Lib Dems Announce Plan To Safeguard Pensioner Bus Fare

10.15.47am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 26th Oct 2004

Planned increases in pensioners bus fares can be stopped according to proposals to be announced by borough Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats, who have opposed the increase from the start, have studied the council's finances and believe savings can be made to the ongoing budget, without the need for any cuts, that could safeguard the concessionary fares not just for one year but for years beyond. The plans would commit the council to supporting the reduced fare for the foreseeable future, surpassing earlier proposals which would still lead to increases early in 2006. Instead a small amount of the council's £37 million reserves would be released to fund other expenditure leaving concessionary fares to be returned to the safety of the base ongoing budget at the current level.

Speaking ahead of the announcement Lib Dem Group Leader, Michael Headley, said:

"This fares increase was flawed from the moment Labour and Conservative portfolio holders put it forward. The news is full of stories about pension shortfalls and the financial pressure affecting pensioners. Bedford Borough Council should not be in the business of making this situation worse. By taking money out of council reserves to fund other budget elements, concessionary fares can be restored to the ongoing budget. But let's be clear we are not proposing any cuts. It's about priorities. We believe concessionary fares should be safeguarded for more than 12 months. Increases should not just be put off. We've told the Cabinet we think this decision was wrong, now it's up to them to act on our proposal and stop this rise from happening."

The Scrutiny Committee will discuss the decision to increase the concessionary fares by 25% at its meeting on Thursday. The Executive has deferred any decision whilst Scrutiny submits any recommendations to aid the budget process.