20th August 2026 • My Family Our Needs

The Government has announced that disabled people in England are to get free 24-hour bus travel from April 2027.

Currently, disabled bus passes are only eligible to be used between the hours of 9.30am and 11.00pm on weekdays but can be used at any time on weekends and bank holidays.

However, this limited travel timeframe during the week can make it difficult for disabled travellers to get to work or attend events that run into the night. 

It is thought that roughly one million people could benefit from this change to the bus pass rules which form a part of the Government’s focus on reducing the cost of living and encouraging people into work.

Speaking on this change, the disability charity Scope said that it would ‘remove barriers to everyday life’.

The Government argues that bus travel is the most popular mode of transportation in England and a ‘lifeline for so many’.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said, ‘[it is] simply not right that many disabled people cannot travel using their pass during certain times of the day’.

This move follows on from Burnham’s work as Mayor of Greater Manchester, where earlier this year, he removed time-restricted travel for those with disabled pass basses in Manchester, allowing disabled bus pass holders to make use of the city’s bus system at any time of day.

This change has its supporters, such as Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, who called it a ‘huge win for the disabled community’.

However, it is not without its naysayers. A Conservative Party spokesperson asked the prime minister to ‘come clean’ as to how he was going to fund his new policies.

Disability charities across the country are welcoming the change but some argue that it is only one step on a long journey.

Sophia Kleanthous, Policy and Campaigns Officer at Disability Rights UK, said ‘We welcome the Government’s announcement to remove time restrictions on all disabled person bus passes – to give disabled people the freedom to travel when and where we want. […] But this is only part of the journey.

‘Disabled people still face a complex postcode lottery of confusing eligibility systems, depending on where we live and the use of PIP to determine eligibility. This means that our access to buses is tied to a benefits system that we know isn’t meeting everyone’s needs.

‘We are also concerned that the Government is once again focusing on work as a reason to improve access which should already exist. The Government must work with disabled people’s organisations to ensure the whole system is transformed and not just the time we use that system.’

The changes will reportedly come into effect on April 1st 2027, with funding for the scheme supplied by the Department for Transport’s and Department for Work and Pensions’ budgets.

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