That's not the deal everywhere - the payment varies by local authority. I've heard of figures as low as 20% in some local authority areas - such that on some services the buses are uneconomic even if full of ENTCS pass holders.
OK, I accept that sometimes ENCTS may not hold up all services. The point I was really trying to make is that those who see the bus pass as '
something that they aren't getting, therefore OAP's shouldn't either' should be careful what they wish for. Road traffic in the daytime would certainly change as many drivers who really shouldn't be driving, will drive and taking up more roadspace than younger drivers may think is reasonable.
The universal granting of national bus passes is probably less expensive than many realise:
1) as Neil Williams says, the cost of travel on passes outside the holder's locality is relatively small
2) the dividing up of validity would exacerbate the problems of those living near to the local boundary where their necessary journeys have no correlation with such boundaries, (this could be particularly acute near large cities with their enhanced PTE coverage)
3) as usage probably falls with increasing income, the saving of any means test may not even approach the savings of removing the better-off from the scheme
4) time restrictions on validity seem to work where applied. Those lucky enough to have no limitations (PTEs, TfL and some counties like Herts) probably have very little effect on peak services, they are a small proportion of the total and the services would be there anyway, especially in the PTEs.
5) those in the margins that do need to use their passes to get to work may just give up and retire, thereby removing their income tax contributions, (or even become net claimants)
I think that the scheme is a relatively low-cost benefit that also has benefit to some non-users and should be continued. As far as I can see, the most effective way to reduce the costs would be for it to be taxable as a benefit in kind. The issuers would need to inform the tax authorities when passes are issued for an applicant that provided their NI number. I don't know how tax would be applied, below the personal allowance £10.5K would be to low, maybe the hiogher rate (40%) tax threshold would be too high.