Nottinghamshire: Free tram passes could be axed by council

Nottinghamshire County Council says funding free tram passes for disabled and elderly residents costs it £900,000 a year

Elderly and disabled people could lose free tram travel under plans announced by Nottinghamshire County Council.

The local authority said it costs £900,000 a year to provide the free passes for the Nottingham network.

It is now set to carry out a public consultation on "a range of options" for the future of the scheme.

The options include no change, introducing half fares, withdrawing the scheme for all but disabled passengers, or withdrawing it entirely.

The change would only affect people who have a concessionary pass issued by Nottinghamshire County Council.

People with disabilities and older people, who live in the county council area and have a concessionary pass, can travel free of charge on the tram between 09:30 and 23:00 on weekdays and all day on weekends and bank holidays.

The 154,000 pass holders in Nottinghamshire are estimated to make about 1.14million journeys on the tram each year, which are funded by the county council at a cost of £900,000.

A similar scheme for bus travel is funded by central government.

Councillor Neil Clarke, cabinet member for transport at Nottinghamshire County Council said: "The costs of these additional measures are funded entirely by the county council.

"Due to the current cost of the tram concessionary offer, we want to seek the views of residents and pass holders to make sure that our future offer best suits their needs."

The consultation will run for eight weeks and councillors will respond to feedback at a future council meeting.