Call out for bus pass holders in Darlington
There are approximately 12,000 passes held by people who qualify on age and a further 2,000 passes held by disabled people, some of which have companion entitlement.
To help smooth the way for this renewal, pass holders will need to update their personal details including, name, address and telephone number, if they have changed in the last five years, and not already told the Concessionary Travel Team.
This can be done in two ways, either by emailing the team at: concessionarytravel@darlington.gov.uk or by phone: 01325 405222. Due to Covid restrictions, pass holders are asked not to call into the Customer Contact centre at the Town Hall.
If anyone is struggling to contact the team, they can ask a close family member or carer to call or email on their behalf.
The introduction of a new online bus pass system in March, will help with COVID restrictions, as this will limit unnecessary face to face contact.
The online bus pass system will initially only be available for people who have a bus pass on the basis of their age. These pass holders will be able to renew their pass online from 4 March. More details on this will be added to the council’s bus pass webpage shortly at www.darlington.gov.uk/bus-pass
Disabled bus pass holders will have their bus pass automatically renewed, so will not need to do anything other than advise the council if their personal details have changed.
Councillor Andy Keir, Darlington Borough Council’s cabinet member for Transport, said:
“Although many people are not using their bus pass at the moment, it is important that we start this process early, and gather any changes to personal contact details, to ensure we are ready for the renewal.
“Concessionary bus passes are a lifeline for many people, and we want to make sure that their passes are kept up to date. This is the first step in the process and we are urging people to let us know of any changes. If there are no changes then nothing needs to be done, just sit tight until news of the next stage in the renewal process is released in the next month or so.”
