Liberal Democrats Leading the Fight for Equal Bus Access in West Yorkshire

Disability doesn’t clock on at 9:30 am. It never has, and pretending it does is discrimination - pure and simple. 

Under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS), disabled residents in West Yorkshire are shut out of free bus travel during the very hours when life happens: the school run, early shifts, 8:30 lectures, 9:00 am hospital and physio appointments. That arbitrary gate doesn’t just inconvenience people; it undermines independence, blocks opportunity, and sends a cruel message that disabled people can participate, but only after mid-morning.

The Liberal Democrats are leading the campaign to end this now. We brought a motion to Bradford Council calling on the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and the Mayor to remove the morning restriction and allow 24/7 use of the Disabled Person’s Travel Pass across our region. We cited the evidence, the lived experience, and the simple moral case. And we are proud that councillors from across the chamber voiced support.

Our case is clear. 

Across England, disabled access before 9:30 is a postcode lottery. Some areas already do the right thing with 24/7 travel; others force people to wait until mid-morning or pay up when they can least afford it. Tom Gordon MP (Harrogate & Knaresborough) has tirelessly pressed this issue in Parliament, demonstrating that roughly a third of transport authorities already remove the time limit for disabled passholders and that “something before 9:30” is not the same as equal access. Work, college, and clinics all start before 9:30. If a policy blocks people at the exact time life demands they travel, that policy is discriminatory.

Local experience backs this up. Disability Action Yorkshire reports residents being priced out of morning trips to work or study. Whizz Kidz hears the same from young wheelchair users: buses are the only practical and affordable option; taxis are too expensive; rail assistance is unreliable and often unavailable. The Royal National Institute for the Blind describes early buses as a lifeline. These aren’t optional journeys; they are essential steps to participate fully in work, education, healthcare and family life.

And then there’s the cost-of-living reality. Scope’s work shows disabled households face hundreds of pounds in extra essential costs every month. Saying “just pay the fare before 9:30” is not a solution—it’s a shrug. When your budget is swallowed by medical equipment, heating and care, that fare can be the difference between getting to your appointment and missing it.

Here’s the good news: 

Fixing this is feasible and affordable. WYCA’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) runs to over £125 million, with new funding this year. Elsewhere, it has been shown that roughly one per cent of BSIP revenue covered reimbursements for full-time disabled travel. National estimates suggest removing the 9:30 restriction for disabled passholders would cost around one per cent of annual concessionary spend. In other words: a modest sum for a transformative change.

Some raise capacity worries. Let’s be honest: disabled passholders are a minority of concessionary users, and many are of working age, the very people who most need morning access. Any additional demand can be measured and managed. In fact, encouraging morning bus use supports our broader goals on congestion, clean air and climate. It’s the right thing to do—and the smart thing, too.

At Bradford Council, we made a practical, targeted ask: remove the weekday 9:30 start for disabled passholders, allocate a small share of revenue (for example, from BSIP) to implement and evaluate the change, and press nationally for consistency so local progress is locked in. There was support from all sides. As Cllr Brendan Stubbs put it,  

“We are pleased to see widespread support and hope that Labour Councillors will go further, pressing the West Yorkshire Mayor to remove the morning ban and allow disabled passengers to use their travel passes on any bus at any time.”

The Liberal Democrats are leading, but the decision now sits squarely with the Labour Party—at every level:

• In Government, Labour can end this discrimination nationally by changing the rules of ENCTS for disabled passholders.
• At WYCA, Labour’s elected Mayor can act now to remove the morning ban across West Yorkshire, no more excuses, no more waiting for pilots over the hill.
• In our councils and in Parliament, Labour councillors and MPs can back this change publicly and press for the funding and guidance to make 24/7 access permanent.

This is not a “nice to have.” It’s a necessary correction to a rule that excludes a protected group at the most time-critical part of the day. Under the Public Sector Equality Duty, public bodies must advance equality of opportunity and remove barriers. You don’t advance equality by telling disabled people to wait until 9:30. You advance equality by opening the bus door when people actually need to travel.

So let’s be candid. Every day we keep the 9:30 ban, we are choosing a policy that sidelines disabled residents, workers, parents, students, and volunteers when they most need fair access. That is discrimination. It must end now.

The Liberal Democrats have set out the path. The numbers add up. The evidence is overwhelming. The human case is undeniable.

Labour now has a choice: act, through Government, through the West Yorkshire Mayor, and through your councillors and MPs, or defend a discriminatory barrier that has already outlived any justification. West Yorkshire can lead with compassion and common sense. Open the network. Make the pass valid on any bus, any time.