The ENTCS scheme needs to be heavily overhauled.
One way of doing this is to change the start time from 0930 to 1030 in the morning and the end time from 2300 to 2100 which would allow operators an extra hour in the morning and an extra two in the evening to raise revenue which is vital to keep the service going, the bus cannot run on fresh air and the driver won't work for free.
The alternative is to introduce an afternoon peak restriction between 1600 and 1830 meaning the ENTCS pass won't qualify for free travel in these times, however the disabled (orange stripe) version would remain valid as the holder could be blind, deaf or have a hidden disability e.g autism (and there are different grades to those who are autisic, some are mild and some are servere).
The restriction would only apply to the senior (blue stripe) version, as Ethel and Doris may simply be busing it around the county / unitary for the day as its free but at what cost? If the route doesn't make any cash - its withdrawn, as operators won't waste valuble resources that could go towards improving a route that does make cash.
The other solution would be limiting the pass to certain journey's of the day e.g. the pass is valid on journeys between 0930 and 1230 into the nearest town / city with reasonable facilities, the return journey must be made between 1345 and 1600. Which would cut down on those who are just travelling for the sake of it. Reasonable facilities includes access to NHS services such as doctors surgery and hospital, access to a range of retailers, access to financial services which would include the post office. The pass would be restriction free at the weekends.
My solutions are by all means not brilliant but its a start.
Evening cut off, I think should be implemented. Very few passes are being used at these times anyway so it wouldn't affect many but it will generate a few extra pounds. A later morning start time I think would cause more harm than good.
The other options which you state I don't agree with at all.
It's interesting how so very many people are keen to see the scheme "properly funded" who would also not be at all keen to see themselves paying for it. For example, a significant increase in Vehicle Excise Duty or Fuel Duty should do the trick. But those are probably worse actions politically than cutting the free travel would be.
1 pence increase in fuel duty could enable an extra 40p per concessionary pass accepted.
(Based on 37bn litres of fuel sold for retail (not commercial use) divided by the 844 million concessionary bus journeys in the UK each year).
I didn't have a choice, I was on JSA at the time and the Job Centre decided an 1+ commute was acceptable...
The Job Centres new rules is that a 90 minute commute is acceptable (from door to door).
For what it's worth, here is my opinion.
There does need to be better funding for concessionary passes (a CEO of a big company said on Twitter a few months back that if concessionary reimbursement was 100%, he would be able to introduce a £1.70 (or thereabouts) flat fare for all passengers. Fares are only this high because of the reimbursement so it's swings and roundabouts. Higher fares means more concessionary passes but less overall paying passengers.
The passes definitely need restricting a little bit more but I would also go as far as to say let pass holders pay half fare between 9 and half 9 to try and spread out some of the pass use (A concessionary pass holder paying half fare is equivalent to letting a child on the bus so you don't really lose out and you wouldn't need reimbursement for a half fare compared to free fare for this half hour period).
At a time when councils are really being stretched with their funding, there need to be a much better way for the system to work. My proposals are below:
1. Charge £10 for the concessionary pass at issue and each renewal (This then covers the admin fees and maybe puts some money away for the operator reimbursement. This would raise 95 million pound so long as no cuts are made, this is a huge increase).
2. Charge a very small fee per journey (This is then in addition to the council reimbursement which should be kept level. More money for the operator however also more hassle for the passenger who needs to get the 30p or whatever together or the driver needs to have more little change)
3. Finally, you could look at some sort of scheme to give different reimbursement depending on the type of route. Short routes with fewer passes get much less reimbursement to give to those routes which serve the older people estates. This would affect some routes but might have more chance of saving the proper granny routes.