Vikki Slade, MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole, is calling for action on disabled bus pass rules after backing a campaign highlighting problems faced by people locally.
She joined the charity Whizz Kidz at a parliamentary event urging urgent reform of England’s disabled bus pass legislation, saying current rules create barriers for residents across her Dorset constituency who rely on public transport to get to work, education, healthcare and community activities.
Under national legislation, disabled people are guaranteed free bus travel only between 9.30am and 11pm, with Travel Concession Authorities deciding whether to extend those hours, a system campaigners say creates a postcode lottery and forces many passengers to pay peak fares for essential journeys.
New findings from Whizz Kidz show 60 of 82 authorities in England impose time restrictions, while only around one in four offer free travel at all times, despite disabled people making an estimated 200 million journeys using bus passes in 2022/23.
Vikki Slade said constituents have told her the restrictions make everyday travel harder and more expensive, adding that allowing different rules in different areas is unfair and calling for national consistency so disabled people can travel with independence and dignity.
Whizz Kidz said families often cannot afford peak fares, leaving parents reliant on council-funded transport and adding further pressure to already stretched local authority budgets.
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