| Freedom to extort |
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| Written by Steve Bettison | |
| Sunday, 01 July 2007 | |
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One of the joys of passing the milestone age of 60 is the availability of a Freedom Pass
. The pass alleviates the worry of the cost of transport and grants
independence to many who would otherwise be reliant on others. Now many
of the over 60s and disabled users are up in arms over an apparent
threat to the scheme from London Councils . The Freedom Pass is funded by 33 boroughs and councils of London who all pay money to Transport for London (TFL). Currently this is around £216m, a rise of over 52% since 2001 when the figure was £142m. If disagreement arises between the councils and TFL then the head of TFL can impose whatever figure he sees fit. It is no coincidence that the Mayor of London, arbiter general of TFL, is keen to see this arrangement continue especially as the council taxpayers of London are not receiving a fair deal or value for money. The Mayor has wrongly claimed that London Councils’ ideas, for an independent adjudicator, and his own removal from setting the figure, are nothing more than a way of abolishing the Freedom Pass. The idea of an independent figure, such as the Secretary of State for Transport, overseeing the final figures would mean more accountability to the council tax payers of London. Another way of further reducing the costs to the overtaxed residents of London would be its integration with the Oyster Card technology so that usage could be measured. The journeys of the 1 million users could then be charged directly to the individual boroughs and councils rather than its current basis on the number of passes issued. The implementation of these ideas would make the Freedom Pass a truly fair way of giving independence to the elderly and disabled of London, as well as the taxpayers.
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