Currently pensioners in Dartford have the option of applying for a Dartfare20 pass, which costs £5 and entitles them to a flat rate bus fare of 20p per journey, or a Kent wide pass which provides them with the statutory minimum 50% discount on bus journeys in Kent.

Pensioners in Wales and Scotland however and in London, Liverpool and other English metropolitan areas have the right to free off-peak travel on local public transport.

Speaking in 2004 Dr Stoate said, “I want to see a single concessionary regime in place that covers the whole of the country. I don’t think it is right that some pensioners receive free public transport whilst others miss out. Making public transport free for all pensioners would not only be fairer, but it would also allow pensioners to be more independent and more mobile.”

“One of the biggest problems with the present concessionary system is that pensioners are limited to travel within the boundaries of their local authorities. This means that pensioners in Southfleet and New Barn for example, who do their shopping in Gravesend or at Sainsbury’s in Pepper Hill, can’t use their Dartfare20 pass to get there. Similarly Dartford pensioners who live on the border with Bexley, can’t use their pass to visit Bexleyheath or Crayford, even though they are only a few miles away. This clearly isn’t right.”