A minister has suggested that a new £3 billion pot of cash supplied to local authorities to improve bus services could be used to provide the over-60s with free travel passes. Labour’s buses and roads minister, Simon Lightwood MP, told The Express that the concession scheme currently in place, including people of pension age, costs around £700 million every year. He added: “It’s important that changes to that are obviously financially sustainable. But what I will say to that is that local authorities already have the powers to go above and beyond that, and many already do.”

He specified that local leaders can use some money from the new multi-billion pound boost from central Government to improve bus services if they wish to “extend the eligibility, or reduce the age, or increase the hours for those passes, if local areas wanted to do that”. “Obviously, we’re giving this further funding, which could be used to do that, if they wish to do that,” the minister said.

Simon Lightwood told The Express local authorities can use the cash to lower the age of free travel. (Image: Getty)

“The crucial bit about this extra funding is that it’s been given to local areas to decide. I’m not deciding in Westminster or Whitehall, how to spend money in Plymouth, where I am today.”

It comes as a petition to provide free bus travel to over-60s has reached 100,000 signatures of support.

The online document calls for the extension of the scheme, which currently only covers those over the state pension age – 66.

Its organiser stated: “We call on the Government to extend free bus travel to all people over 60 years old in England outside London. We believe the current situation is unjust, and we want equality for everyone over 60.

Currently, people in England who do not live in London are not entitled to free bus travel until they reach the state pension age, which we believe has changed dramatically.

“As people get older, some over 60s drive less and less, therefore we believe we need equality on public transport. It would mean England had the same provision as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”

The petition has been awaiting a debate date for 161 days, according to Parliament’s website.