I have been pondering whether to start paying for some or all of my bus fares. An empty gesture, or a contribution towards the reduction of the deficit?
Cuts have been made in the concessions for students, & our discount on local trains has been cut from 50% to 33%, but free bus passes cannot be withdrawn without a change in the legislation.
As I have pointed out before, bus passes bring real benefits to society, are not just an expensive perk for gallivanting grannies or elderly men with dreams of creating the beat on the road. The number of people who now use them for trips to the hospital continues to grow for example, reducing traffic & relieving the strain on hospital parking.
But should those of us who can afford it make a monetary contribution, & would it be one worth making.
Well I should have to think of what I should give up to make up the personal deficit.
How about giving up smoking, earning triple brownie points & a gold star thereby.
But it wouldn’t be that simple.
My personal finances would definitely gain – with all the recent rises in VAT & duty, a packet of cigarettes now costs more than the bus fare to town.
But there’s a catch: even just the tax on a packet of cigarettes now comes to more than the bus fare to town – quite a lot more than the discounted-for-bulk ticket price which is, I hope, negotiated by the council.
So the net effect would be an even greater call on the public finances.
And if, even at my age, stopping smoking would add a year or so to my expectation of life, then the Treasury would just have to foot the bill for longer for my pension, my medical care &, quite probably, my social care as well.
