Concessionary Travel Voucher Scheme Survey
2009 Survey Evaluation
Background
Dover District Council has offered the Concessionary Travel
Voucher Scheme since 1st October 2004, when the previous
Concessionary Travel Token Scheme closed. The aim of the scheme is
to provide help with transport costs for residents who are unable
to take advantage of the National Bus Pass Scheme.
It is a local scheme, only available within the Dover District
and fully funded by Dover District Council. 30 £1 vouchers are
issued annually, free of charge, to each eligible resident who
claims the concession, which can be used for part or full payment
of a taxi fare.
The concession is offered as an alternative to the English
National Concessionary Travel Scheme, which is funded by a grant
from Central Government. Everyone aged 60 or over, as well as those
under 60 with certain disabilities, can claim a bus pass, which
provides free, off peak, bus travel throughout England. No
provision is made by this scheme for residents who are unable to
use public transport.
The current eligible groups for the Travel Voucher Scheme
are:
- Residents aged 85 or over
- Residents who have been awarded the high rate of either
Disability Living Allowance (mobility or care element) or
Attendance Allowance or the War Pensioners Mobility
Supplement in addition to Housing or Council Tax benefit.
- Residents who have had a Learning Disability since childhood as
defined by the Transport Act 2005
Before opening the Scheme, various methods of determining the
eligibility criteria were examined and consulted on. The decision
was taken to include the age category to reflect the number of
residents in that age group who used to claimed travel tokens
instead of a bus pass.
Residents who claim a high rate disability benefit in addition
to Housing or Council Tax benefit were included to enable the
scheme to help people most in need, not only physically but also
financially.
The learning disability category was added to assist residents
who are unable to use public transport due to their disability.
Residents claiming under this category are mainly those who reside
in care homes.
The Scheme was last evaluated in 2006. Suggestions made by the
Voluntary and Community Sector groups as a result of that survey
were:
- To reduce the automatic qualifying age to 75.
- To include recipients of the lower rate of Attendance
Allowance.
- To remove recipients of the high rate care element of
Disability Living Allowance.
- To include residents who have a Council Tax banding
reduction.
- To remove the link to Housing and Council Tax benefit.
In the 2006 Best Value Performance Indicator survey, residents
were asked if it was preferable to increase the number of customers
who could claim vouchers or to increase the number of vouchers each
customer received. The majority replied that it was preferable to
increase the number of eligible customers.
When asked which new customers should qualify the majority
replied those aged 75 – 84.
The survey also found that £30 worth of vouchers per year was
considered inadequate.
Budgetary restraints prevented the scheme being extended at that
time to the 75 - 84 age group, as a further 3753 people would have
become eligible to claim. This also prevented the amount of
vouchers per customer being increased.
Aims of the survey
In November 2009, 429 existing travel voucher customers were
asked to complete a survey form to evaluate the scheme and to
inform a review to ensure that the scheme is achieving it’s aim of
providing an alternative travel concession for people who are
unable to take advantage of the Concessionary Bus Pass Scheme.
236 customers claim vouchers in the aged 85 or over category,
154 in the disability category and 39 in the learning disability
category.
180 (42%) customers replied to the survey.
Voluntary and Community Sector groups have also been invited to
reply to a survey about the effectiveness of the Scheme. This
survey will close on 31st March 2010 to comply with the
Compact agreement.
Results
Customers were asked how quickly they use their vouchers. The
results showed that most customers spread their use out over the
year, but 18.9% stated that they use their vouchers within the
first month of issue.
10 people stated that they do not use all of their vouchers
within the year and that they keep them for emergency doctor or
hospital appointments, if the car breaks down, for special
occasions or they are not really needed and are claimed ‘just in
case’.
When asked for what purpose the vouchers are used, the majority
replied for doctor appointments, hospital appointments or
shopping.
The survey asked if the vouchers are easy to use. Only 3 said
that they were not. 1 reply suggested that the vouchers are too
big; another stated that they wanted the taxi drivers to give cash
as change and the third that they wanted to use them outside of
Dover District.
The voucher booklets are smaller than a cheque book and can be
folded in two. The size was designed to take into account people
with sight problems as well as being big enough to be printed with
instructions for users and for arrangements for reimbursement for
the operators.
Customers are advised in the Terms and Conditions booklet that
drivers will not issue change for the vouchers. This is to prevent
taxi drivers being out of pocket at the end of their shift.
Arrangements are in place with taxi operators in Thanet,
Folkestone and Canterbury to accept the vouchers, further afield it
would be at the discretion of the driver but any registered taxi
operator can accept, and be reimbursed for, travel vouchers. A 2%
handling fee is payable to the taxi operator when vouchers are sent
for reimbursement.
12 customers stated that they have had problems when using the
vouchers with the main problem being that some taxi operators and
hackney carriage drivers do not accept the vouchers.
It is the taxi operator’s choice whether or not to accept the
vouchers and customers are advised to always ask the driver before
starting their journey if vouchers will be accepted. The terms and
conditions leaflet issued with every book of vouchers also includes
a list of taxi operators that have agreed to accept the
vouchers.
The survey asked if the application form is easy to complete.
Only 5 people had difficulty in completing the form and most cited
age as the reason they need extra help.
Over 90% of people think that the Terms and Conditions leaflet
is easy to understand and answers their questions.
The Scheme is operated within a set budget, which restricts the
number of customers who can claim vouchers and the number of
vouchers each customer receives. The figure of £30 is based on the
previous travel token allocation of £36 with a payment of £6. To
simplify the issuing process the payment was removed and the amount
of concession decreased accordingly.
Customers were asked if they thought the scheme should be
changed to increase the number of customers but to issue less
vouchers to each customer or to increase the number of vouchers
issued but decrease the number of customers.
63.3% favoured more vouchers, 15.6% favoured more customers and
21.1% did not answer the question.
When asked which categories of people should not be eligible to
claim the majority stated those under the Learning Disability
category.
Suggestions for people who should be able to claim include:
- People who genuinely need to use a taxi and have a low
income
- Parents of physically or mentally disabled children
- Anyone with a disability
- All pensioners
- Single parents
- People who have difficulty getting off buses
- Mothers with children
- Anyone with financial difficulty
- Blind or partially sighted people
- Everyone on high rate DLA
- People who live miles from anywhere in the countryside
- According to needs and funds
- People who have to use a taxi to go to the doctors
- People who have to attend out of town hospitals
- People who have no family help, or are cut off from
services
- Carers
56.70% of people do not think that any other groups should be
entitled to claim.
People were asked if they are happy with the service they
receive from us. 91.1% are happy and 3.9% did not answer. Of the 5%
of people who are not happy with the service the two reasons stated
were that 30 vouchers are not enough and that the vouchers should
be posted to them.
Each year the vouchers are made available for collection from
the area offices in Whitfield, Dover, Deal, Sandwich and Aylesham
and only posted if the customer provides an addressed envelope with
enough stamps to cover recorded delivery.
Lost vouchers are not replaced, only stolen ones, if vouchers
were to be posted and lost in the post they would not be
replaced.
Anyone can collect vouchers on behalf of the customer, they are
just asked to sign to confirm collection.
The first issue of vouchers a customer receives is sent by
recorded delivery to avoid the possibility of a customer travelling
to an office to collect their vouchers before they have arrived at
that office for collection.
Recorded delivery costs £1.15 per pack of vouchers. If all
vouchers were to be posted it would cost an additional £493.35 in
postage fees.
The survey asked if customers have changed their concession from
a bus pass to travel vouchers and if so, why? 25% of customers have
changed for the following reasons:
- Comfort and convenience of taxis
- Disability or mobility problems
- Infrequent or no bus service
17.2% of respondents would claim and use a bus pass if the
voucher scheme were not available. Of the 80.6% who would not, the
reasons were mainly the inability to walk to and from a bus stop or
being able to get on or off the bus.
The survey asked for other comments and suggestions about the
scheme. The following is a summary.
- This is a very good scheme and a big help when you only have an
old age pension.
- I am quite happy as things are.
- No bus route in area. Unable to get off a bus. Vouchers greatly
valued.
- My grateful thanks for the scheme in whatever form it
takes.
- I think I am extremely fortunate to qualify for this
concession.
- Please continue with the present procedure.
- An excellent scheme.
- No complaint except that they are used up too quickly.
- I find vouchers very helpful and am quite happy to use
them.
- Not everyone can use a bus pass and the vouchers, although not
many, do help.
- Vouchers work very well and I know they are there for use in
emergencies.
- This is a great scheme as I am 90 and can't walk from the bus
with shopping. I hope you will carry on with this scheme. Many
thanks.
- I really appreciate the help. Thanks for the large print form.
A bus service that runs to the Doctors surgery in Canada Road, Deal
would be helpful then people could use the bus.
- I am very grateful for the vouchers. They are most handy.
- Because I am in a wheelchair it makes it difficult to get
anywhere. I really appreciate this concession.
- I think this is an excellent idea but of course £30 doesn't go
very far and I therefore use mine for emergencies only. I feel this
should be a stipulation.
- Would be good to use them on trains and National Express.
- I’m grateful for the scheme but they don’t go far enough.
- I appreciate the vouchers but they only pay for 2 trips, as it
is £15 each way.
- They don't last all year.
- Should be £52.00 vouchers a year.
- Can only use a bus if it has a low step. A typical visit to
town and back uses 5 vouchers so vouchers are quickly used up.
- Unable to walk to bus stops from my home. £30 is not enough as
a round trip to Eastry Health Centre is £22.
- Vouchers not as good a value as bus passes.
- It would help to have more vouchers; bus pass people can use
them every day. I’m 88, partially sighted with Osteoarthritis
- I appreciate the vouchers but they are not enough. Bus pass
users can use them every day. I would need a taxi to the bus
stop to get on a bus.
- I cannot get to bus stops near my home. Comparing the cost of a
bus pass to the value of the vouchers, more vouchers would be
appreciated. The minimum cost of a journey by taxi is 3 vouchers,
which means 6 vouchers to the town and back.
- I would not claim vouchers if I was capable of catching
the bus, I would have a lot more freedom to get to other towns. My
vouchers only cover my trips to Sandwich shopping or Doctors.
- I would like to use a bus pass if I was able to, so much
cheaper than taxis fare, plus not able to use bus because of ill
health.
- The nearest bus stop is 3 miles away
- I am 94 and almost blind, I don't use public transport
- Suffer from severe pain could not use buses
- I would use bus pass if I had bus I could access. Then I could
go out more than twice a year. The bus is not accessible for wheel
chair users.
- I am too frail to use the bus
- As I am 88 years old I could not stand around the street
awaiting public transport
Conclusion
The scheme has seen a decrease in the number of claimants since
the introduction of the National Bus Pass Scheme on 1st
April 2008. In the last five years the number of people claiming
vouchers has decreased by 39%. Residents who currently claim
vouchers do so because they are not able to travel on a bus or to
walk to a bus stop and therefore cannot take advantage of the bus
pass scheme.
The main use of the vouchers is to help with the cost of taxi
travel to doctor and hospital appointments but also for shopping
trips.
The results of the survey clearly indicate that £30 worth of
vouchers is not a sufficient enough concession to make a
difference, although gratefully received.
17.2% of respondents would transfer to the bus pass scheme if
the voucher scheme were not available.
Appendix – Survey results
| Question |
No. |
% |
Answer |
| When do you usually finish using your
vouchers? |
34 |
18.9% |
Within 1 month
of issue |
| 34 |
18.9% |
Within 3 months of issue |
| 36 |
20% |
Within 6 months of issue |
| 24 |
13.3% |
Within 9 months of issue |
| 40 |
22.2% |
Within 12 months of issue |
| 10 |
5.6% |
I do not use all of my vouchers before the expiry date |
| 2 |
1.1% |
Not answered |
| When do you use your vouchers? (Multiple
answers) |
124 |
68.9% |
Doctors |
| 84 |
46.7% |
Shopping |
| 51 |
28.3% |
Hospital |
| 33 |
18.3% |
Socialising |
| 24 |
13.3% |
Dentist |
| 7 |
3.9% |
Hairdressers |
| 6 |
3.3% |
Church |
| 3 |
1.7% |
Age Concern |
| 3 |
1.7% |
Opticians |
| 2 |
1.1% |
Banking |
| 2 |
1.1% |
Travel to Train Station |
| 2 |
1.1% |
When the car breaks down |
| Do you think the vouchers
are easy to use? |
170 |
94.4% |
Yes |
| 3 |
1.7% |
No |
| 7 |
3.9% |
Not answered |
| Have you encountered any
problems when using the vouchers? |
12 |
6.7% |
Yes |
| 163 |
90.6% |
No |
| 5 |
2.7% |
Not answered |
| Do you think the Travel
Voucher application form is easy to complete? |
168 |
93.3% |
Yes |
| 5 |
2.8% |
No |
| 7 |
3.9% |
Not answered |
| Bearing in mind that the Travel Voucher Scheme is
operated within a limited budget, do you think that the scheme
should be used to help more customers or to allocate more vouchers
to existing customers? |
28 |
15.6% |
Fewer vouchers and more customers |
| 114 |
63.3% |
Fewer customers and more vouchers |
| 38 |
21.1% |
Not answered |
| Do you think any of the current eligible groups
should not be able to claim vouchers? |
18 |
10% |
Yes |
| 144 |
80% |
No |
| 18 |
10% |
Not answered |
| Do you think that more groups should be eligible to
claim? |
26 |
14.4% |
Yes |
| 102 |
56.7% |
No |
| 52 |
28.9% |
Not answered |
| Are you happy with the service you have received
from us? |
164 |
91.1% |
Yes |
| 9 |
5% |
No |
| 7 |
3.9% |
Not answered |
| Do you think the Scheme Terms and Conditions
leaflet is easy to understand? |
164 |
91.1% |
Yes |
| 3 |
1.7% |
No |
| 13 |
7.2% |
Not answered |
| Does the Terms and Conditions leaflet answer your
questions? |
163 |
90.6% |
Yes |
| 1 |
0.6% |
No |
| 14 |
8.8% |
Not answered |
| Have you changed from the Bus Pass Scheme in order
to claim Travel Vouchers? |
45 |
25% |
Yes |
| 124 |
68.9% |
No |
| 11 |
6.1% |
Not answered |
| If the Voucher Scheme were not available would you
claim and use a Concessionary Bus Pass? |
31 |
17.2% |
Yes |
| 145 |
80.6% |
No |
| 4 |
2.2% |
Not answered |
Contact
Tel: 01304 872122
Email: confares@dover.gov.uk
