Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of extending the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme to peak-time travel.

No estimate has been made of the cost of extending the statutory English National Concessionary Travel Scheme to include pre-9.30am travel.

Concessionary travel legislation gives all local authorities in England the power to introduce local concessions in addition to their statutory obligations, including free or discounted travel before 9.30am.

This is the most commonly offered local concession – 69 of the 89 Travel Concession Authorities in England (outside London) offered free or discounted travel before 9.30am to pass holders in 2018/19.