If you’ve got a blue badge or disabled person’s bus pass, you may now qualify for a Disabled Person’s Railcard as the eligibility criteria for the scheme has been expanded from 1 March.
Until now, the Disabled Person’s Railcard had only been available to those receiving certain benefits or with certain medical conditions. It will remain available to those people. However, eligibility has been expanded to cover a wider range of both visible and non-visible disabilities, meaning more people will be able to apply for one.
The criteria now includes those who:
- Have a blue badge.
- Have a disabled person’s bus pass (England, Scotland and Wales).
- Have a disabled person’s Freedom Pass (London only).
- Can’t drive on medical grounds.
- Receive Armed Forces Compensation Scheme benefits.
- Receive Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit for 20% degree of disablement or higher.
- Are without speech.
There are also plans to extend eligibility again in September to include people with some long-term or degenerative health conditions and neurodiversity that has a substantial impact on a person’s ability to travel by train.
The Disabled Person’s Railcard gives you a third off most fares. It can also be used to get one-third off a Transport for London (TfL) travelcard for zones 1-9 and Oyster pay-as-you-go travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Elizabeth line, London buses and more.
If you’re a wheelchair user and will be staying in your chair for the journey: you and a companion can get 34% off anytime singles or returns and anytime day singles, and 50% off anytime day returns, both standard and first class, on adult and child fares. You don’t need a Disabled Person’s Railcard to get these discounts. But to take advantage of them, tickets must be purchased from a staffed train station ticket office.
The Railcard costs £20 a year or £54 for three years. You can find out more on the Disabled Person’s Railcard website.
Source: Money Saving Expert
