MC39900D1
Joint Committee on Mobility of Blind and PartiallySighted People Policy on:
The Joint Committee is anindependent body consisting of representatives of all the principleorganisations of and for blind, deafblind and partially sighted people with aspecific interest in mobility. The Joint Committee on Mobility of Blind and Partially Sighted Peoplebelieves that blind, deafblind and partially sighted people should be able tomove around safely and independently.
The Joint Committee believes thatcurrently this is not the position and that blind, deafblind and partiallysighted people experience enormous barriers to freedom of movement, seriouslylimiting their opportunities and choices. The Joint Committee believes that allblind, deafblind and partially sighted people should receive the support andskills they need to enable them to meet the challenges of the externalenvironment.
Concessionary fares are a necessary element in meeting theseneeds but the current arrangements are unsatisfactory. The Government iscurrently proposing to provide a National Minimum Concessionary Fares schemefor pensioners, entitling holders of a 5 pass to 50% reductions on all busjourneys. The Joint Committee welcomes these proposals but wants an extensionto registered blind and partially sighted people of working age.
There are over one million blind and partially sightedpeople in the UK and nearly two million people with a significant sightproblem. Public transport is essential for the safe and independent mobility ofthese people.
Mobility, environment and transport are vital in enablingblind, deafblind and partially sighted people to participate fully in society,gaining education and employment and access to goods, facilities and services.
Blind, deafblind and partially sighted people faceadditional costs being disabled, including increased travel costs as they areunable to use independent motorised travel and are reliant on friends, taxis orpublic transport for mobility. It is often necessary, even on short routeswhich are unsafe or unfamiliar, for blind, deafblind and partially sightedpeople to use public transport as this option is often the only means for safeand independent travel to the required destination.
Blind, deafblind and partially sighted people typically havelower incomes due to their lack of employment opportunities and socialexclusion from the opportunities and choices available to sighted people.According to the Government's Disability in Great Britain report the incomes ofdisabled
adults were 20 to 30% lower than those of non-disabledpeople (these figures included disability benefits).
Blind, deafblind and partiallysighted people often need to travel with an assistant or companion because ofthe problems faced when travelling, including moving around the pedestrianenvironment, which can add to the cost of travel. In addition they may alsoneed sighted assistance to carry out the purpose of the journey, not just forthe journey itself.
Research for RNIB demonstrated that the currentconcessionary fare system for blind and partially sighted people is confusing,illogical and inconsistent.
Eligibility. -Local authorities currently decide the eligibility for their area, leading toconfusing and contradictory systems even between neighbouring authorities. Insome areas people are entitled to concessions if in receipt of DisabilityLiving Allowance (DLA) while in others this would disqualify them. Blind,deafblind and partially sighted people rarely qualify for the higher ratemobility allowance. Following pressure from visual impairment organisationsguidance from the Department of Social Security now stresses (August 1999) thatdenying recipients of DLA (Mobility Component) access to concessionary faresruns counter to the policy intent.
Transferability -Concessions administered at the local level often do not reflect the travelneeds of users, particularly when based on Local authority administrativeborders. In addition the concession system penalises blind and partiallysighted people who travel beyond their local authority area, for example towork or for leisure.
Concession types andrestrictions Concessions vary enormously in the type of reduction theyoffer and when it can be used. Concession types include free passes, paidpasses entitling holders to percentage discounts or flat fares, tokens orvouchers which may be limited by value or number of journeys. In addition theconcession may vary from nothing at all, to a third discount, to half fares orin a limited number of places free travel. Furthermore, concessions may be timerestricted and only available off-peak.
The Governments proposed scheme would guarantee minimumconcessions for 10.25 million pensioners in the UK for an estimated cost of 25million. Over 80% of blind and partially sighted people would qualify forminimum concessions under the Government proposals.
The Joint Committee believes extending this guarantee to allregistered blind and partially sighted people of working age, an additional54000 people, is affordable and justifiable, given the improvements to socialinclusion and opportunity it would bring. Local authorities should also retainthe right to improve upon the national minimum concession.
A National Disabled Persons Railcard exists entitlingdisabled people, including blind, deafblind and partially sighted people toconcessions when travelling on railways. This provides a framework forconcessions, with the Joint Committee supporting the following principle as thebasis for concessions on all forms of public transport;
People registered as blind or partially sighted whentravelling either alone or with a companion necessary for assistance andholding a national concession card should qualify for a 50% discount for bothpeople at all times.
The Joint Committee wants toeligibility for a national concessionary fare simplified with automaticqualification for people registered blind, deafblind or partially sighted. Anylink with Disability Living Allowance should be removed, they are separate anddistinct benefits.
The Joint Committee believes that in establishing a NationalConcession Fare Scheme the Government should integrate the system for all formsof public transport, bringing cost savings in administration and benefits of asingle card for users. It would also address some of the rail industriesperceived problems with lack of awareness of the Disabled Persons Railcard.
However, concessions are only one element in providingaccessible transport, the following are also necessary;
improvements to public transport availability,including services in the evening, weekends and Bank Holidays
improved access to transport vehicles
accessible and reliable information
increased staffing levels.
To fund the National MinimumConcessionary Fare Scheme for Pensioners the Government is making an additional25 million available to local authorities, who will still be able to offermore generous schemes.
The Government estimates that morethan one million of the 10.25 million pensioners in the UK will benefit fromthis scheme, as many are already in receipt of these concessions.
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Costs of extending the proposed scheme for Pensioners to registered blind and partially sighted people. |
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Total number of people |
Number of people benefiting (10% of total) |
Cost |
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Pensioners |
10250000 |
1025000 |
25000000 |
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Registered blind and partially sighted people aged 16-65. |
54000 |
5400 |
131625 |
The proposed extension to registeredblind and partially sighted people would provide a guaranteed minimumconcession for an additional 54 000 people. Many of these people, as withpensioners, may already be in receipt of concessions from their localauthority. Therefore, using the same assumptions as made by the Government forPensioners the cost of extending the scheme would be 132 000. This isequivalent to 0.5% of the proposed scheme.
Supportingthe bus industry - Concessionary fares support the bus industry,contributing 14% of total revenue, often at off peak times bringing additionalrevenue for marginal costs. Concessionary fares are therefore a vital supportto bus services, particularly at off peak periods, supporting the wideravailability of public transport for everyone, a key Government objective.
Improvingaccess The new standard for pensioners will enable elderly people tocontinue to use public transport and to use it more often, often improvingtheir access to a range of basic necessities such as healthcare and shops, andreducing isolation. (DETR press release 950)
These are exactly the same benefitsthat would apply to registered blind and partially sighted people. However, asthe extension being asked for is for people of working age it would also enablemore people to seek and gain employment, further promoting social inclusion.Less than 1 in 4 blind and partially sighted people of working age arecurrently in employment.
In RNIB research, 58% of older blindand partially sighted people felt more awareness of their needs with regard totransport was the single most important factor which would improve theirquality of life.
The proposed National MinimumConcessionary Fare Scheme should;
q Extendto all registered blind and partially sighted people of working age costing aslittle as 135000.
q Provideintegrated concessions on all forms of public transport.
q Providetransferable concessions throughout the country.
q Befunded by Central Government with Local Authorities retaining the right toenhance provisions.
q Concessions,even free travel, do not replace or diminish the need for public transportimprovements in availability, information provision, staffing and physicalchanges to accessibility.