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  5. Older person's bus pass

Older person's bus pass

People of pensionable age are entitled to a bus pass giving free off-peak travel on local bus services anywhere in England.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an older person's bus pass, you must:

  • be a North Yorkshire resident 
  • reach the state pension age - check when you will reach state pension age on the government website

Apply for your first bus pass

You will need:

  • a digital passport style photo that clearly shows your full face to upload to your application
  • your own valid email address

Apply for a bus pass online

Update your details and track your applications

If you create a bus pass portal account, you can use it to:

  • track and update your application
  • update your address
  • replace a lost or damaged bus pass

Renewing your bus pass

Your older person's bus pass will renew automatically every five years. You will get a new one in the post before your old one expires.

If you move house

If you are moving to another address in North Yorkshire, you should update your address in your bus pass portal account. If you do not update your address, your pass could be sent to the wrong place.

If you are moving away from North Yorkshire, you need to return your pass to us and apply for a new one from the local authority you are moving to. You can check who you need to apply to on the government website.

If you are moving to North Yorkshire from somewhere else and you already have a bus pass from the last place you lived, you need to apply for a new bus pass from us. You should also return your other bus pass to the council who issued it.

Companion bus passes

If you are of state pension age and you apply for a disabled person's bus pass without a companion, we will automatically issue you an older person's bus pass instead. This means your pass will automatically renew every five years and you will not have to renew it yourself.

If you do need a companion, you need to contact us so we can issue you a companion pass. You can find more information about where you can use companion passes and the evidence you need to apply for one on our disabled person's bus pass page.

When and where you can use your pass

Visit our when and where you can use your bus pass page to find out which services you can use your bus pass on.

Lost, damaged or stolen bus passes

Visit our lost, damaged or stolen bus passes page to find out what you need to do if your pass is lost, damaged, stolen or hotlisted.

Return a bus pass

Visit our return a bus pass page to find out how you can return a bus pass to us.

Get help

If you need help applying for your bus pass or have any problems with our online bus pass portal, contact us during office hours for help.

You can also get help in person at our libraries across North Yorkshire. Find out more on our help to apply for a bus pass page.

Apple users

If you are using an Apple device, make sure you have updated your device with the latest iOS software. If you do not have the latest software update, you may not be able to access our online system properly.


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The council provides services across North Yorkshire including Harrogate, Ripon, Scarborough, Whitby, Northallerton, Thirsk, Selby, Tadcaster, Malton, Pickering, Richmond, Skipton and more.

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