Nov 17th, 2023

Author: donich_admin

Bus Pass (not mine)

J has just turned 60 and we applied for his bus pass online. This is actually super cool as it gives him completely free bus travel in Scotland, plus free train travel within 10 miles, and 50% train travel elsewhere. Actually if you are dishonest and could be bothered, there is nothing to stop him buying a free ticket to Dalmuir and a second free one to Helensburgh. If he lived here in Lochgoilhead rather than in Glasgow, he would also get free ferry tickets as our address is a special ‘peninsular’ one which counts as an island. One to bear in mind when in the distant future (well three years time) I qualify for mine.

But to a further point – this bus pass was, to use an eloquent phrase, “a fair fucking nightmare” to apply for. First of all J didn’t have an up to date photo driving license, so we had to take a photo of his passport which was difficult to do as the pages are springy, and it is hard to get it flat enough to take to their exacting standards. Then they wanted written proof of address – this is difficult these days because everything is digital, but we eventually found a statement from his housing association. Worst part was that we then had to scan his face with a smartphone to prove it was actually him in the passport photo. Between his poor eyesight and my inability to lift my right arm above waist height, this took us about ten attempts.

But we did it, the application was accepted immediately and the card is now on its way. The irony is that I have been on the local bus where about everyone has these cards, and the driver never, ever looks at them.

I won’t inflict the picture on J’s card on the Internet, so here is a sunset picture applicable to the theme of the post.