Bus cuts harm elderly people, inquiry tells travel bosses

ELDERLY people are in "danger of losing their independence" because of cuts to bus services, MPs insist.

- By Jonathan Walker

Cuts...elderly depend on bus services

The Department for Transport "must assure itself that elderly and disabled people are not excluded from bus travel", politicians said.

Two in three OAPs cannot reach a hospital within 30 minutes by public transport and cuts to services are part of the problem, with a total of 5,000 routes closing in the past 10 years, it was said.

The number of people eligible for discounted fares making bus journeys is still 29% lower than before the Covid pandemic.

This suggests many never got back into the habit of travelling after lockdown, the Commons Public Accounts Committee warned.