Help the Aged join the calls for the introduction of taxi tokens
The leading national charity Help the Aged has called on Councils to introduce the choice of taxi tokens or the free bus pass.
Help the Aged campaigns to free disadvantaged older people from poverty, isolation and neglect.
They have written to Councils stating that “So older people can access a travel concession they can use, Help the Aged is calling on Local Authorities in England to offer tokens as an alternative concession to the bus pass in April 2008.”
They state that 45% of people over 70 “have difficulty walking and/or using the bus” and that “Due to the difficulty of using buses there is a real danger that many people will miss out on the benefits of the national bus pass”. They point out that, “In the absence of an alternative to the bus pass, many older people face an increased risk of isolation. Help the Aged statistics show that 12% of older people feel trapped in their own home, with 13% only going out once a week, and 3% never going out at all.” They say that tokens, “allow older people, regardless of their physical mobility, to access a travel concession.”
The new Conservative administration is planning to introduce its taxi token scheme from next April, including an annual rise in their value. The Conservative Cabinet has already backed the scheme and the funding is due to be debated on 21st November by the Council.
Cllr. Brian Allinson, Cabinet Member for Planning, Transport & Strategic Environment comments,
“I warmly welcome and fully endorse the case put forward in favour of tokens by Help the Aged, the arguments they make are the very reasons why we are planning to introduce tokens from next April. Help the Aged are a national charity which is enormously respected for championing the cause of older people, so when they feel so strongly about an issue that they lobby the Council we should listen.”
“There are right about the fact that there are a significant number of people for whom accessing a bus is simply physically impossible, which is why buses and community transport isn’t for everybody. We wholeheartedly agree with Help the Aged that, to enable every elderly and disabled resident to benefit from support with their transport, the choice of tokens is needed.”
“This issue is about giving the elderly and disabled the right to make their own choices about which transport concession suits them best and will give them the greatest boost to their independence and quality of life.”
