Pensioners' threat to bus routes

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Bus routes could be axed because free travel for pensioners has led to a rise in passenger numbers but a fall in revenue, operators have claimed.

Anglian Bus, of Beccles, Suffolk, and Norfolk Green of King's Lynn said full fare passengers are left at bus stops as vehicles are full with older people.

Coach firms running excursions said fewer older people are coming with them, choosing free buses instead.

Some firms have warned unprofitable routes could be withdrawn.

Ben Colson, managing director of Norfolk Green buses, said full buses were not necessarily profitable to run since the national bus pass scheme was launched in April.

He added: "With costs going up as they are, if you're getting half the income you don't have to be an economist to work out that has got serious long-term implications."

Andrew Pursey, a director of Anglian Bus and Coach, said profits needed to be made to buy new vehicles that comply with new regulations on safety, exhaust emissions and disabled access.

Free travel led to a fall in excursion journeys at Caroline Seagull Coaches

He said: "The concession pass holders probably count for half of our passengers now.

"There have been instances where we've had a particularly sunny day or a certain route going to the seaside where a large number of pass holders turn up.

"It has left us with a situation where there's not enough seats for fare-paying passengers and some of these fare-paying passengers are regular users of our service."

Coach excursion operators also said they had seen passengers choosing to take advantage of free bus services instead of coaches.

Jeffrey Buckle, managing director of the defunct Caroline Seagull coach firm in Great Yarmouth, said the slow death of excursions had led to the decision to go into voluntary liquidation in April.

He said: "They're not going to pay when they can go for nothing but it made it not worthwhile to carry on because we were not getting the profit to reinvest."