Why do we over complicate things!
should be the same policy throughout England.
Free bus/tram travel after 0930 Monday to Friday (until 2359)
Free bus/tram travel all day Sat-Sun
Flat fare of £2 for any Pass holder before 0930 (gets round split ticket issue)
No concessionary rail travel, give all seniors a free Senior Railcard.
Easy and fair to ALL seniors in England!
But what if they board the bus at 09:20 and the bus fare to the 09:30 stop is only £1.60, can they split the ticket then so it's cheaper
Joking aside, there does need to be a simpler policy. I think the bare minimum currently is 09:30 until 23:00 Mon-Fri and then all day Saturday and Sunday. The majority of councils stretch this to 'until last bus' because there isn't much difference. Earlier routes are normally done by county councils or PTEs because they get a bit more money compared to single tier unitary councils.
Tram travel should be included in concessionary passes under the same rules but that would be too easy and you can't play political football with that (compared to offering it for local concessionary passes and sometimes charging a pass addon fee)
Concessionary Railcard I do agree with some slight payment. Charge the £10 per year for the train 'addon' but that is valid on every train (after 09:30 Mon-Fri and all day Sat/Sun). The Railcard is only valid with your normal concessionary pass and have some numbers which must match between the passes.
The £10 addon might not be much but it does put money back into the network. Even if the £10 covers the admin fees, it is £10 less which the taxpayer subsidises.