Laois bus firm does U-turn on free travel restrictions

A LAOIS bus company has done a U-turn on free travel restrictions, which would have seen pass holders charged for evening journeys.

Slieve Bloom Coaches/Townlink has cancelled its plan to refuse free travel passes after 7.20pm, following an agreement with the Department of Social Protection (DSP).

The restrictions announced yesterday were due to come into effect next Monday on the Portlaoise to Tullamore service after 7.20pm, as well as the Tullamore to Mullingar route after 7.10pm.

However, the private bus company confirmed this afternoon that the controversial plan has been cancelled, at least for the next year.

Slieve Bloom Coaches said: ‘We’ve been in touch with the Department of Social Protection and they’ve agreed to let us carry out a survey on free travel passes for the next 12 months on this evening service.

‘As we have explained before, we are a private CBO (Commercial Bus Operator) and we were not getting paid for anyone travelling after the times stated … We had absolutely no obligation to carry FTP (free travel pass) holders after this time, despite a lot of members of the public thinking otherwise.

‘This means that, going forward, free travel pass holders can enjoy full use of their card on all of our services, including evening services, for the duration of this survey.’ 

The company said that no personal details will be taken during the survey, as inspectors will simply record the card number and expiry date. This will allow the company to confirm the journey with the DSP and receive payment for the service.

The firm said in a statement: ‘We really appreciate everyone’s support and cooperation while we carry out this 12-month survey - it helps us keep our service running for the whole community.’ 

The Mountmellick-based firm said the original decision to charge evening passengers was made because is not reimbursed by the government for free travel after 7.20pm.

The decision provoked an angry response from the public, with many irate comments on the Slieve Bloom Coaches/Townlink Facebook page since the announcement on Monday.

Some described the decision as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘discriminatory’ and questioned whether the company was legally entitled to refuse a free travel pass.

However, Slieve Bloom Coaches pointed out that it is privately owned and independently operated, so it is not among the State services automatically included in the free travel scheme.

Government regulations state that the free travel scheme allows everyone aged 66 or over to travel, free of charge, ‘on all public transport owned by the State’. This includes bus, rail, Local Link and the Luas, with some exceptions.

Free travel is also available on some but not all services operated by private bus and ferry companies, who are reimbursed for accepting the pass in place of paid-for tickets.

Slieve Bloom Coaches Ltd is the only private bus company in Laois on the Department of Social Protection’s list of free travel scheme operators.

Slieve Bloom Coaches said that it recently carried out a survey, on behalf of the Department of Social Protection, regarding free travel usage.

The company said: ‘As a private operator, we are only reimbursed for free travel up to 19.20 each day. Unfortunately, we do not receive payment for free travel journeys made after this time, which has made it necessary to introduce the new rule regarding evening travel.

‘We understand this may be inconvenient for some passengers. Our goal is to continue providing a reliable and sustainable service for all customers.’