Recent reports in the Edinburgh Evening News are suggesting that the free concessionary travel on Edinburgh Trams could be removed as part of the latest round of Council savings. The SNP and Labour coalition on the City of Edinburgh Council are said to be considering the plan which would save £690,000 a year.
As in other parts of the UK, the trams are not included in the central free bus travel for the over 60s with the funding in this case coming directly from the Council but with the continued squeeze on council budgets the removal of this facility on the trams is being seriously considered. However, nothing has yet been decided and with a UK General Election taking place on 12th December (just in case you haven’t noticed) the whole situation could change with the Scottish Government waiting to find out how much money they will have for their own budget which could affect how much funding there is for the council.
The council are working to the understanding that they will need to find saving of £36 million in the next financial year and the near £700,000 the concessionary fare scheme would save would only be a drop in the ocean to reach this.
If the council did remove support for the scheme the only way it could continue would be if the Scottish Government or another body (with the suggestion Lothian Buses, Edinburgh Trams or Transport for Edinburgh could fill the gap) decided to fund it independently. The Edinburgh Evening News article suggests that this is unlikely though.
When tram services were introduced, Edinburgh Council told me that the trams were funded by Edinburgh city council tax payers, and that other Scotttish Bus Pass holders are denied free tram travel (but permitted on Lothian Buses) conveniently forgetting that it was the Scottish taxpayer that funded Phase 1 construction by courtesy of massive cash injections from the Holyrood government. Hence your statement that “the trams are not included in the central free bus travel for the over 60’s” is contradicted by the city council’s statement to me. Sorry, as a Scottish taxpayer, I contend that free travel on both Lothian Bus AND Edinburgh Trams SHOULD be available to ALL Scottish over 60’s !
Big Alasdair