Got a Disabled Bus Pass? You’ll Soon Travel Free All Day
- 23 hours ago
- 9 min read
Last checked: 18th of August 2026.
Disabled bus pass rules in England are changing, with the current weekday time restrictions set to disappear from the 1st of April, 2027. An eligible disabled-person bus pass will be valid for free travel on qualifying local buses regardless of the time of day, rather than the national entitlement beginning at 9.30am on weekdays.
The change could be particularly useful for anyone currently paying for an early bus to work, college, appointments or another regular commitment because their pass isn't yet valid. The Government has confirmed £60 million of funding for the change.
At the moment, the statutory English concession normally provides free travel between 9.30am and 11pm from Monday to Friday, with free travel throughout weekends and bank holidays. Some councils already offer more generous local arrangements, which has meant two people with the same type of national pass can face different costs simply because they live in different places.
The new rule creates the same all-day national entitlement for eligible disabled-person pass holders across England.
What is changing for disabled bus pass holders?
The 9.30am weekday start time and 11pm finish will be removed from the national disabled-person concession. From the 1st of April next year, holders will be able to use their qualifying pass whenever an eligible local bus service is running, including weekday morning journeys that currently fall outside the national entitlement.
The change matters because the existing hours can be awkward for anyone who needs to start work, education or training before mid-morning. A pass may currently entitle someone to free travel home later in the day while still leaving them paying for the journey there in the morning. Removing the time restriction means the same pass can cover both journeys where the bus service itself qualifies.
Some areas already provide this benefit locally, so not every pass holder will notice a change. Greater Manchester removed the time restriction for disabled pass holders earlier this year, while Disabled Person's Freedom Pass holders already have unrestricted use of TfL buses within London. The national change mainly removes the differences that still exist elsewhere in England.
How much could the new disabled bus pass rule save you?
The saving depends on how often you currently travel outside the free hours and what you pay for those journeys. Someone who rarely catches a weekday bus before 9.30am may see little financial difference, while a regular commuter could save money every working week.
By the time the new disabled bus pass hours begin, single bus fares on participating services in England outside London are due to be capped at £2. I recently covered the new £2 bus fare cap and how it works, which starts before the disabled-pass change takes effect.
As a simple example, someone currently paying £2 for one morning journey before 9.30am on each of five working days would spend £10 a week getting to work before their free pass became valid. Across 46 working weeks, that would be around £460, so removing the restriction could make a noticeable difference to an annual travel budget. This is only an illustration, because actual savings depend on the route, frequency of travel and what the passenger currently pays.
Who qualifies for a disabled person's bus pass?
Having a disability doesn't automatically mean someone qualifies for the statutory disabled-person bus pass, because the national scheme uses seven categories set out in law. Local councils administer applications and assess whether the evidence provided meets those criteria. Government guidance on disabled bus pass eligibility explains the categories and how councils should assess applications.
The seven statutory categories cover people who are:
blind or partially sighted;
profoundly or severely deaf;
without speech;
unable or virtually unable to walk because of a disability;
without arms, or unable to use both arms;
living with a qualifying learning disability; or
unable to obtain a driving licence on specified medical grounds, excluding refusal connected with drug or alcohol misuse.
The Government's guidance says qualifying disabilities should generally be permanent, have lasted for at least 12 months, be expected to last for at least 12 months or be likely to recur. The effect must also be substantial enough to affect normal day-to-day activities. The final assessment remains with the local authority issuing the pass.
Do you automatically qualify if you get PIP?
Receiving Personal Independence Payment doesn't by itself create a blanket automatic entitlement to a disabled-person bus pass. The Government recommends that councils can treat some awards as strong enough evidence without another assessment, but the final decision still rests with the local authority.
The guidance specifically refers to people awarded at least eight points in either the PIP Moving Around activity or the Communicating Verbally activity, provided the award covers the required period. Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance and War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement are also listed as benefit awards that may support this type of automatic assessment. Councils still retain responsibility for deciding whether an applicant qualifies.
That distinction is important because simply writing “PIP recipients get free bus passes” would be wrong. Someone receiving PIP for reasons that don't meet the statutory bus-pass criteria may need other evidence or may not qualify under the national scheme. If you're unsure, use the GOV.UK disabled bus pass application service to find the council responsible for applications where you live.
Can disabled children get a free bus pass?
Eligible disabled children and young people of fare-paying age can also qualify under the national scheme. The legislation doesn't restrict the disabled-person concession to adults, and government guidance specifically says eligible disabled children and young people who would otherwise pay a fare can receive the mandatory concession.
The same disability criteria and evidence requirements still apply, with the local authority deciding whether the application meets them. This means parents shouldn't assume a child must wait until adulthood before applying simply because the scheme is often discussed in relation to adult work and travel. The council issuing the pass can explain what evidence it accepts for a child or young person.
This is separate from temporary free-travel promotions aimed at children more generally. The disabled-person concession is an ongoing entitlement for people who meet its rules, rather than a school-holiday offer or age-based fare deal.
Can you use a disabled bus pass anywhere in England?
An English National Concessionary Travel Scheme pass can be used on eligible local bus services across England, not only within the council area that issued it. That national acceptance is already part of the scheme and remains an important benefit when visiting family, going on holiday or making journeys outside your home area.
The word “bus” matters. The national entitlement doesn't automatically provide free travel on trains, trams, taxis, coaches, ferries or every specialist transport service, although individual councils and transport authorities can provide extra concessions locally. Check the rules where you're travelling if your journey involves something other than an ordinary eligible local bus.
Local extras can also differ. A council may provide companion travel, free rail or tram journeys or other benefits for its residents, but those additions don't always transfer when the pass is used elsewhere. The new national announcement concerns the time restriction on the disabled-person bus concession rather than making every locally funded extra benefit national.
Does 24/7 free travel mean buses will run all night?
No. “24/7” describes when the pass can be accepted, not the timetable of the bus service itself. If your local route stops running at 10pm, the new rule doesn't create a new midnight service.
Where a qualifying night or very early morning local bus does operate, an eligible disabled-person pass should no longer be ruled out simply because of the time. That distinction matters because the headline phrase “24/7 free bus travel” could otherwise sound as if every pass holder is being given access to round-the-clock services.
You will still need to check the operator's timetable in the normal way. The financial change is that an eligible journey won't lose its free status solely because it takes place before 9.30am or after 11pm on a weekday.
What happens to companion bus passes?
Companion travel isn't currently a universal part of the statutory English concession, so the position can depend on the council that issued the additional entitlement. Government guidance gives companion travel as an example of an extra concession that local authorities may choose to provide alongside the national scheme.
That means a disabled pass holder shouldn't assume today's announcement automatically makes a companion's travel free nationwide at every hour. Councils including Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire, for example, offer forms of companion concession, but their geographical and operating rules differ.
If your pass includes a companion entitlement, check with the issuing council closer to the change to see whether its local companion rules are being altered as well. The new national commitment is specifically to remove the time restriction for eligible disabled people using their own concessionary passes.
Will older people's bus passes become free 24/7 too?
The announcement applies specifically to disabled-person bus passes. It does not announce the same national removal of weekday time restrictions for older-person concessionary passes, which are a separate category within the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme.
That distinction is easy to miss because both types of pass currently share the same national off-peak hours in much of England. The disabled-person pass can usually be recognised by the orange strip on the standard ENCTS card, while the older-person version uses a blue strip.
Local councils can still choose to offer older residents more generous travel than the national minimum. Anyone using an older-person pass should therefore continue checking the rules of the authority that issued it rather than assuming the new disabled-pass announcement applies to them.
Do existing pass holders need to apply again?
The Government has announced a change to when existing eligible disabled-person passes can be used, rather than announcing a replacement concessionary pass scheme. The release doesn't tell current pass holders to make a new application or replace a valid card simply because the national hours are changing.
If you already hold a valid disabled-person bus pass, there is therefore nothing in the announcement suggesting you need to apply again now. Operational information can still be issued before the new hours begin, so check communications from your council or transport authority nearer the time, particularly if your pass is due to expire anyway.
People who don't currently have a pass still apply through their local authority. GOV.UK has a postcode tool to find where to apply for a disabled person's bus pass, and the council will tell you what supporting evidence it needs.
Why could the change make a bigger difference to commuters?
The current 9.30am restriction can mean that a disabled person has a free bus pass but still has to pay for the journey most closely associated with getting to a conventional morning job. Removing that restriction brings the national concession into a part of the day when many work, education and medical journeys actually happen.
The Government says the change is backed by £60 million, with £40 million coming from the Department for Work and Pensions and £20 million from the Department for Transport. The stated aim includes reducing transport costs while making work, training, education and appointments easier to reach.
The money-saving effect will vary widely, so it isn't sensible to attach one national saving figure to every pass holder. For somebody already living in an area with all-day disabled travel there may be no new saving at all, while someone buying a weekday morning ticket five times a week could keep hundreds of pounds over a full year.
What should disabled bus pass holders do now?
There is no need to wait until next year if you think you may already qualify for a pass. Applications are handled by local councils now, and a valid disabled-person pass still provides the existing national off-peak entitlement before the all-day rules begin.
If you already have a pass, check whether your council currently offers extra hours. You may discover that early travel is already free locally, meaning you don't need to wait for the national change, although the current extension may apply only within that council's area.
It is also worth checking this against the wider changes to bus prices. My guide to the £2 bus fare cap explains what passengers paying for journeys can expect, while this disabled bus pass change removes the fare altogether on qualifying journeys once the new national hours take effect.
For anyone currently paying because their first weekday bus leaves before 9.30am, keep an eye on your council's information as the start date approaches. A bus ticket that feels like a small daily expense can add up when it is bought every working day, and this is one change where checking what your pass actually covers could leave a meaningful amount of money in your monthly budget.
Frequently asked questions
When will disabled bus passes work before 9.30am?
The national time restriction will be removed from the 1st of April next year. From that date, eligible disabled-person bus passes in England will provide free travel on qualifying local buses regardless of the time of day.
Can I use a disabled bus pass anywhere in England?
An English National Concessionary Travel Scheme disabled-person pass can be used on eligible local bus services across England. The pass does not automatically cover every coach, train, tram or specialist transport service, although councils may provide extra local concessions.
Who qualifies for a disabled person's bus pass?
Eligibility is based on seven statutory disability categories covering areas including sight, hearing, speech, walking, use of the arms, learning disability and being unable to hold a driving licence for certain medical reasons. Your local authority assesses applications and decides whether the evidence meets the rules.
Do you automatically get a disabled bus pass if you receive PIP?
Not simply because you receive PIP. Government guidance recommends that councils may treat some awards as automatic evidence, including at least eight points for the PIP Moving Around or Communicating Verbally activities, but the final eligibility decision rests with the local authority.
Will older people's bus passes also become valid 24 hours a day?
The new national change announced by the Government applies to disabled-person bus passes. It does not announce the same removal of weekday time restrictions for older-person concessionary passes.
Does free travel at any time mean buses will run all night?
No. The change removes the time restriction on when an eligible disabled bus pass can be used, but it does not require bus operators to run services 24 hours a day. You can travel free whenever a qualifying service is actually operating.
