London’s flagship concessionary travel scheme, the Freedom Pass, is facing its most searching examination in years after London Councils confirmed that the benefit is under review in response to rapidly escalating costs.

The move has ignited concern among older and disabled residents who rely on the pass for everyday mobility, and raised broader questions about how the capital funds free and discounted travel at a time of intense pressure on local authority budgets.

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Freedom Pass Under Review as Costs Surge Toward £372 Million

London Councils, which represents the capital’s 33 local authorities and administers the Freedom Pass, has confirmed that officials are undertaking a detailed review of the scheme’s design and long-term sustainability.

The announcement follows internal forecasts showing that the annual cost of providing free travel for eligible Londoners is set to jump by nearly 12 percent in the next financial year alone.

Spending on the Freedom Pass is expected to rise from just under £333 million in 2025–26 to about £372 million in 2026–27, according to figures shared with councillors on the transport and environment committee.

Projections indicate that, if current trends in fares and demographic change continue, the bill could approach £500 million a year by the end of the decade.

Officials stress that no immediate cuts or eligibility changes have been agreed, and that pass holders can continue to use the scheme as normal.

However, the confirmation that a formal review is under way signals that all options are being examined behind the scenes, from technical changes to the way the scheme is funded to more politically sensitive questions about who qualifies and for what level of benefit.

What the Freedom Pass Currently Provides for Londoners

The Freedom Pass is widely regarded as one of the most generous concessionary travel schemes in the United Kingdom.

It offers more than 1.2 million older and disabled Londoners free travel on almost all public transport within Greater London, including the Underground, Elizabeth line, London Overground, buses, trams and most National Rail services in the capital.

Older Londoners become eligible from their 66th birthday, aligning with the state pension age, while disabled residents can qualify regardless of age if they meet specific criteria.

The pass provides unlimited free bus travel at all times of day, and free rail and Tube travel off peak, typically after 9am on Transport for London services and after 9.30am on National Rail, as well as at any time on weekends and public holidays.

Uniquely, the Freedom Pass also extends to free local bus travel across the rest of England, meaning eligible Londoners can use it beyond the capital’s boundaries.

This breadth of coverage, and the fact that it applies to multiple modes rather than buses alone, has long been a point of pride for London’s boroughs but is now a major driver of cost.

Why Costs Are Climbing So Rapidly

The financial pressures behind the review are rooted in a combination of demographic change, rising fares and post-pandemic shifts in travel patterns.

London Councils’ own modelling shows that the number of residents aged 66 and over is growing by more than 2 percent a year, steadily increasing the pool of people entitled to a Freedom Pass.

At the same time, annual rail and Tube fare increases in and around the capital are pushing up the reimbursement payments that councils must make to Transport for London and train operators.

London Councils estimates that its settlement with TfL alone will rise from around £307 million to about £343 million in 2026–27, with payments to rail companies also increasing.

Since the pandemic, public transport use by older and disabled passengers has gradually recovered from its lows, with more journeys now being made on buses, the Underground and the Elizabeth line using Freedom Passes.

Each additional journey adds to the reimbursement bill that boroughs have to cover.

Officials also point to smaller but still significant cost pressures, such as the new requirement from 2026–27 for London Councils to pay TfL for each Oyster-based Freedom Pass card that is produced, after years in which the cards were provided free of charge.

Options on the Table: Age Limits, Means Testing and Rail Restrictions

Although London Councils emphasises that no specific reform has been chosen and that elected members will ultimately decide any changes, several potential cost-saving options have already been identified.

Among the most sensitive is the possibility of raising the age at which Londoners become eligible, which would reduce the number of active pass holders in the short to medium term.

Another option under discussion is means testing, which would limit access to free travel to those on lower incomes rather than granting it universally to all residents above a certain age.

Supporters of this idea argue that asking better-off retirees to pay their own fares could protect the scheme for those who need it most. Critics counter that means testing would add administrative complexity and might discourage take-up among people who are entitled but reluctant to prove their financial circumstances.

Perhaps the most structurally significant proposal is to scale back the Freedom Pass so that it mirrors concessionary schemes elsewhere in England by covering buses only, removing free travel on the Underground, Elizabeth line, London Overground, trams and most local National Rail services.

London Councils’ own figures suggest that if the pass were restricted to buses, the annual cost could fall from well over £300 million to around £224 million, a reduction of nearly a third.

Any such change, however, would require primary legislation at Westminster to amend the Greater London Authority Act, which currently guarantees the broader benefit.

Political, Social and Equity Debates Around the Scheme

The review comes amid an increasingly heated public debate about the fairness and long-term viability of universal free travel for older Londoners.

Recent social media exchanges involving television presenter Kirstie Allsopp and children’s author Michael Rosen brought the Freedom Pass into the national spotlight, with critics suggesting that affluent recipients should not rely on a benefit funded by stretched local authorities.

Many pensioners’ groups, disability advocates and transport campaigners argue that such criticism overlooks the vital role the Freedom Pass plays in tackling isolation, enabling access to healthcare, volunteering and part-time work, and supporting the wider economy by encouraging older people to travel, shop and socialise.

They warn that curbing benefits could have knock-on costs for the health and social care systems that outweigh any savings on transport.

The debate also touches on wider questions of intergenerational equity and regional fairness. While older Londoners enjoy a multi-modal Freedom Pass, many counterparts elsewhere in England only have free bus travel, and even that is under financial strain.

At the same time, younger Londoners facing high housing costs and fares receive far more limited support outside specific student and low-income schemes, prompting periodic calls for a broader rethink of how transport concessions are structured across age groups.

Impact on London Councils’ Finances and Local Services

The soaring cost of the Freedom Pass is hitting borough balance sheets at a time when local government finances in the capital are widely described by council leaders as being in crisis.

Several London boroughs have already sought exceptional financial support from central government in order to balance their budgets for 2025–26, citing pressures from homelessness, social care and temporary accommodation.

Councils currently rely heavily on revenue from parking charges and motoring fines to subsidise concessionary travel. In many boroughs, surplus income from penalty charge notices is funneled into the Freedom Pass budget, enabling councils to maintain the scheme without making even deeper cuts to other services.

Proposals from central government to tighten rules on the use of such income have therefore raised alarms, with London Councils warning that any loss of this funding stream could place the Freedom Pass and other concessions under direct threat.

Individual boroughs are already feeling the squeeze. Councillors in areas such as Richmond, Kingston and Bromley report double-digit percentage increases in the sums they must contribute to the scheme, even in districts without Underground stations, where much of the benefit is delivered via bus and local rail services.

Some describe the Freedom Pass as an increasingly “expensive burden” that risks crowding out spending on core statutory services unless a more sustainable funding model can be found.

What This Means for Visitors and the Wider Transport Network

For domestic and international visitors to London, the Freedom Pass review is a reminder of how central concessionary travel is to the city’s broader transport ecosystem.

While tourists themselves are not eligible for the scheme, they share buses, trains and Tube carriages with Freedom Pass holders, and the financial flows underpinning the concession help shape fares, crowding patterns and service levels across the network.

If the scheme were eventually scaled back, some older and disabled Londoners might travel less frequently or avoid peak periods, with modest effects on crowding.

Others might switch from rail to buses if free underground and rail travel were curtailed, potentially adding pressure to certain bus corridors popular with residents and visitors alike.

Conversely, preserving the current “all modes” offer would continue to support a widely distributed pattern of travel that underpins neighborhood high streets, cultural venues and visitor attractions across Greater London.

For many overseas observers, the Freedom Pass has long stood as a symbol of London’s approach to inclusive, public-transport-led mobility.

The fact that it is now under review will be watched closely by other major cities grappling with how to support older and disabled travelers in an era of constrained public finances and evolving travel habits.

FAQ

Q1. Is the Freedom Pass being scrapped?
The Freedom Pass is not being scrapped, but London Councils has confirmed that the scheme is under review because of rapidly rising costs. Officials are examining options to ensure it remains financially sustainable, but no final decisions on changes have been taken.

Q2. Will my existing Freedom Pass still work as normal?
Yes. London Councils and Transport for London have said that pass holders can continue to use their Freedom Pass as usual. Any future changes would require consultation and political approval, and would not take effect overnight.

Q3. Why are the costs of the Freedom Pass going up so much?
Costs are increasing because more Londoners are reaching the qualifying age, public transport fares are rising each year, and travel demand among older and disabled passengers has recovered following the pandemic. Together, these factors are pushing annual spending on the scheme toward an estimated £372 million in 2026–27.

Q4. What kinds of changes are being considered in the review?
Options under discussion include raising the eligibility age, introducing means testing so that only those on lower incomes receive free travel, or restricting the scheme to buses instead of all modes. Any significant move, especially removing rail and Tube benefits, could require changes to national legislation.

Q5. Could free travel on the Underground and rail be removed?
It is one of the scenarios being modelled. London Councils has indicated that restricting the Freedom Pass to buses only could substantially reduce annual costs. However, such a change would be politically contentious and legally complex, so it is far from guaranteed.

Q6. How is the Freedom Pass funded at the moment?
The scheme is paid for largely by London’s borough councils, which reimburse Transport for London and train operators for journeys made by pass holders. Councils use a combination of core funding, council tax and income from parking charges and motoring fines to meet their share of the bill.

Q7. Does this review affect the 60+ London Oyster card as well?
The 60+ London Oyster card is a separate, TfL-run concession for residents aged 60 to 65, and it is not directly part of London Councils’ Freedom Pass review. However, the two schemes are often considered together when officials assess the broader cost of concessionary travel in the capital.

Q8. I received a letter about confirming my address. Is that linked to the cost review?
London Councils has recently carried out a mid-term address review to verify that Freedom Pass holders still live in a London borough and remain eligible. While this process helps keep records accurate and prevent misuse, it is separate from the wider strategic review of the scheme’s long-term costs and design.

Q9. As a visitor to London, can I get a Freedom Pass or similar benefit?
No. The Freedom Pass is restricted to eligible residents of London’s boroughs. Visitors can instead use contactless payment or Oyster cards for pay-as-you-go travel, and may benefit from daily and weekly caps that limit how much they spend.

Q10. When will we know if any changes are going to happen?
There is no fixed public timetable, but the issue is expected to return to London Councils’ transport and environment committee later in the year as officials complete their analysis. Any substantial reform would likely involve public consultation and phased implementation, giving existing pass holders and stakeholders time to respond.