The free travel scheme applies to all those who have attained pensionable age (i.e. 66 years of age or over), to blind persons aged 18 or over and to persons receiving social welfare type payments as permanently incapacitated person. The scheme enables those people to travel free on certain bus, train and ferry services and it also provides free travel for accompanying spouses or, in the case of recipients of disabled person's maintenance allowance who cannot travel alone, for their companions.
A reduction to 60 years of age in the age requirement for those in receipt of widows pensions would create a demand for similar treatment to be given to those in receipt of other social welfare payments. Such a development would have significant cost implications and could only be considered in a budgetary context.