TRAVEL PASS POLICY.

The current travel pass can be obtained not only by the elderly, but also by those with disabilities - see details here.

The Southport Party launched its radical new policy for travel passes issued in Southport in 2003.
No-one living in Southport would be any worse of following the introduction of this new travel passs which has the unique feature of giving the recipients something they have never had before - the choice between:

(1) A pass with exactly the same destinations as they have always had, as detailed in this Merseyrail map - which is fine if they wish to travel South and across the Wirral.

(2) A new pass centred on Southport and allowing travel North, South and East for distances of up to 25 miles as shown in this map:

You can easily see in the first map that Liverpool is considered to be the centre of travel. This may be very much to your advantage if you happen to live there, but leaves us in Southport out in the cold. Our new travel pass puts SOUTHPORT at the centre of travel, giving US some of the benefits that Liverpool has enjoyed for many years. It would allow free travel to Ormskirk, for example, where our maternity and Children's Accident and Emergency Services are now situated and to the excellent shopping centres in Preston and Wigan and you would still be able to travel to Liverpool City Centre.
There are no legal reasons that this policy could not become a reality, despite Councillor Dowd's letter in the Southport Visiter of 12th November 2003. The financial costs would be neutral as residents selecting option 2 would be relinquishing their right to free travel any further south than Liverpool City Centre. The subsidy given to Merseytravel by Sefton Council would be appropriately reduced and the amount saved given to the suppliers of the transport to Preston and Wigan. The additional result would, of course, be that the residents of the other districts within the Merseytravel area would have to bear an increase in their travel subsidy payments. We believe that this is only fair as it merely reflects the fact that Southport Council Tax payers will then no longer be subsidising their travel costs.