Completed petition Continuation of Concessionary Fares on Community Transport

We ask that the Welsh Government takes account of the recommendations in the externally commissioned evaluation of the Community Transport Concessionary Fares Initiative (CTCFI) and that the scheme is rolled out to community transport schemes across Wales on a separate fares basis, to ensure equality for our most vulnerable citizens - those elderly and disabled people who are unable to use their bus pass on conventional public transport.

Additional information: CTCFI will have undertaken c1.3m vital journeys by March 2012, taking elderly and disabled people to services which they would not otherwise have been able to access. Evidence demonstrates clearly the beneficial impact of the scheme on service users’ lives, which was set up to ensure equality of access to all. Since Wales’ population is ageing, and rates of disability are slightly higher, the need for this service will only grow, with nearly 18,000 registered users of the service already. Around £3.9m is needed in 2012-13 to bring CTCFI in as part of the all-Wales CF scheme on a separate fares basis. This would include transition funding to some of the 15 original schemes who could well be facing closure at the end of March, leading to some job losses and loss of valuable volunteer commitment. Cutting CTCFI will not solve the issue of equality, which the Welsh Government has a statutory duty to promote, and will have a disproportionate effect on our most vulnerable citizens.