MPs have joined forces with Basingstoke borough council lors in a bid to save travel tokens.
MPs Maria Miller and Sir George Young joined borough council cabinet member Clive Sanders to discuss concessionary fares with Bob Neill, parliamentary under secretary of state to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
North East Hampshire MP James Arbuthnot was away on parliamentary business in Afghanistan but sent his support for the meeting on January 17.
Cllr Sanders said: “The minister is obviously concerned to maintain the integrity of the national scheme.
“However, the unfairness to Basingstoke and Deane residents, particularly to the most vulnerable in our community, which results from the 'one size fits all' policy requires special measures to prevent an injustice being done.”
From April 1, Hampshire County Council will be responsible for providing concessionary travel and will fund the scheme by pooling cash currently set aside by district councils.
At present, the 14 district councils in Hampshire offer differing levels of support for elderly and disabled residents.
The county plan is to provide pensioners and the disabled with a bus pass giving them free travel between 9.30am and 11pm from Monday to Friday, and at any time during weekends.
The borough council has said it stands to lose out on £2.6 million of funding, but only £1.7 million of support is likely to be returned to residents under the new scheme.
In Basingstoke, 59 per cent of eligible residents benefit from the tokens, which enable them to use services such as Neighbour Care, Shopmobility and Dial-a-Ride.
Ms Miller said: “In our meeting with the minister, the borough council was able to clearly set out the unique challenges we face in Basingstoke and Deane. It has to be a priority to ensure that help is in place for those people in real need of support.”
Cllr Sanders argued that the county’s bus scheme would not work in the borough and asked the Government to consider special measures.
He said: “”The rural nature of our borough and the level of concessionary fare support provided by the council rather than from government grant, means that it is a practical impossibility for the new bus pass scheme to replace what we gave previously.
“Basingstoke and Deane is in a unique position, so this avoids any legal difficulties with other local authorities and makes an exception for the borough possible without undermining the basic principle nationally.
“Exceptional measures are required to achieve fairness for our residents and to ensure that support continues for the most vulnerable in our community.”
