Cambridgeshire concessionary bus pass holders are being warned the times they can travel are set to change

Bus passengers are being made aware that the times they can travel using concessionary passes will change from next week.

At the start of the lockdown in March, both Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council worked with operators to allow concessionary bus passes to be used before 9.30am. By relaxing the time limits, people were able to access supermarkets and the reserved shopping slots being offered to elderly residents at the time.

However, the introduction of national social distancing measures has since resulted in a reduction in capacity on public transport. To ensure that there is sufficient public transport capacity for key workers before 9.30am, it has been decided that bus operators will no longer accept concessionary passes before 9.30am from Monday 15 June onwards.

In addition, wearing face masks on public transport will become compulsory on Monday, 15 June. Further details are on the Government’s website.

Councillor Ian Bates, chairman of Cambridgeshire County Council’s highways and transport committee, said: “This decision has been taken to ensure that key workers can continue to get to work during peak times. The change was introduced at a time of supermarket shortages and stores were giving preferential times to over 60s. However, these shortages are no longer occurring and many supermarkets no longer offer specific time slots.”

Councillor Peter Hiller, Peterborough City Council’s cabinet member for strategic planning and commercial strategy and investments, said: “We feel the time is now right to return to the usual arrangement for concessionary fares. As always we will continue to engage with passengers and welcome any feedback.”