Free bus travel scheme for disabled passengers

Disabled bus pass holders will be able to travel for free in Stoke-on-Trent before 09:30 on weekdays

Disabled bus pass holders will be able to commute for free before 09:30 BST on weekdays under a new scheme set to launch in Stoke-on-Trent.

From Monday, anyone eligible who has been issued a bus pass from the city's council can travel without charge from Monday to Friday.

The scheme will initially last until 31 March and aims to make it easier for disabled passengers to travel to their place of work or education, the council said.

Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker said the authority was committed to "making it as easy and affordable as possible" for residents to travel around the city.

"At the moment, concessionary bus passenger numbers are still way below what they were before the Covid pandemic," he added.

"We hope that this scheme will encourage more people who are entitled to free travel to consider using the bus as a way to travel around the city."

Disabled or elderly people with bus passes can already travel for free in the city on weekdays after 09:30 as part of the government-funded English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS).

The council confirmed both disabled and elderly passengers would still be able to travel for free all day at weekends and on bank holidays.