London Councils is to conduct a formal review of the provisions of the Freedom Pass LINK, the free travel pass for London Pensions that gives free transport on buses, the tube and railway networks withing the GLA boundary.
They cite an expected 12% rise in the cost to London councils in 2026-7 and a total expenditure of £372m. One possibility is reducing the provisions to buses only.
The proposal has produced a speedy petition response (LINK TO SIGN) currently with more than 44,000 signatories.
THE PETITION
The Issue
I am 71 years old, and my only income is the state pension. This means my budget is tight, and every penny counts. The Freedom Pass, as the name suggests, grants me something invaluable—freedom. This pass allows me to access not just buses, but also London's tube and overground networks. These services enable me to participate fully in the community, visiting friends, attending hospital appointments, and engaging in social activities that keep me vibrant and connected to the world.
Recent proposals to limit the Freedom Pass to buses only would be a significant blow, not just to my independence, but to thousands of pensioners and individuals reliant on this essential pass. Restricting access to trains and the tube would confine many of us to our homes, making London's vast and culturally diverse landscape inaccessible. The social isolation that many seniors already battle could deepen, and life's simple joys and necessities could become major logistical challenges, affecting our mental and physical well-being.
The Freedom Pass is a cherished entitlement for senior citizens across the city, and any move to curtail its scope jeopardizes the quality of life for those who have contributed so much to society throughout their lives. London's transport system is the lifeline for older adults, offering the independence and encouragement to stay physically active, mentally engaged, and socially involved.
Let's remember that inclusivity in mobility is a hallmark of a compassionate society. The City of London has a reputation for valuing its residents, and this means ensuring everyone, regardless of age, has unrestrained access to its robust public transportation network.
Instead of cutting back on Freedom Pass access, there should be efforts to strengthen it, ensuring the elderly remain integrated into the urban fabric. Maintain the inclusivity and respect the dignity of our senior citizens by safeguarding their ability to travel freely across the capital.
Please sign this petition to urge the local government to halt any attempts to restrict the Freedom Pass to buses alone, preserving the freedom and dignity of London’s seniors.
Lawyer Monthly LINK has pubished an interesting detailed review of the statutory and legal risk of the proposal. Here is a key extract:
The potential for civil unrest or political backlash creates a reputational risk for council leaders that extends beyond simple accounting.
Reducing mobility for the elderly has documented second-order effects on public health, which may eventually increase the burden on the National Health Service.
Local government insurers often look at social stability as a metric for risk assessment.
A sudden removal of transport rights could lead to increased social isolation, potentially triggering higher claims in social care sectors that the boroughs are also responsible for funding.
The debate has already spilled into the public sphere, highlighted by high-profile social media disputes involving media figures and authors.
These public-facing conflicts serve as a bellwether for the level of scrutiny any legislative change will receive from the broader electorate.
Strategic irony lies in the fact that the more successful the Freedom Pass is in encouraging travel, the more it threatens the solvency of the councils providing it.
This "success trap" requires a fundamental rethink of how concessionary travel is valued in a modern urban economy.
Institutional investors in London’s infrastructure are watching these developments closely.
Any sign of a breakdown in the cooperation between the Mayor of London and the boroughs could signal broader instability in how the capital manages its essential public services.
23 comments:
Yet again pensioners are to be punished. The age group that had the best work ethics are to be left high and dry. Very very disappointing 😞
Mayor of London wants people to use public transport but now they want to take away this hard earned benefit that us Londoners have contributed towards throughout our working lives including when we've spent years commuting to work on TFL services.
Cutting this hard earned benefit will hugely impact the London econony - theatres, cafes, musuems etc will lose out on business at their quieter times when they are already struggling with the goverments higher taxes. Elderly Londoners will become isolated and less fit meaning more impact on NHS. Museums and other organisations in London will lose a lot of their volunteers, so vital to keeping their doors open to visitors.
TFL services are running each day everyday anyway - they are not putting on extra tubes, trains or busses for the for Freedom Pass holders.
They should means test it. Lots of londoners have means and should pay. Paul Mcartney has a freedom pass.
And Paul McCartney has worked all his life to contribute - have you???
More means testing so that those who have chosen to sit back and claim benefits rather than work or who have squandered all their money or drink, drugs, gambling etc can get another freebie while those who've worked hard to contribute to the ecomony get shafted again!
Brent Council website says "You can apply for the Older Person's Freedom Pass if you meet the age criteria and you live in London all or most of the time to be eligible for the pass." but thought it was only those living in London full time who could get it when they got their state pension having paid sufficient National Insurance Contributions and London Council tax???
If it's being given out to those who haven't contributed or who split their time between London and a second home elsewhere then that's not fair.
Why shouldn't Paul McCartney or any other rich person who has contributed to London not have a Freedom pass. They have paid their dues, an are entitled to travel free if they want to travel that way. I don't begrudge them the right to travel in that manner.
BUT why are they looking for the FREEDOM Pass which is for Pensioners and not the 60+ Pass which a vast number of working people get. They are earning income and should be able to contribute.
Giving free travel to people under Pension age was a Boris Gimmick who of course could not be bothered how much that election give away would cost Council's like Brent.
Why stop at a Freedom Pass?
Why shouldn’t Paul McCartney also get free parking in central London, free theatre tickets, free NHS dentistry, a free council house, and pop into schools for free school meals after all, he’s “paid his dues”?
Once “you’re rich and you’ve contributed” becomes the eligibility criterion, there’s no principled place to stop is there?
The state is a safety net, if you need it, open up your bank account for security, so we can means test, and reinvest money where its needed.
No matter age, if you can afford it, you chip in for petrol.
Right… so next time I get on a bus, should I present my CV, my P60s and my LinkedIn profile to prove I’ve “worked all my life” before I’m allowed to sit down?
And if I’ve only worked 35 years instead of 40, do I pay half fare?
Should TfL install contribution scanners at the gate? “Beep 🚨 not enough lifetime economic value, please tap your card.”
Alternatively, if you have really worked hard all your life, why are you sponging off others still?
So we introduce a social credit score: work history, lifestyle purity, acceptable coping strategies, and moral cleanliness all audited before anyone gets help.
That’s not a welfare system is it pal? that’s China’s social credit logic with a British accent.
And yes 🙌 people on benefits are more deserving here. That’s literally what “means-tested” means.
Pay your way with money you have earned. Or dont catch a bus.
Check your facts please - majority of older people with a 60+ Oyster card still working can't travel for free as they would be to starting work before 9.00am - you can't use a 60+ Oyster card before 9.00am so they would have to pay to travel to work. And by working they are paying their taxes and contributing towards the economy and they've paid into TFL for years.
What about all the younger people now working from home and not using TFL at all but still getting paid a London allowance within their salary for working in London which older people had to put towards the cost of their commute into central London???
The 60+ card is not free - you have to pay an initial fee and a renewal fee each year after proving each year that you still live in London.
Please note the current Mayor of London forced thousands of older people out of their cars and onto the public transport network when he brought in ULEZ.
And the current Mayor of London wants more people to use public transport yet continually puts up fares.
The trains, tubes and buses run everyday - TFL are not adding more services to cope with 60+ and Freedom Pass passengers. Busier trains, tubes and buses during off peak hours surely make the network safer for everyone.
If you are worried about costs in Brent look at...
- the £92.2m Brent Council are owed in unpaid council tax: https://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/news/25289452.brent-london-borough-unpaid-council-tax/
- the cost of cleaning up fly tips which Brent Council have allowed to get totally out of control
- the high salaries and final salary pensions of Brent Council Executives
- the cost of poor decisions such as the redevelopment of the Altamira in Stonebridge on which Brent Council wasted £5million and achieved nothing
- the £17.8million of NCIL money that Brent Council gave to multi-billion pound developer Quintain for their steps outside Wembley Stadium, which is not even public realm, whilst our pavements crumble
- the money Brent Council have spent re-fitting out the Civic Centre because of its poor design.
Wouldn’t it be a reasonable compromise to charge £50 or £100 a year for all pensioners not on pension credit? Then we’d keep the travel pass but it would generate a lot of income. I’d happily pay if it’s an alternative to losing the pass altogether
What about Leader of Brent Council with all his freebie tickets to Wembley Stadium events?
And all the freebies Keir Starner got despite hs personal wealth of £7million?
And all the freebies the Mayor of London has had?
So you'd happily enjoy completely full travel at all hours when you are not working while all pensioners pay full fare at all time? Check your facts ... think things through.
I've just used my 60+ London Oyster card - interestingly on both the bus and tube it came up as a 'Freedom Pass' when I scanned it which it isn't.
The 60+ London Oyster card is funded directly by Transport for London (TfL).
The Freedom Pass is funded by the 32 London boroughs and the City of London Corporation, with management overseen by London Councils.
So are TFL wrongly branding 60+ London Oyster Card fares as Freedom Pass fares to deliberately pass the costs onto the 32 London Boroughs??? This surely needs investigating.
Freedom pass saved!
Labour councils block threat to free travel for over 65s in London
The Standard - https://share.google/2xXXNGmSJdJrBiidj
Let's hope any current or future London councils run by Lib Dem, Tory, Greens etc will do the same as Labour!!!
Anon 09:39 at 14.01.26
different things are being treated as if they are the same.
A Freedom Pass is a welfare benefit and welfare exists to stop people being excluded or pushed into hardship. It is there to protect people who are struggling, not to reward people who are already comfortable. That is why means testing is not about punishment or resentment but about making sure limited public money actually goes to people who need it.
What politicians get through access to events or tickets sits in a completely different category. That is not welfare and it is not a personal reward. It is part of holding a public role that is meant to be visible and connected to civic and cultural life so that institutions actually function. That is why it is regulated and declared and scrutinised. If it is abused it should be challenged but it is not the same moral question.
So yes, means test welfare because fairness means targeting support where it is needed, and yes, hold politicians to account, but do not pretend that a wealthy person taking a safety net benefit and a politician attending an event in a public role are the same thing. They are not, and mixing them up just stops us fixing either problem.
It’s not extra salary to waste on tubes. It’s danger money, which is why its called a HIGH COST area, as people are being stabbed and killed. RIP
Saved from who? Who was in charge? You’ve been punked
So will the Lib Dems, Tories, Greens, Reform etc also back keeping the Freedom Pass and 60+ London Oyster Card as they are?
"Anonymous14 January 2026 at 19:27" says
"A Freedom Pass is a welfare benefit and welfare exists to stop people being excluded or pushed into hardship. It is there to protect people who are struggling, not to reward people who are already comfortable. That is why means testing is not about punishment or resentment but about making sure limited public money actually goes to people who need it." so those who have refused to work claiming benefits or who have squandered their money on smoking, drink, drugs, gambling etc deserve to get free travel while those who've been more careful with their money once again have to subsidise those who haven't?
They also say "What politicians get through access to events or tickets sits in a completely different category. That is not welfare and it is not a personal reward. It is part of holding a public role that is meant to be visible and connected to civic and cultural life so that institutions actually function. That is why it is regulated and declared and scrutinised. If it is abused it should be challenged but it is not the same moral question." - we can understand them perhaps getting 1 or 2 free tickets to events for themselves plus a partner but Cllr Butt Leader at Brent Council was regularly getting at least 6 tickets for some major events, who did all these tickets go to??? Most Wembley residents will never be able to afford tickets to Wembley Stadium events and he gets 6? And Keir Starmer gets free hospitality tickets to Arsenal the football team he actually supports so definately a personal reward when he has a personal fortune of over £7million. He could easily afford to by a hositality season ticket.
All these freebies should be declared as benefits in kind and taxed as necessary.
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