East Midlands mayoral candidates pledge to keep free tram passes

A public consultation has been launched offering "a range of options" for the future of the scheme

Free tram travel for elderly and disabled people could be saved after East Midlands mayor candidates said they would continue to fund the scheme.

Nottinghamshire County Council could scrap concessionary tram travel for people in the county under proposals.

Options include introducing half fares, withdrawing it completely, keeping it for disabled passengers or no changes.

Three candidates in the running for the upcoming mayoral role say they will keep arrangements as they are.

After May next year, responsibility for public transport will pass to the newly-created East Midlands Combined County Authority, fronted by a directly-elected mayor.

Ben Bradley said he would look at "opportunities to make the tram better" if he was elected as mayor

All three currently named candidates for the post have said they would keep the concessionary tram arrangements as they currently are.

Following the launch of a consultation by the council, Labour's Claire Ward, independent Matt Relf and Conservative candidate Ben Bradley - who is also the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council and the MP for Mansfield - have rallied against scrapping the scheme.

"Nottinghamshire County Council should not cancel the scheme now," said Ms Ward. "I would fund concessions from the devolved transport fund.

"Taking away cheaper fares for the elderly and disabled is asking the most vulnerable to foot the bill for Conservative austerity."

Matt Relf said he would look into expanding the transport network further if elected

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

Mr Bradley said: "You have my absolute firm commitment that if I'm the mayor the tram concession will not change and we'll work with NET to make the service better, to improve viability, to look at extensions and other opportunities to make the tram better."

There are 154,000 pass holders in Nottinghamshire who are estimated to make about 1.14m journeys on the tram each year.

Mr Relf, a member of the Ashfield Independents, added: "Access to great quality public transport is one of my main priorities so continuing to fund the concession for the tram is a must.

"I intend to look at how we can simplify ticketing across all modes of transport and expand the network further."

Claire Ward was a former MP in Watford before moving to Nottinghamshire

Protesters opposed to the scheme being scrapped gathered outside the county council's headquarters on Thursday.

Wheelchair user Jen Illingworth added: "It would make life much more difficult, particularly going to hospital appointments. For lots of elderly people and disabled people, the tram is a lifeline."

The government has said the mayor will receive an extra £1.5bn for transport in the region.

The council's consultation runs until 7 January, while the first election for East Midlands Mayor will take place in May.