cost of fuel, many people would have to choose between travelling on public transport and staying at home. With no car, some people simply won’t make the journey at all.

Following the launch of the public consultation, it feels like the terms of the debate have already been set in an outdated way.

We shouldn’t be talking about defending free travel, but rather about extending it at local and regional levels to include other age categories.

Free public transport is a key aspect of what is required for decarbonising our towns and cities, and restricting the right to discounted transport is taking us in the wrong direction.

Every day millions of people across hundreds of cities get from one place to another free of charge. While the Department for Infrastructure has explained that the cost of the SmartPass is one of the reasons why they want to assess the current set-up of the scheme, there are countless examples of how free transport is funded across Europe and elsewhere.

For example, in Luxembourg — the first country in the world to introduce free public transport — funding was generated through both income taxation and levies on petrol and gas.

Read more Taking wrong road with bus pass plan

Tallinn in Estonia, Dunkirk in France and Frýdek-Místek in the Czech Republic are other European cities to have slashed their fares, and in October last year, Malta became the latest European country to offer free public transport after cutting fares on most bus routes.

These examples have shown that promoting accessible public transport as an investment can lead to a better quality of life and better health for commuters.

Crucially, these examples also show that the cost of the service is simply one factor to consider among others, including frequency, reliability, punctuality and accessibility.

There’s no point in free transport that is unreliable or that cannot accommodate wheelchair users.

Subsidised public transport should be well serviced and well connected to ensure that people can easily commute to school and work during peak hours.

In Luxembourg, the tram has exclusive right of way and priority at crossings, so passengers never find themselves stuck in traffic jams.

Having stayed the same since 2008, the department is right to consider how the SmartPass could be changed.

However, after 15 years, the changes it proposes should be positive.

It should be taking us forward and opening a conversation about how public transport could better tackle issues with carbon emissions, accessibility and cost of living.

We should be asking questions about how the SmartPass could be used as a basis to promote free travel, or how we could design changes to improve rail services and transport infrastructure. Or how to create permanent contracts for transport workers and extend service links to include more rural areas.

Instead, we’re hemmed into a narrow debate whose terms of reference mean that anyone over 60 who doesn’t own car could easily become excluded from social and economic life.

For those of you who are interested in making your voices heard on this issue, the public consultation on changes to the SmartPass closes tomorrow at 5pm.

Have your say at https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/