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 \u00a3690,000 a year.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
The council are working to the understanding that they will need to find saving of \u00a336 million in the next financial year and the near \u00a3700,000 the concessionary fare scheme would save would only be a drop in the ocean to reach this.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 … Continue reading