Campaign Success: 24/7 Bus Travel for Disabled People

We are delighted to welcome the Government’s announcement that time restrictions on disabled people’s concessionary bus passes (‘Freedom passes’) will be removed across England.

From 1 April 2027, eligible disabled people will be able to use their bus passes for free at any time of day, removing the current national restriction on weekday travel before 9:30am and after 11pm.

This is an issue that the Disability Policy Centre has been campaigning on since 2022, alongside disabled people, charities and campaigners, calling for a fairer transport system.

Accessible and affordable transport can open up opportunities for employment, education, healthcare and social connection. Disabled people should not have their lives restricted by arbitrary limits on when they are able to travel.

Timeline of our campaign

In May 2022, the Disability Policy Centre launched our Disabled Person’s Travel Passes Campaign, calling for time restrictions on disabled people’s concessionary travel passes to be removed.

We initially wrote to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, on the day of the Elizabeth Line opening, before writing to the Transport Secretary and Metropolitan Mayors Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and Andy Street in the West Midlands.

Our campaign highlighted the barriers created when disabled people are unable to use their passes at certain times of the day, particularly for those travelling to work, education, medical appointments and other essential activities.

Following these letters, we met with officials at Transport for Greater Manchester about this issue. In our 2022 ‘Making London an accessible city for all’, this was a key recommendation.

Read our original campaign and letters

Three years after we first wrote to Andy Burnham, and after consistent campaigning from Disabled People’s Organisations such as Whizz Kidz and Transport for All, Greater Manchester began trialling the removal of the morning restriction on concessionary passes; a move which we welcomed.

In December 2025, we attended an event in Parliament hosted by Whizz Kidzand Tom Gordon MP, bringing together disabled people, campaigners and policymakers to discuss a national approach to extending the hours of disabled bus passes.

Andy Burnham was a guest speaker at the event, alongside speakers from Transport for All, Bus Users UKand Wokingham Borough Council.

The event highlighted the postcode lottery facing disabled people across England, and it highlighted good practice case studies where the restrictions had already been reduced.

Following the success of its trial, Greater Manchester announced that the extended travel arrangements would become permanent.

From 1 March 2026, disabled and older concessionary pass holders in Greater Manchester were able to use their passes at any time of day across the Bee Network.

We welcomed the announcement as a significant campaign success continued to prioritise this as a national policy change that was necessary.

We are thrilled that Prime Minister Andy Burnham has now announced that the policy will be extended across England.

From 1 April 2027, disabled bus pass holders will be able to travel for free at any time of day, wherever they live in England. The Government has committed £60 million to removing the existing time restrictions, ending the current situation in which access to extended travel depends on decisions made by individual local authorities.

Four years after we first wrote to Andy Burnham calling for these restrictions to be removed, we are incredibly pleased to see this policy now being introduced nationally.

This change has been achieved through years of campaigning by disabled people and organisations across the sector. We would particularly like to recognise the work of Whizz Kidz, Transport for All, Bus Users UK, Tom Gordon MP, and everyone who has continued to campaign for unrestricted concessionary travel.

Read more about the Government announcement here