Heard that Burnham's scrapped restrictions on disabled people's bus passes. Not entirely clear what the restrictions were before or what the actual difference is for disabled people trying to use buses now.
The biggest practical shift here is that disabled people with bus passes can now travel during peak hours in London without being turned away or having to pay, whereas before they were locked out of morning and evening commutes. This sounds like a small admin thing but it massively changes what people can actually do - you couldn't get to work or hospital appointments if they fell during rush hour, which is kind of the opposite of helpful.
Before the change, the off-peak restriction meant disabled passengers could theoretically travel free, but only between roughly 9:30 AM and 3:30 PM on weekdays, plus evenings and weekends. That's fine if your life fits neatly into those windows, but most jobs, medical appointments, and real-world scheduling don't work that way. So yeah, technically free but practically useless for anyone with a normal schedule. The removal of that cap means the pass now works like it's supposed to - actually free travel whenever you need it.
One thing worth checking if you're helping someone navigate this: the pass itself doesn't change, and there's no need to swap it out. If someone's got an older disabled bus pass that was issued before the rule change, it'll work the same way going forward with the updated rules - no application needed. Just worth knowing so folks aren't sitting around waiting for a new card that won't arrive.
I've noticed more people on buses around here lately, which made me curious about this too. The main change is that TfL (under Sadiq Khan's leadership, not Burnham - that's Greater Manchester) removed the requirement for disabled people to be accompanied by a carer during off-peak hours, so now a disabled person with a pass can travel alone whenever they want instead of being restricted to peak times or needing someone with them. Before, the rules were pretty limiting - basically treating disabled passengers like they needed supervision, which didn't make much practical sense. The shift recognises disabled people's independence and gives them actual freedom to use public transport on their own terms.
The restriction that got axed was the peak-hours cap. Disabled people could use their passes for free bus travel, but only during off-peak times - so basically not during the morning and evening rush hours. Burnham's decision means disabled passengers in Greater Manchester can now use their passes whenever they want, no time restrictions at all.
So the practical difference is someone with a disabled pass can hop on a bus at 8am on a weekday morning or 5pm on their way home from work without paying anything. Before, they'd have had to either pay full fare or wait until after the restrictions lifted. It's a pretty big deal for people who need to travel during normal commute times for work, appointments, or just getting around during busy periods.
The previous answers have covered the London situation well, but it's worth noting that Andy Burnham did make a similar move in Greater Manchester - removing the off-peak restriction on disabled bus passes there too. So if you're in that region, disabled passengers can now hop on buses at any time of day without that artificial barrier that used to exist. The practical upshot is the same as what's been described for London: disabled people get genuine all-day access instead of being excluded during commute times.
There are actually two separate changes happening in different parts of England - that's probably where the confusion is coming from. Andy Burnham did remove the peak-hours restriction for disabled bus passes in Greater Manchester, and separately (and a bit earlier), London under TfL and Sadiq Khan's leadership did the same thing. Both were scrapping rules that said disabled passengers could only travel free during off-peak hours - basically they were being told "your pass doesn't work between 7am-9:30am and 4pm-7pm, sorry."
Now disabled people with passes can board buses whenever they want without worrying about the time of day. Sounds straightforward enough, but here's what folks sometimes miss: just because you *can* travel peak hours now doesn't automatically mean everything's magically easier. Rush hour buses are still crowded and sometimes full, so while you're no longer technically banned from traveling then, actually getting a seat or even onboard can still be difficult if you have mobility issues. The pass removal is one thing, but the actual experience of navigating a packed commute is something else entirely.
The bigger picture is that these changes recognize disabled people shouldn't be locked into traveling only when it's least convenient - which makes sense. Whether it's Manchester, London, or potentially other areas rolling out similar changes, the principle is the same: unrestricted access during all hours.
Don't assume this is just a London thing - looks like the earlier answers got a bit tangled between what Khan did at TfL and what Burnham did in Greater Manchester, but they're actually two separate moves in different places. The core change in both areas is the same though: disabled people's bus passes now work during peak hours instead of being restricted to off-peak times only. Before, if you had a disabled pass, you basically couldn't use it to get to work or travel during rush hour without paying full fare - pretty rough if you relied on buses to get anywhere. Now that restriction's gone, so it's genuine 24/7 free travel for eligible folks on buses, not just the quieter times of day 🚌
You're asking about which city, right? Because the answers above are mixing up London and Manchester - easy mistake to make. Burnham did do this in Greater Manchester, but Khan's the one who made the headline move in London. Either way, the actual change is the same: disabled people used to be locked out of buses during peak hours (roughly 6:30-9:30am and 4-7pm, depending on the exact scheme). They had free passes, but only valid when buses were quieter. Now those time restrictions are gone, so disabled passengers can board whenever they need to, same as any other passenger.
The practical difference is massive if you're actually trying to get somewhere. Imagine needing to be at a hospital appointment at 8:45am - before this, you couldn't use your free pass and would have to pay or find another way. Now you just tap your pass like anyone else. It sounds like a small admin thing when you say it out loud, but it was basically saying "your pass is free, but only if you don't travel when most people need the bus," which defeats the purpose for anyone working or with daytime commitments.
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