Free bus travel for visitors to Devon costs county £1m
Devon has been hit by £1 million of costs after it emerged one-in-five people using free bus passes in the tourism season come from outside the county A Devon County Council survey found it was under-writing the free off-peak travel scheme, enjoyed by Britons over 60, for hundreds of visitors.
The survey revealed that during September 21 per cent of people using a concessionary bus pass were not from the Devon local authority area The figure included 2 per cent from Torbay and 1 per cent from Plymouth, but 18 per cent were residents from beyond the two neighbouring authorities Devon County Council is calling for more funding from Government to pay for the £1 million it cost to pay for outsiders to travel free. Currently, the authority is handed £7 million a year by Government to run the scheme, which also applies to disabled people. But it faces a £5 million shortfall because it costs £12 million in total.
Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council cabinet member for transport, said: "The concessionary bus pass funding certainly doesn't take into account visitor numbers from other areas.
Source: http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk
The survey revealed that during September 21 per cent of people using a concessionary bus pass were not from the Devon local authority area The figure included 2 per cent from Torbay and 1 per cent from Plymouth, but 18 per cent were residents from beyond the two neighbouring authorities Devon County Council is calling for more funding from Government to pay for the £1 million it cost to pay for outsiders to travel free. Currently, the authority is handed £7 million a year by Government to run the scheme, which also applies to disabled people. But it faces a £5 million shortfall because it costs £12 million in total.
Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council cabinet member for transport, said: "The concessionary bus pass funding certainly doesn't take into account visitor numbers from other areas.
Source: http://www.thisisnorthdevon.co.uk