Karen spoke out in Parliament on Thursday to defend the freedom of the over 60s and under 18s to travel on London’s public transport network, which is under threat by Tory proposals.

Nearly 31,000 over 60s and over 7,000 under 18s benefit from the schemes in Westminster, many of whom live in some of the most deprived parts in the country.  For many elderly residents their Freedom Pass is a real life line to the outside world, saving them up to around £1,000 a year on travel costs.  Families also now save £350 per child on transport costs and youngsters no longer have to be left in the lurch without a way back home should they be out of pocket.

These schemes have come under attack by London’s Tories with those sitting on the London Assembly looking to scrap the youth pass and a West London Councillor calling for the Freedom Pass to be “re-targetted” away from most pensioners to those who were “very old”.  The free passes came under renewed attack on Thursday in parliament when in a response to a question from Karen, the Tory Spokesman on Transport called the schemes “a waste of public money”.

Let Karen know your views on the Tory threat to the Freedom Pass and under-18 pass on k.buck@rpkn-labour.co.uk

Read the full Parliamentary debate on Freedom of Buses