Official Statistics

Concessionary travel statistics, England: year ending March 2022

Published 26 April 2023

Applies to England

Accessibility of tables

The department is currently working to make our tables accessible for our users. The data tables for these statistics are now accessible.

We would welcome any feedback on the accessibility of our tables, please contact bus statistics.

About this release

This release presents statistics on concessionary travel in England, which are based on survey data collected from Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs). Concessionary travel relates to when eligible people travel on reduced (or free) fares.

These statistics cover:

• older and disabled concessionary passes
• concessionary bus journeys
• payments made by TCAs to reimburse operators
• financial breakdowns for operating concessionary schemes

These statistics are summarised for 3 key area types, London, metropolitan (met) areas, and non-metropolitan (non-met) areas.

The definitions and measures shown in this release are summarised in the definitions section, with the full list provided on the guidance page.

Headline figures

Concessionary travel statistics were heavily affected by the coronavirus restrictions. The commentary in this release compares the year ending March 2022 to both the year ending March 2019 and the year ending March 2021 to show changes compared to pre-pandemic years and during the pandemic respectively.

In England, comparing the year ending March 2022 with the year ending March 2021, there were:

• 8.7 million older and disabled concessionary travel passes, down 3%
• 555 million concessionary bus journeys, up 104%
• £803 million reimbursed to bus operators by TCAs, down 5% (constant prices)
• £1.01 billion in net current expenditure on concessionary travel, down 6% (constant prices)

Comparing the year ending March 2022 with the year ending March 2019:

• older and disabled concessionary travel passes were down 5%
• concessionary bus journeys were down 36%
• reimbursements to bus operators by TCAs were down 15% (constant prices)
• net current expenditure was down 15% (constant prices)

Improvements made to this release

This release has introduced changes to how the data is presented, namely:

• the data tables have been combined into two accessible spreadsheets
• the release has been converted to an HTML document

If you have any feedback on any of these changes, please contact bus statistics.

Impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19)

These statistics were affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and associated restrictions, where travel on all modes decreased. The number of bus journeys decreased as a result of these travel restrictions, including concessionary bus journeys. The expenditure on concessionary and other bus use by local authorities changed to support the provision of services during this time.

The annual bus statistics includes a more detailed account of how bus journeys were impacted by the pandemic.

To reduce the burden on TCAs during the pandemic, data reporting for the year ending March 2020 was optional. The data collected for this year has not yet been published.

Older and disabled concessionary passes

These statistics cover the number of passes from administrative databases. While this provides a reasonable proxy for the number of pass holders, they will include inactive passes, those issued to people who are deceased, and those who no longer live in the area.

There were 8.7 million older and disabled concessionary passes in England in the year ending March 2022, a decrease of 3% compared to the year ending March 2021, and a decrease of 5% compared to the year ending March 2019.

The majority of these concessionary passes in England were for older people (90%) rather than disabled people (10%). The proportion varies slightly by area type.

Chart 1: Concessionary travel passes by area status, England, year ending March 2011 to 2022 (BUS08a)

Concessionary bus journeys

There were 555 million concessionary bus journeys in England during the year ending March 2022, an increase of 104% compared to the year ending March 2021, and a decrease of 36% compared to the year ending March 2019.

Across England, this figure breaks down as:

• 229 million in London
• 132 million in metropolitan areas
• 194 million in non-metropolitan areas

In the year ending March 2022, concessionary bus journeys in London were 15% lower than in the year ending March 2019, and have recovered quicker than other area types. By contrast, metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas were 42% and 47% lower, respectively, over the same period.

Chart 2: Concessionary bus journeys by area status, England, year ending March 2011 to 2022 (BUS08a)

These figures are broadly in line with trends seen in the annual bus statistics for overall bus journeys.

Journeys per pass

An average of 64 concessionary bus journeys were made per statutory pass in England for the year ending March 2022.

The number of journeys per pass is much higher in London than other areas. For the year ending March 2022, there were 205 journeys per pass in London, compared to 67 in metropolitan areas and 35 in non-metropolitan areas.

Chart 3: Concessionary bus journeys per statutory pass by area status, England, year ending March 2011 to 2022 (BUS08a)

Expenditure on concessionary travel

Net current expenditure is the amount of money spent by TCAs on running the concessionary travel scheme in their area. This covers both the statutory and discretionary elements (if offered by the TCA), including:

• reimbursement to bus operators
• administration
• pass production costs
• employee costs

The expenditure statistics presented here are based on the survey return. Similar data are collected by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) as part of their revenue outturn data.

In the year ending March 2022, net current expenditure on concessionary travel by TCAs was £1.01 billion.

Across England, this figure breaks down as:

• £294 million in London (29% of total)
• £299 million in metropolitan areas (30% of total)
• £420 million in non-metropolitan areas (41% of total)

Chart 4: Net current expenditure (at 2022 prices) on concessionary bus travel by area status, England, year ending March 2011 to 2022 (BUS08dii)

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, DfT has urged TCAs to continue to pay concessionary travel reimbursement payments to bus operators at pre-pandemic levels, though they cannot mandate that TCAs reimburse at a rate higher than due. This has meant that spending since April 2020 does not reflect the reduced number of concessionary journeys.

Combined with funding from DfT, this support worked towards ensuring the continued operation of local bus services across the country during this period.

In the year ending March 2022, 78% of net current expenditure was spent on statutory concessionary schemes. This proportion has remained broadly stable over the past decade and was unaffected by the pandemic. Non-metropolitan areas consistently have a much higher proportion. For each area type, this figure becomes:

• 65% for London
• 68% for metropolitan areas
• 93% for non-metropolitan areas

Reimbursement

The net current expenditure is distributed across various elements of concessionary travel in England, with the most spent on reimbursing bus operators.

Reimbursement must be calculated by TCAs and is not straightforward. The underlying principle is set out in domestic regulations, which state that operators should be left ‘no better and no worse off’ as a result of the existence of concessionary travel schemes. Therefore, the calculation includes:

• concessionary passenger journeys
• revenue forgone - an estimate of the revenue that would have been made in the absence of a scheme

In March 2021, 2022, and 2023, temporary statutory instruments (SI) were laid to remove the requirement that a bus operator be ‘no better off’ as a result of providing a concession. This allowed TCAs to continue to reimburse at pre-pandemic levels, should they wish. The current SI will expire in April 2024 and the underlying principle of ‘no better and no worse off’ reimbursement will be reinstated.

In the year ending March 2022, reimbursement to bus operators accounted for 79% of net current expenditure by TCAs on concessionary travel, or £803 million.

By area type, this proportion becomes:

• 66% for London
• 71% for metropolitan areas
• 95% for non-metropolitan areas

Adjusted for inflation, the total net current expenditure and reimbursement has decreased over recent years.

Chart 5: Concessionary reimbursement (at 2022 prices) by area status, England, year ending March 2011 to 2022 (BUS08dii)

Discretionary concessions outside London

Since the year ending 2011, almost all TCAs outside London have offered some discretionary travel concession, although the offering can change over time.

The most commonly offered discretionary concessions in the year ending March 2023 were:

• extensions to the beginning of the statutory time period during weekdays (65 TCAs)
• concessions for companions to disabled people (53 TCAs)
• extensions to the end of the statutory time period during weekdays (52 TCAs)
• allowing the use of discretionary companion passes issued by other TCAs (35 TCAs)
• concessions on Dial-a-Ride services (34 TCAs)
• concessions on Park and Ride services (31 TCAs)

Some of the concessions offered are very specific to the TCA, such as those for light rail services or ferries.

Young people

Discretionary concessions for young people can be offered by TCAs directly or by bus operators on a commercial basis.

In the year ending March 2023, youth concessions are offered by 17 out of 84 TCAs in England outside London. A youth concession is offered by at least one commercial bus operator in 70 out of 84 TCAs in England outside London.

Definitions

Statutory concessions

In England, there is a statutory concession called the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS). An ENCTS pass allows eligible disabled people and those of state pension age to travel for free on local bus services anywhere in England, between 0930 and 2300 during weekdays and anytime at weekends and bank holidays. The scheme is administered by Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs).

In London, there is a statutory concession called the Freedom Pass, which covers the whole London Local Transport Network.

Since April 2010, the eligibility age for everyone has been tied to the State Pension age for women. The pensionable age for women reached 65 in 2018 and increased to 66 for both men and women by 2020.

Discretionary concessions

Some TCAs choose to offer residents discretionary concessions over and above the statutory scheme to eligible groups. These can include reduced (or free) fares:

• outside the statutory time period
• for young people or other targeted groups
• on transport modes other than buses, such as trams or light rail

Data are not available from this survey on:

• concessionary journeys on other transport modes
• reimbursement to operators running concessions on other transport modes

In London, the statutory concession already covers off-peak travel on the whole London Local Transport Network for eligible residents, as well as free bus travel in England. As a discretionary concession, London residents aged 60+ can obtain a 60+ Oyster card, which allows free travel on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, TfL Rail and most National Rail services.

Geography

Metropolitan areas: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands (county) and West Yorkshire.

Non-metropolitan areas: Shire counties and unitary authorities. All areas within England that are not London or a Metropolitan area.

Passes or pass holders?

The Concessionary Travel Survey aggregates the number of passes reported by TCAs from their administrative databases. While this provides a reasonable proxy for the number of pass holders, the returns can include passes issued to people:

• that do not use the pass
• who are deceased
• who are no longer resident in the area

Background notes

There is an accompanying background quality report for these statistics.

Changes were made in the presentation of this statistical release. If you have any feedback on these statistics, please contact bus statistics.

About these figures

Many of the statistics in this report are derived from the annual DfT survey issued to each of the Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs) covering around 80 to 90 areas, depending on the survey year. However:

• not all TCAs answered all questions in full
• some TCAs provided revisions to figures supplied in earlier years

The response rate achieved (98%) is comparable with that achieved in other DfT surveys of local authorities. No return was received from North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire.

Where data were missing, information from adjacent years and from TCA websites (for discretionary and youth concessions) was used to impute.

Year-on-year changes in the number of passes should be treated with caution.

In some years, TCAs will perform an exercise to clean their records of people who have received duplicate passes, people who are deceased, or people who have moved out of the area.

Some local authorities have also switched from the auto-renewal of passes to only automatically renewing passes to people who had used them within a certain number of years (although anyone fulfilling the age or disability criteria would always be entitled to a pass).

In this release, numbers may not add up to totals and percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Users and uses of these statistics

Within the Department for Transport, these statistics are used to understand the impact of changes to the concessionary travel scheme and reimbursement guidance, for ministerial briefing and to answer public enquiries.

Other users include TCAs and others with an interest in concessionary travel, such as campaign groups, bus operators and specialist transport press.

Related sources of information

The Department for Transport’s Survey of Public Service Vehicle Operators (PSV Survey) also collects figures for concessionary bus journeys, which are compiled into annual bus statistics.

These include:

• overall bus patronage and trends
• youth concessionary journeys
• older and disabled journeys
• operator finances

Official Statistics

Official Statistics are produced to the high professional standards set by the Code of Practice for Statistics. However, these statistics have not yet been assessed by the Office for Statistics Regulation.

Details of ministers and officials who receive pre-release access to these statistics up to 24 hours before release can be found in the pre-release access list.

Next release

The next Concessionary Travel Statistics are due to be published in late 2023.

Any updates to these plans will be advertised via the DfT statistical publications schedule.

To hear more about DfT statistics publications as they are released, please follow us on Twitter.

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Contact details

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