Showing posts with label bus pass economics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bus pass economics. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Use your bus pass if you want a bath
For some reason I found myself wondering where the term slipper bath came from.
Slipper baths were provided as a service by local councils up & down the country in the days before constant hot water & internal bathrooms became a standard feature of every home. For a small fee you could have a proper, probably weekly, (timed) scrub & soak in a hot bath tub; for a few pennies more the council might even provide you with soap & the hire of a towel.
Caribbean friends shook their heads in horror at this further evidence of English casual attitudes to personal hygiene.
According to the OED the phrase originally described ‘a partially covered bath shaped somewhat like a slipper’ – ie one which presumably covered the bather’s modesty. In more modern times usage was reserved for ‘single baths of the modern domestic style installed for hire at public baths’, doubtless reflecting the fact that in earlier times true slipper baths would have been provided, grouped in a more communal setting.
I was surprised to see that the OED has a quote, from The Times, referring to the closure of municipal slipper baths as late as 1981.
Tracing this back to the original article in The Times of 25 February 1981 revealed – protests over cuts in public expenditure! In this case the Thatcher government’s attempts to rein in profligate local councils which culminated, before the decade was out, in attempts to make everybody pay their fair share for these services through the doomed poll tax.
Pensioners from Wandsworth in particular were protesting about cuts in the services which they most valued, including public libraries & lunch clubs. But the council’s insensitive response to protests over the closure of the local slipper bath led them to demand a meeting with Secretary of State, Michael Heseltine.
Their case was that slipper baths were essential, not only for any pensioner who lived in a bed sitter but also for those who were afraid of running up bills to heat enough water for baths at home (‘fuel poverty’ had not yet been invented).
They were told that they could use their free bus passes to go to another borough where the slipper baths remained open …
File this under plus ca change.
Related posts
Constant hot water
The laws of 1899
Desirable tenants
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Tree shocks
There has bee trouble on the buses this week – running up to half an hour late in the middle of the day, every seat taken, some grumbles.
Turns out that all this trouble is caused by tree trimming, the need for which (in the interests, of course, of our long term safety) has meant the closure of one small stretch of road in Buxton. This has been enough to cause chaos, with shockwaves propagating all the way to the airport.
Yesterday the driver left it up to one young mum to decide for herself whether to get on with her baby buggy – all the reserved space was taken by seated passengers, so she would just have to stand in the aisle, moving aside each time somebody else wanted to get on or off. She decided to choose this certainty, rather than an uncertain wait for less crowded bus to come along in due course.
This might have caused even more grumbling, but everyone close by was full of cheerful commiseration & advice and also, once we were on the move again, gave us the chance to earwig a fascinating exchange (which could never have happened until a few years ago) of proud baby talk between her & a young man who is dad to a similarly aged infant (safely left at home with mum): Yes, they do that at this age, etc.
I lost count of the number of people who got off the bus at the stop for the hospital – free bus passes have contributed an unexpect4dly large addition to the bus company revenues & the calls on our council tax, so that at certain times of day half the bus gets off at this stop. I hope medical staff are being sympathetic to late comers this week.
Funny how much trouble even what remains of our English forests can cause; the trains have a special autumn timetable which adds five minutes extra to cope with speed restrictions due to leaves on the line.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Friendly buses
Mark Easton reported that Downing Street nudge specialists know how to keep us all living longer – find an interest, make friends, get out more …
Well, on the assumption that we are not all so depressed by the state of the economy that being made to live longer seems like cruelty, I hope they will give due weight to the role that the bus pass plays in this splendid endeavour.
Buses themselves are very sociable – much more so than trains or tube; for some reason people are much more likely to chat to each other.
And travel allows you to access a wider range of social contacts & activities than might be provided by well meaning outsiders closer to home.
People are lonely for kind, not company of no matter what sort.
Well, on the assumption that we are not all so depressed by the state of the economy that being made to live longer seems like cruelty, I hope they will give due weight to the role that the bus pass plays in this splendid endeavour.
Buses themselves are very sociable – much more so than trains or tube; for some reason people are much more likely to chat to each other.
And travel allows you to access a wider range of social contacts & activities than might be provided by well meaning outsiders closer to home.
People are lonely for kind, not company of no matter what sort.
Monday, January 02, 2012
Reading on the bus
One consequence of the introduction of free bus passes for pensioners is an increase in the number of people I see reading on the bus – reading books, (mainly novels), which round here is a mainly female occupation & one that is more common in older than younger women. Most other people, if they read at all, have their eyes fixed firmly on a tiny screen.
But this week I have spotted my first Kindle (or similar) on the bus, in the hands of a young woman.
If I see her often enough I may get cheeky enough to ask if I can take a look to see if it is legible to my eyes in the winter evening gloom.
But this week I have spotted my first Kindle (or similar) on the bus, in the hands of a young woman.
If I see her often enough I may get cheeky enough to ask if I can take a look to see if it is legible to my eyes in the winter evening gloom.
Related posts
Keep your nose out of it
Freedom calls
Keep your nose out of it
Freedom calls
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Opportunity lost or cost
I found myself in need of a replacement bus pass.
This turned out to be a bit more complicated than I expected, given the simplicity of obtaining the original, but finally I presented myself at the Town Hall, having declined the opportunity to pay by debit card over the phone – a procedure which would have incurred a charge of £2.50 on top of the £5 for the new card.
It was only at the point of taking out my cheque that I was asked: Did you just lose it, or was it stolen? Because there’s no charge if it was stolen - & you have a crime number.
We ended by agreeing that it was much simpler, all things considered, for me just to pay & have done with it
The interesting question was whether I would have thought it worthwhile going through the procedure of getting a crime number, whatever that is these days, if I had known from the start that it might be ‘worth’ £7.50.
Or would I have thought that my time, plus the avoidance of irritation & exasperation is worth more than that, given that reporting it to the police was highly unlikely to have resulted in the return of my original card.
This turned out to be a bit more complicated than I expected, given the simplicity of obtaining the original, but finally I presented myself at the Town Hall, having declined the opportunity to pay by debit card over the phone – a procedure which would have incurred a charge of £2.50 on top of the £5 for the new card.
It was only at the point of taking out my cheque that I was asked: Did you just lose it, or was it stolen? Because there’s no charge if it was stolen - & you have a crime number.
We ended by agreeing that it was much simpler, all things considered, for me just to pay & have done with it
The interesting question was whether I would have thought it worthwhile going through the procedure of getting a crime number, whatever that is these days, if I had known from the start that it might be ‘worth’ £7.50.
Or would I have thought that my time, plus the avoidance of irritation & exasperation is worth more than that, given that reporting it to the police was highly unlikely to have resulted in the return of my original card.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Smart tickets
Another bus company which I use has installed smart machines which can check bus passes.
But they are not the same as the Stagecoach ones. And the driver asks for your destination & issues a ticket which records, among all the usual details, the 18-digit number which appears on the card.
I wonder what information is coded into this number?
But they are not the same as the Stagecoach ones. And the driver asks for your destination & issues a ticket which records, among all the usual details, the 18-digit number which appears on the card.
I wonder what information is coded into this number?
Related post
Spying on the buses
Spying on the buses
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Bus pass conundrum
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.
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.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Spying on the buses
Stagecoach buses in Manchester have now been equipped with machines that can check bus passes. They still do not ask for your destination however.
Turns out that the card has had an electronic chip in it all along.
Wonder if, in theory at least, a record can be kept of all my comings & goings?
Turns out that the card has had an electronic chip in it all along.
Wonder if, in theory at least, a record can be kept of all my comings & goings?
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Bus driver's YOB test
One of our bus drivers (who has raised teenagers of her own) has a near infallible test for establishing who is really only 15 years old & therefore entitled to travel for half fare, even without a special card.
She asks them when they were born.
In the confusion of the moment, those who are really 16 years old always subtract a year from their true date of birth.
I suspect that, rather than demonstrate the lack of knowledge of arithmetic among the youth of today, this tells us something interesting about how the brain works.
She asks them when they were born.
In the confusion of the moment, those who are really 16 years old always subtract a year from their true date of birth.
I suspect that, rather than demonstrate the lack of knowledge of arithmetic among the youth of today, this tells us something interesting about how the brain works.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Freedom calls
Last Saturday I was slightly disappointed to see that the seat I favour on the bus at times when it is likely to get full was already occupied.
It is the one next to what is affectionately called the ironing board, in fact the back rest for wheelchair users, which provides a useful cushion against the lurches imparted by the very inadequate suspension in the new buses, & gives plenty of leg room.
However the seat was being used for its intended purpose by a young woman who is a regular passenger, though I was surprised to see that she wasn’t with her usual lively group of friends – not that she needs their support to get around: her wheelchair is electric, large & comfortable but very manoeuvrable, & she is bubbly & outgoing, not afraid to ask for help if needed, or shy of making her requirements known.
Two older women boarded in the village, sat in the adjoining seat & were almost immediately in conversation with her. Talk turned to The King’s Speech which the girl had already seen & which the older women were hoping to see soon.
I cannot remember the last film which everybody was talking about this way – but I suppose it has everything really, at least for an English audience: Mr Darcy, the Queen Mum & posh misery memoir.
The girl offered to check the internet for local screening times – even I assumed she must mean later, when she got back home. The two ladies demurred – Oh no, we couldn’t ask you to do that - but within moments she was announcing that there was a screening at 3 o’clock & another at twenty to six. She explained that, on the advice of her friends, she had taken out a phone contract which offered her free internet, which was more than proving its value.
I expect the two ladies, & many of their friends, will soon be getting such phone contracts too. Older people in general were slow to take to the mobile – I think that, like me, they probably thought they would never manage to dial with their thumb – but now you just take it for granted that everybody has one, whatever their age. And nobody jeers or points at the sight of someone dialling by stabbing their finger.
One of its great advantages for older people is the freedom it brings – to be able to pop out to the shops while still keeping check on your increasingly frail partner at home, or by providing the perfect answer to grown up children who really would prefer for you to wait until they can take you out – We don’t like to think of something happening to you Mum.
Don’t be silly – if I need you I will call.
And since just about everybody is now comfortable with a mobile phone, the government might do better to encourage those still without internet access, especially those who may be afaid of computers, to get themselves on line via a phone rather than by a cheap laptop with cheap software & all the accompanying need for IT services.
It is the one next to what is affectionately called the ironing board, in fact the back rest for wheelchair users, which provides a useful cushion against the lurches imparted by the very inadequate suspension in the new buses, & gives plenty of leg room.
However the seat was being used for its intended purpose by a young woman who is a regular passenger, though I was surprised to see that she wasn’t with her usual lively group of friends – not that she needs their support to get around: her wheelchair is electric, large & comfortable but very manoeuvrable, & she is bubbly & outgoing, not afraid to ask for help if needed, or shy of making her requirements known.
Two older women boarded in the village, sat in the adjoining seat & were almost immediately in conversation with her. Talk turned to The King’s Speech which the girl had already seen & which the older women were hoping to see soon.
I cannot remember the last film which everybody was talking about this way – but I suppose it has everything really, at least for an English audience: Mr Darcy, the Queen Mum & posh misery memoir.
The girl offered to check the internet for local screening times – even I assumed she must mean later, when she got back home. The two ladies demurred – Oh no, we couldn’t ask you to do that - but within moments she was announcing that there was a screening at 3 o’clock & another at twenty to six. She explained that, on the advice of her friends, she had taken out a phone contract which offered her free internet, which was more than proving its value.
I expect the two ladies, & many of their friends, will soon be getting such phone contracts too. Older people in general were slow to take to the mobile – I think that, like me, they probably thought they would never manage to dial with their thumb – but now you just take it for granted that everybody has one, whatever their age. And nobody jeers or points at the sight of someone dialling by stabbing their finger.
One of its great advantages for older people is the freedom it brings – to be able to pop out to the shops while still keeping check on your increasingly frail partner at home, or by providing the perfect answer to grown up children who really would prefer for you to wait until they can take you out – We don’t like to think of something happening to you Mum.
Don’t be silly – if I need you I will call.
And since just about everybody is now comfortable with a mobile phone, the government might do better to encourage those still without internet access, especially those who may be afaid of computers, to get themselves on line via a phone rather than by a cheap laptop with cheap software & all the accompanying need for IT services.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Batty Britain
A recent decision by the Supreme Court was reported in The Times under the inspired headline:
which pithily sums up a case which took bundles & bundles of documents (including an Updated Bat Survey) & three court hearings to reach a conclusion.
This non-car user believes there should now be a case to consider whether buses need protection from bats.
Whether bats needed protection from buses
which pithily sums up a case which took bundles & bundles of documents (including an Updated Bat Survey) & three court hearings to reach a conclusion.
This non-car user believes there should now be a case to consider whether buses need protection from bats.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Driving the policy through
The Times recent analysis of the end of New Labour quoted someone close to the centre who said that Gordon Brown clearly had no idea of how to run any organisation.
Jonathan Powell recently defended criticisms of Tony Blair’s style of ‘sofa government’ by saying that Labour Cabinets of the 1970s were hardly shining examples of how to make better, collegiate decisions. A strong decisive leader with a small circle of trusted advisers worked better.
That may well be true, up to the point of decision. But the merit of the Cabinet system with all its sub committees, agendas, minutes, inter-departmental discussion & cooperation, & cascade of formal papers is that it informs the myriads of people who need to know that the decision has been taken & what it is. Strange as it may seem these myriads rarely take their instructions from the news headlines or the prime ministerial soundbite.
This is a delicate business, needing the kind of attention to detail which seems tedious to those with loftier ambitions who can sketch out a new & better policy on the back of a dinner napkin & know just the company with the software to do it.
It goes much further than just making sure Sir Humphrey is not trying to subvert your brilliant plan.
The more all staff understand the purpose of what they do, how it fits into the bigger scheme, the better things will work out. For example the ‘lowly civil servants’ who do all the hard graft of getting the data on to the computer & checking that it is correct will feel a real flush of pride when the end result – say the government allocation of funds to organisations – gets its few seconds on the BBC 6 o’clock news: Oh that’s my work, I did that.
Another example is the very important role played by bus drivers successful implementation of the changes in policy on bus passes, which as I have spelled out before is very complicated outside London because of the vagaries of local authority boundaries. They did most of the hard work of explaining the changes to passengers who could sometimes be a bit confused, and even telling them where to go to get their new pass. But that could come only from good training from the bus companies, good documentation from all the local councils (including the county councils) & much all round cooperation.
Although this has much in common with good business management, the skills are not quite the same as when the ultimate test is the bottom line, & it is one reason why I maintain that there is a difference between administration & management.
Jonathan Powell recently defended criticisms of Tony Blair’s style of ‘sofa government’ by saying that Labour Cabinets of the 1970s were hardly shining examples of how to make better, collegiate decisions. A strong decisive leader with a small circle of trusted advisers worked better.
That may well be true, up to the point of decision. But the merit of the Cabinet system with all its sub committees, agendas, minutes, inter-departmental discussion & cooperation, & cascade of formal papers is that it informs the myriads of people who need to know that the decision has been taken & what it is. Strange as it may seem these myriads rarely take their instructions from the news headlines or the prime ministerial soundbite.
This is a delicate business, needing the kind of attention to detail which seems tedious to those with loftier ambitions who can sketch out a new & better policy on the back of a dinner napkin & know just the company with the software to do it.
It goes much further than just making sure Sir Humphrey is not trying to subvert your brilliant plan.
The more all staff understand the purpose of what they do, how it fits into the bigger scheme, the better things will work out. For example the ‘lowly civil servants’ who do all the hard graft of getting the data on to the computer & checking that it is correct will feel a real flush of pride when the end result – say the government allocation of funds to organisations – gets its few seconds on the BBC 6 o’clock news: Oh that’s my work, I did that.
Another example is the very important role played by bus drivers successful implementation of the changes in policy on bus passes, which as I have spelled out before is very complicated outside London because of the vagaries of local authority boundaries. They did most of the hard work of explaining the changes to passengers who could sometimes be a bit confused, and even telling them where to go to get their new pass. But that could come only from good training from the bus companies, good documentation from all the local councils (including the county councils) & much all round cooperation.
Although this has much in common with good business management, the skills are not quite the same as when the ultimate test is the bottom line, & it is one reason why I maintain that there is a difference between administration & management.
Related post
Organising a brewery
Organising a brewery
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Still free to travel
It is going to be some time before the government scotches the rumours that, despite the pre-election promises, the bus pass is a prime candidate for cuts. I was encouraged however by a report in The Times which quoted a departmental insistence that they were looking at the reimbursement arrangements of the scheme - I suspect that not all local authorities have struck the best deal with bus companies.
Phil Hammond almost got shouted down when he referred to ‘What the last government had done’ on Any Questions last night, but he was able to press ahead & point out that the raising of the age at which people become eligible is already enshrined in Labour’s law.
The degree of broadcast misinformation was added to when Helena Kennedy wanted to point out that it is not just a bus pass but a travel pass – she knows because she has just become the proud holder of one. She, of course is lucky enough to be able to have a London Freedom Pass. The rest of us country bumpkins are not so lucky & still have to pay to go on the Tube when we go to London.
Phil Hammond almost got shouted down when he referred to ‘What the last government had done’ on Any Questions last night, but he was able to press ahead & point out that the raising of the age at which people become eligible is already enshrined in Labour’s law.
The degree of broadcast misinformation was added to when Helena Kennedy wanted to point out that it is not just a bus pass but a travel pass – she knows because she has just become the proud holder of one. She, of course is lucky enough to be able to have a London Freedom Pass. The rest of us country bumpkins are not so lucky & still have to pay to go on the Tube when we go to London.
Related post
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Technology & the rise of fertility
It was the first really disrupted day of the recent hard winter. All schools & all side roads were closed. But local radio told me that the main bus route was operating, so I braved the icy snowy climb up the hill to enjoy what might be a last day out for some time.
At the bus stop I was joined by someone I took to be a teenager with an unexpected day off school – dressed in jeans & trainers & enjoying trying to kick the ice to clear a space at the edge of the pavement. We fell into conversation; she gave me a real shock when she said she was lucky, she worked from home, she was a childminder. Confirmation that I really ought to add a decade on to my estimate of any young person’s age these days.
She took a call on her mobile, then said, The bus is coming. Oh yes, I said, the radio said they were running. No I mean it’s almost here, that was a call from someone who’s on it. I’m just here to pick up a client.
And so it was that when the bus stopped, she helped the young mum to manoeuvre the buggy containing one small boy off & over the ice on to the pavement: You’ve saved my life, said the mum as she handed over some money before climbing back on to the bus.
The lives of young mothers, married or not married, have I think improved immensely under the 13 years of Labour government; the availability of college courses & affordable childcare have undoubtedly contributed to this but many young mothers also work, at least part time.
Round here at any rate my impression is that it is the ability of the young father to get himself into settled employment that is the major factor determining whether they all live together as a family. If he cannot, then the whole benefits bureaucracy seems to be arranged so as to encourage the mother to live on her own with her child(ren) – not just because of the sums of money on offer, the whole relationship with the bureaucracy seems easier to negotiate, designed as if this were the norm. Few young unmarried mums seem to live at home with their parents (though it is a different matter after a split up or divorce). In many of the cases I see every day there is clearly a close & affectionate relationship between the parents, the father is closely involved in the care of the children.
But those two technological developments which proved their value on the day of the big freeze – the easy access, low floor bus & the mobile phone - have played their part in transforming the lives of these young mothers. They no longer have to live cooped up in the kind of isolation which can so easily lead to depression & neglect. Shopping, social life, as well as work or education are all that much more feasible if travel is easy, just push the buggy loaded with baby & shopping bags straight on to the bus & park it in one of the designated spaces – unless of course, as happens on some routes these days, the driver says, sorry, wait for the next bus, all our spaces are taken.
The government has played some role in bringing about this transformation – certainly in forcing local authorities to reconfigure the pavement at bus stops to facilitate access for wheelchairs. You do see the occasional wheelchair passenger, though not too many – it may be easy to get onto the bus, but how do you get to the bus stop? Instead the main beneficiaries of the access policy have been parents & anyone else who has bags to carry or finds it hard to climb up steps.
The mobile phone has contributed by making it possible to feel comfortable at home, able stay in touch with friends even though you cannot socialise as much as you used to, by making it possible to feel comfortable going out, reducing the anxiety caused if you cannot let loved ones know that you are all right, just running a bit late, stuck in traffic, as well as by making it easier to work by facilitating emergency arrangements if normal childcare breaks down.
The whole family collaborates in the care of these children – grandparents (grandpa as well as grandma) more than play their part. This too is facilitated by the low floor bus, & is another good example of how the free bus pass is contributing to family friendly policies.
And so it is that even in rural Britain, where there are few immigrants, twentysomethings are contributing to the current baby boom
At the bus stop I was joined by someone I took to be a teenager with an unexpected day off school – dressed in jeans & trainers & enjoying trying to kick the ice to clear a space at the edge of the pavement. We fell into conversation; she gave me a real shock when she said she was lucky, she worked from home, she was a childminder. Confirmation that I really ought to add a decade on to my estimate of any young person’s age these days.
She took a call on her mobile, then said, The bus is coming. Oh yes, I said, the radio said they were running. No I mean it’s almost here, that was a call from someone who’s on it. I’m just here to pick up a client.
And so it was that when the bus stopped, she helped the young mum to manoeuvre the buggy containing one small boy off & over the ice on to the pavement: You’ve saved my life, said the mum as she handed over some money before climbing back on to the bus.
The lives of young mothers, married or not married, have I think improved immensely under the 13 years of Labour government; the availability of college courses & affordable childcare have undoubtedly contributed to this but many young mothers also work, at least part time.
Round here at any rate my impression is that it is the ability of the young father to get himself into settled employment that is the major factor determining whether they all live together as a family. If he cannot, then the whole benefits bureaucracy seems to be arranged so as to encourage the mother to live on her own with her child(ren) – not just because of the sums of money on offer, the whole relationship with the bureaucracy seems easier to negotiate, designed as if this were the norm. Few young unmarried mums seem to live at home with their parents (though it is a different matter after a split up or divorce). In many of the cases I see every day there is clearly a close & affectionate relationship between the parents, the father is closely involved in the care of the children.
But those two technological developments which proved their value on the day of the big freeze – the easy access, low floor bus & the mobile phone - have played their part in transforming the lives of these young mothers. They no longer have to live cooped up in the kind of isolation which can so easily lead to depression & neglect. Shopping, social life, as well as work or education are all that much more feasible if travel is easy, just push the buggy loaded with baby & shopping bags straight on to the bus & park it in one of the designated spaces – unless of course, as happens on some routes these days, the driver says, sorry, wait for the next bus, all our spaces are taken.
The government has played some role in bringing about this transformation – certainly in forcing local authorities to reconfigure the pavement at bus stops to facilitate access for wheelchairs. You do see the occasional wheelchair passenger, though not too many – it may be easy to get onto the bus, but how do you get to the bus stop? Instead the main beneficiaries of the access policy have been parents & anyone else who has bags to carry or finds it hard to climb up steps.
The mobile phone has contributed by making it possible to feel comfortable at home, able stay in touch with friends even though you cannot socialise as much as you used to, by making it possible to feel comfortable going out, reducing the anxiety caused if you cannot let loved ones know that you are all right, just running a bit late, stuck in traffic, as well as by making it easier to work by facilitating emergency arrangements if normal childcare breaks down.
The whole family collaborates in the care of these children – grandparents (grandpa as well as grandma) more than play their part. This too is facilitated by the low floor bus, & is another good example of how the free bus pass is contributing to family friendly policies.
And so it is that even in rural Britain, where there are few immigrants, twentysomethings are contributing to the current baby boom
Link
Related posts
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
GOG or GOL
I have recently noticed a new social demographic – Game Old Girls or Gallivanting Old Ladies.
Ladies, a decade or more after the age they first qualified for a bus pass, going off in pairs for sunshine, adventure & a rest from the husband. A good rest, where someone else makes the bed, cleans the bath, cooks & serves the food, & does the washing up.
The ones I see are clearly not surviving on the basic state pension, but nor are they what you would call affluent. They are very well organised – just one medium sized sturdy suitcase on wheels & a hand bag, dressed in neat jacket & trousers.
The first pair I noticed were accompanied on to the bus by their husbands, there solely to lift the suitcases on to the luggage rack, then a quick kiss & they were off, in one case to an impatient sigh & a Yes, yes, I’ll send you a text from the wife he had been mithering all morning with his Have you got your passport? What about your insurance?
They do it two or three times a year, never making plans in advance. They do not use the internet, except for information & ideas, but just ring the travel firm to get a good last minute deal. Previous trips have included a Nile cruise, this time it was Tenerife. With no single supplement to pay & free travel to the airport it does not really work out more expensive than a week at home - & certainly less than a week in an English hotel.
They never go for more than a week – that’s the longest the husbands can manage on their own with a freezer stocked with the meals prepared for them. One husband does not go because he just does not like flying & I got the impression that the other simply was not invited.
And since I started to notice, I have realised that they are far from unique.
Ladies, a decade or more after the age they first qualified for a bus pass, going off in pairs for sunshine, adventure & a rest from the husband. A good rest, where someone else makes the bed, cleans the bath, cooks & serves the food, & does the washing up.
The ones I see are clearly not surviving on the basic state pension, but nor are they what you would call affluent. They are very well organised – just one medium sized sturdy suitcase on wheels & a hand bag, dressed in neat jacket & trousers.
The first pair I noticed were accompanied on to the bus by their husbands, there solely to lift the suitcases on to the luggage rack, then a quick kiss & they were off, in one case to an impatient sigh & a Yes, yes, I’ll send you a text from the wife he had been mithering all morning with his Have you got your passport? What about your insurance?
They do it two or three times a year, never making plans in advance. They do not use the internet, except for information & ideas, but just ring the travel firm to get a good last minute deal. Previous trips have included a Nile cruise, this time it was Tenerife. With no single supplement to pay & free travel to the airport it does not really work out more expensive than a week at home - & certainly less than a week in an English hotel.
They never go for more than a week – that’s the longest the husbands can manage on their own with a freezer stocked with the meals prepared for them. One husband does not go because he just does not like flying & I got the impression that the other simply was not invited.
And since I started to notice, I have realised that they are far from unique.
Monday, February 08, 2010
Better late than never?
It has taken me two months, but almost as soon as I woke up this morning I found this awfully clever remark in my head.
London Transport’s pay-in-advance-then-go-as-you-please bus & tube ticket, available to people of any age, is called an Oyster card.
So all those who fret about having a free pass when they can well afford to pay, just because they are over 60, could salve their conscience by using an Oyster card whenever there is an R in the month.
London Transport’s pay-in-advance-then-go-as-you-please bus & tube ticket, available to people of any age, is called an Oyster card.
So all those who fret about having a free pass when they can well afford to pay, just because they are over 60, could salve their conscience by using an Oyster card whenever there is an R in the month.
Related post
On not using one's bus pass
On not using one's bus pass
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Women drivers
On Tuesday Womans Hour carried an item about the problem of older women drivers - they have more, mostly minor, driving accidents than men, although it was not clear if this just reflects the fact that the ratio of females to males increases progressively from 1.1 at age 71, to 2.1 by the age of 89.
One of the discussants said that the bus pass was making a contribution to solving the problem – she personally knew three people who had voluntarily given up driving since these became available.
Another reason to think hard - or at least to do a proper evaluation – before glibly deciding that this is one non-means-tested benefit we can afford to do without
One of the discussants said that the bus pass was making a contribution to solving the problem – she personally knew three people who had voluntarily given up driving since these became available.
Another reason to think hard - or at least to do a proper evaluation – before glibly deciding that this is one non-means-tested benefit we can afford to do without
Monday, January 11, 2010
Bus pass joke
A nice joke to close Kenneth Steven’s Radio 4 progamme about WB Yeats's The Lake Isle of Innisfree.
A poet had been visiting an Irish poetry reading. Asked if he needed a lift home, he politely declined, explaining that as a man of over 60 years he could simply say “I will arise & go now, I go to Ennis. Free
A poet had been visiting an Irish poetry reading. Asked if he needed a lift home, he politely declined, explaining that as a man of over 60 years he could simply say “I will arise & go now, I go to Ennis. Free
Thursday, December 10, 2009
On not using one's bus pass
Whew! Free bus passes seem to have survived the PBR – well they would, wouldn’t they, with an election still to be fought over.
Much angst among the better off about this handout they do not need. All those dreams of on the road trips from London to the Lake District on a Freedom Pass – at the cost of several times what would have been the bus fare spent on hotels for the unavoidable overnight stays along the route.
Much angst among the better off about this handout they do not need. All those dreams of on the road trips from London to the Lake District on a Freedom Pass – at the cost of several times what would have been the bus fare spent on hotels for the unavoidable overnight stays along the route.
This is a fine example of one of the unavoidable dilemmas of publicly-funded services: means tests are humiliating, possession of a pass a stigma. But the better off benefit disproportionately from universal benefits (except for those they do not want, such as the attention of social workers or prison officers), simply because they consume more of everything.
Matthew Parris has even ‘flipped’ his residence from Derbyshire to London so he can have a Freedom Pass which entitles him to free travel on the tube – his Derbyshire go-anywhere pass which would work only on the buses in London is not good enough.
Well, I suggest he takes a half-day out from his busy schedule & uses his Freedom Pass when he next visits his second home - that's if the bus drivers have been trained to recognise 1t (though now I come to think of it, I do not think there is any reason why he should not also apply for a bus pass from his local Derbyshire council, as this will not entitle him to any extra travel privileges. Nor will make a difference to which council pays the bill.)
Matthew Parris has even ‘flipped’ his residence from Derbyshire to London so he can have a Freedom Pass which entitles him to free travel on the tube – his Derbyshire go-anywhere pass which would work only on the buses in London is not good enough.
Well, I suggest he takes a half-day out from his busy schedule & uses his Freedom Pass when he next visits his second home - that's if the bus drivers have been trained to recognise 1t (though now I come to think of it, I do not think there is any reason why he should not also apply for a bus pass from his local Derbyshire council, as this will not entitle him to any extra travel privileges. Nor will make a difference to which council pays the bill.)
Catch the green Manchester bus to Buxton, then change to the red airport bus which takes a more leisurely route through the villages. Talk to his fellow passengers about the difference free travel across local council borders has made to their lives.
There is actually a simple way for the well off to do their bit to save unnecessary government expenditure in these straitened times; there is no law, no automatic fine, for not using your pass, so just leave it in your wallet (when you get it back) & pay the fare.
There is actually a simple way for the well off to do their bit to save unnecessary government expenditure in these straitened times; there is no law, no automatic fine, for not using your pass, so just leave it in your wallet (when you get it back) & pay the fare.
Links
Ticket to ride
Ticket to ride
Related post
Friday, November 20, 2009
Grumble alert
I have wasted half my computer allocation time today just trying to find some basic government information about bus passes.
It was only after I had, with the help of the Public Politics.net, found that, in the jargon, this is “Special Grant Funding 2010-11 (National Bus Concession)” that I was able to track down the relevant documents on the Department for Transports own website. I have given up, for now, trying to find the relevant background statistics on the Communities & Local Government website – they are secrets that, like their cousins on the ONS website, are not going to be yielded up easily.
But, since those figures are just one small part of the vast array of local government financial statistics, without much relevant detail, the transport department is now hoping that they will be able to start a new collection of data to provide:
- Quarterly returns on year-to-date actual spending on the statutory minimum concession
- Quarterly returns on full-year forecast spending on the statutory minimum concession
- Annual returns detailing the reimbursement arrangements entered into with bus operators, including details of revenue reimbursement rates, additional cost arrangements, average fare data and concessionary bus patronage data.
I am astonished that such arrangements were not put in place when the new ‘go gallivanting anywhere’ national pass for pensioners was introduced last year.
These passes have led to a very marked increase in bus travel round our way. People who, two years ago, would have considered that buses were only for losers, now have a real ‘if it’s free, I’m having some’ attitude, & hence have learned the benefits of the bus. So much so that it can be difficult to get a seat some days. It’s déjà vu – those pesky little brothers & sisters (the post-war baby spikers) coming & spoiling it all for us again!
The government remains confident that the overall level of funding is right, but that the distribution between authorities may have gone awry, & so are proposing changes to the distribution for next year.
I was thinking about this after finding out that we are to have new buses with new ticketing machines which will know exactly where you got on, through the use of GPS. If this is, eventually, combined with an ability to read the individual pass, & if comparable technology is adopted by all, then the government will have access to more information than it can dream of now. Used imaginatively, it could provide a way of ‘means testing’ the provision of this benefit without a vast array of rules, regulations & filling in forms about your income. For example there might be a basic free allocation which could be topped up at concessionary rates for those who wish to travel more. Or it could be used to make all travel to the hospital free, with small charges for other trips. Major supermarkets could offer top ups to those who travel to their stores by bus.
The extra cost of the ‘go anywhere’ element which is what was added to the basic local travel concession last year, is about £220million annually. Given the mobility, independence, mental & social stimulation which it brings to anyone who can just get themselves to the bus stop, it is cheap at the price.
Link
Special Grant Report (No. 129) Department for Transport Local Government Finance (England)
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