GROWTH, HOUSING AND ENVIRONMENT
EXTENSION OF CONCESSIONARY BUS PASS SCHEME FOR JERSEY
RESIDENTS WITH A PRESCRIBED LONG-TERM DISABILITY
Purpose of the report
To outline the proposal to extend the provision of concessionary bus passes for people with a prescribed long-term disability, and seek the support of the Minister for Infrastructure.
Background
In February 2016 the Council of Ministers unanimously supported P140/2015, which was also accepted and agreed by the States Assembly:
(a) that individuals below pensionable age with a disability which prevents them from being able to drive should be entitled to a concessionary bus pass;
(b) to request the Minister for Transport and Technical Services to enter into formal discussions with LibertyBus for the provision of concessionary bus passes for those with a prescribed disability which prevents them from being able to drive, and to bring forward proposals to the States no later than 1st September 2016 detailing both the potential cost implications and the criteria which applicants would have to meet in order to access this service.
A trial scheme was provided for by Ministerial Decision MD-T-2016-0073 in August 2016, and launched in March 2017, branded “AvanchiAccess”.
Overview of the pilot scheme
Financial and residential criteria
Under the scheme, a bus pass for Jersey residents with a disability[1] is offered, providing bus travel to anyone aged 5 or above who meets the qualifying criteria, but who is not entitled to an older person’s pass[2]. In line with the current requirements for the older persons’ bus pass scheme, entitlement to the pass is not means-tested.
A Jersey resident with a disability wishing to apply for the pass needs to be ordinarily resident in Jersey and must supply evidence of this[3]. There is a qualifying period of residency of five years in relation to the pass and applicants are also required to provide evidence of this when applying.
Mobility criteria
Criteria for bus passes in other jurisdictions predominately focus on lack of mobility (i.e. a person gets a bus pass because they are unable to walk or it is not safe for them to walk long distances). Whilst these schemes may have a common focus – i.e. to support people’s mobility – there is nevertheless significant variations between different jurisdictions, including between the English and Welsh criteria and the Scottish criteria. In other words, there is no self-evident best practice model to adopt.
The Jersey criteria under the trial scheme is a combination of different UK criteria:
Sight impaired and severely sight impaired, such that the condition prevents them from driving |
Severely or profoundly deaf, to the extent that the condition prevents them from driving |
In receipt of Mobility component and/or long-term care benefit and/or personal care level 3 |
Mental illness or personality disorder to a degree that prevents them from driving |
A learning disability to a degree that prevents them from driving |
Progressive degenerative condition, which prevents them from driving |
Would be refused a licence to drive or licence has been withdrawn based on medical grounds |
Walking difficulties to a degree that impacts mobility and ability to drive |
Seizures causing loss of consciousness or altered consciousness (including epilepsy) |
It was felt that these criteria may need to be amended once there was sufficient data relating to uptake and usage. In order to ensure that the right groups of people were being targeted, it was determined that this scheme would be a pilot running until the end of 2019. Doing so would allow the States to identify whether the scheme should continue in its current form or in an amended form, based on evidence of use and evidence of impact.
Assessment of mobility criteria
There is a myriad of different models which can be used to assess whether an individual is eligible for a bus pass. None are perfect because they are striving to strike a balance between a straightforward assessment process – one which is easy for applicants – and managing the risk that a small number of people may be issued bus passes even though they are not the intended beneficiaries.
It was determined that the Jersey pilot scheme should take a light touch approach and incorporate a requirement for authorisation by an appropriate healthcare professional. It was not envisaged that the bus pass for Jersey residents with a disability would become a statutory entitlement, and the scheme does not currently include a companion pass, although it was pledged to monitor feedback from the travelling public and subsequently review this aspect if found to be desirable.
The overhead costs associated with administration are in part met by the income raised from the bus pass administration fee of £15 which is charged for each card issued. This fee, paid on application to the bus operator, makes a small contribution to the costs incurred in relation to administration. By setting the fee at this level it is unlikely that genuine applicants and potential users of the service will be discouraged from applying. However, it could potentially discourage those who have no real intention of using the pass from applying, as the same level of administrative cost is incurred regardless of whether it is used.
There is currently no administration fee associated with the older person’s bus pass, other than a £5 replacement fee in the event that the card is lost or damaged. However there are a range of fees charged in relation to other services, including:
- Blue Badge application fee – £15
- Driving licence application fee – £20 to £50
- Passport application fee – £72.50 to £111
- Registration card: recently arrived licenced or registered resident – £80
The application fee for a bus pass for Jersey residents with a disability is therefore consistent with that charged for the Blue Badge.
Review of scheme
The scheme, initially intended to be a pilot scheme only, was introduced in March 2017 and was initially valid until the end of 2019, to coincide with the end of the period covered by MTFP2. Funding is drawn from the financial return from the Jersey Car Parking trading operation, retained within the revenue budget of Growth Housing & Environment, in order to fund reimbursement to the bus operator for journeys made by holders of the travel pass.
Passes issued under the scheme are valid from the day of issue until the last day of 2019, and renewal was intended to be subject to any changes to the criteria or the operation of the scheme brought forward, after the extent to which it is meeting the transport needs of Jersey residents with a disability was assessed. It was envisaged that usage data from the first two years of scheme operation would be used to assess and review a range of aspects, including but not limited to:
(a) the access criteria to ensure they include the right groups of people
(b) whether the assessment of eligibility appropriately balances risk of abuse against cost efficiency
(c) whether means-testing should be introduced
(d) whether the application fee should be adjusted
(e) the potential introduction of a single mobility card providing concessionary travel both to older Jersey residents and to those with a disability
(f) the feasibility of introducing a companion pass
(g) whether available monies might be better invested in a transport grant fund, providing small grants to Jersey residents with a disability so they may purchase their own transport solution (which may be an unlimited travel bus pass).
As the MTFP2 decision only related to funding during the MTFP2 period, funding arrangements for 2020 and beyond could not be considered. It was made very clear to individuals applying for a pass that this was a pilot scheme which may not continue in its initial form.
Uptake, usage and costs
Prior to the commencement of the scheme, it was not possible to accurately calculate the costs of introducing a bus pass for Jersey residents with a disability, as there was limited comparable data available from other jurisdictions. Complicating factors in calculating costs included:
(a) the practice of issuing of passes varies between different regions and bus operators in the UK. For example, in some regions a 65-year-old with mobility problems may be issued an older person’s pass, in other regions they may be issued a disabled person’s pass[4];
(b) in some regions data relating to disabled persons’ passes include companion passes, in others it does not, and this data cannot be separated out for comparative purposes;
(c) differences in eligibility criteria in different jurisdictions, including between England & Wales and Scotland, will have an impact on the number of eligible people;
(d) uptake and usage varies significantly between rural and urban areas, and is affected by a broad range of variables such as levels of car ownership, cost and availability of parking, availability of public transport options.
To try and provide some indication of the cost of introducing the bus pass, estimates were developed based on the percentage uptake amongst the eligible population in England and Scotland. The ratio of disabled persons’ passes to older persons’ passes in England and Scotland was also taken into account. An expected average of 173 journeys per pass per year was calculated, which with a £1.50 per journey reimbursement paid to the bus operator, results in a value of the benefit per pass of £260 per year.
During the first month of the scheme’s operation in March 2017, a total of 152 passes were issued with passholders making 2,333 journeys on the bus network. By July 2019, the number of passes in circulation was 599 and the number of journeys made was 8,581.
Over the twelve months to July 2019, the average number of journeys per pass issued was 166, which is remarkably close to the estimated figure of 173. The value of the benefit per pass is therefore currently £249 per year.
It takes time for travel behaviours to change and with the scheme originally operating for a finite trial period, with uncertainty as to its long-term future, there may have been some reluctance to apply from eligible persons. Accordingly, uptake levels to date have been relatively modest. It is difficult to ascertain how many Jersey residents with a disability are already in possession of an older persons’ travel pass, but if the scheme was to continue, the number of passes in circulation would continue to rise over the coming years.
Companion passes
Some people with disabilities are unable to travel by bus without the support of a companion. Consideration has therefore been given to the potential introduction of companion bus pass in Jersey. Companion travel is available in Scotland and some, but not all, bus authority areas in England and Wales. Under the UK schemes, a companion can travel for no extra cost but only when they are with the concessionary pass holder (i.e. two people can travel for no charge on a single disabled person’s pass).
Accurately assessing eligibility to companion passes is difficult. In the UK, eligibility is usually linked to receipt of certain types of benefits, but this cannot be replicated in Jersey due to the differences in our benefits system. If companion travel is offered under the bus pass scheme for Jersey residents with a disability, this would create an anomaly with the older persons’ pass which does not have a connected companion pass scheme, as it is known that many older persons would benefit from companion travel.
It is therefore recommended that companion travel is not introduced at this point, but should be periodically reviewed as the scheme continues to operate.
Financial and resource implications
MTFP2 proposed that the costs of the proposed bus pass scheme should be met by funding retained from the Jersey Car Parking trading operation and passed to the revenue budget of the Department for Infrastructure. The scheme was expected to benefit a significant number of Jersey residents with a disability.
During the initial ten-month period to 31 December 2017, the cost of reimbursement was £56,000 while in 2018 the full year figure was £107,000, with the estimate for 2019 being £172,000. It is reasonable to assume that the number of passes issued is unlikely to sharply increase and as such the Department’s revenue budget will be able to continue to fund the scheme for the foreseeable future.
Recommendation
The Minister is recommended to agree that the scheme be continued in the same format as it has operated since 2017, with existing beneficiaries being granted an extension to the validity of their travel pass.
Reason(s) for Decision
Following the initial period of operating the pilot concessionary travel facility for Jersey residents with a prescribed long-term disability, the required funding is to continue to be made available from the Car Parks Trading Fund. This is consistent with the remit of the Fund agreed by the States with the adoption of the proposition Car Parking Charges: allocation of additional income to the funding of transport initiatives (P.147/2004).
Action Required
Officers from Growth, Housing & Environment to liaise with LibertyBus regarding any required adjustments to the existing application and administration procedures, agree measures to continue advertising the scheme to the travelling public, and confirm arrangements for re-issuing travel passes to existing beneficiaries.
Written by: | Public Transport Planner |
Approved by: | Director of Transport |
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