§ Mr. Gregory CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland have used the Free Fares for Senior Citizens scheme on public transport in Northern Ireland since its introduction; and how many people used the previous discounted fares scheme over an equivalent time period leading up to the introduction of the Free Fares for Senior Citizens scheme. [169761]
§ Mr. SpellarFree travel for Northern Ireland residents aged 65 and over was introduced in October 2001. Translink do not have information about the number of people who have used he scheme since its introduction, but do have records of the number of passenger journeys undertaken. Those records show that 17,620,940 free passenger journeys were undertaken on Ulsterbus and City bus services between October 2001 and April 2004. Figures are not available for Northern Ireland Railways for this period.
Translink have advised that passenger journey figures are unavailable for half fare concessions prior to October 2001.