If a person lives in England, they can get a bus pass for free travel when they reach the female state pension age, whether they are a man or a woman. In the past, the state pension age was 60 for women and 65 for men, but changes have seen the state pension age for women rise to be in line with men, reaching 65 in November 2018. The state pension age for both men and women has since risen further, and more increases are set to come into effect in the future.

If a person lives in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the website says that they can get an older person’s bus pass when they’re 60.

Elsewhere in the UK, women affected by the changes to the state pension age may be set to benefit from a new concessionary travel scheme, should the idea get the backing of councillors next week.

The WASPI campaign supports the principle of equalisation of the state pension age, but says it does not agree with the way in which the changes were implemented.

Campaigners have said that “many women” and their families are suffering huge financial difficulties, claiming this is because of the way in which the changes in the 1995 and 2011 Pension Acts were implemented.

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Now, Durham County Council’s Cabinet has been recommended to approve a scheme that would enable women born between December 1953 and November 5 1954, who have not already reached state pension age, to take advantage of free travel and reduced fares on bus services.

According to Durham County Council, approximately 3,000 women in County Durham fall into this group.

Some of these women already qualify for the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ECNTS), but according to the Northern Echo, an estimated 1,000 women would be able to benefit from the proposal in County Durham.

WASPI bus pass scheme: How would it work?

In a bid to help “alleviate some of the financial hardship”, the proposal is to introduce a discretionary travel scheme.