Following on from our recent reports of our collaboration with Dai Davies MP for Blaenau Gwent, both he and the Greater Manchester Campaign for Free Public Transport are pleased to announce the date of the Inaugural Conference of a National Campaign for Free Public Transport in Britain. The launch meeting will be on Saturday 20th March, and will take place in Birmingham - venue details, speakers and the agenda are yet to be announced.

Speaking on behalf of the provisional steering committee responsible for organising the event, which is chaired by Dai Davies, Salford based free public transport campaigner Bob Jeffrey said:

"Supporters of our campaign need to put this date down in their diaries now, and do their utmost to get there on the day, ideally along with a delegation from their union branch, workplace, college, school or local community group.

"We need to get the largest possible turnout from across the length and breadth of Britain, from all over Scotland, England and Wales and not just from a few big cities like London, Birmingham, Manchester & Glasgow."

You can register for the event now online at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=190658022839&index=1.

Leigh UNITE 0523 Branch, is the latest local trades union branch to have joined us since our last update, in calling for Free Public Transport for everyone throughout Britain. This is in addition to the Manchester Green Party, and the Respect Party nationally who have also recently voted to affiliate to our campaign. For a full list of affiliated organisations please go to our Join Us/Affiliate page.

We warmly welcome the support of all these organisations, which is indicative of the growing grassroots, progressive cross-party support for what we are fighting for both across Greater Manchester and the country as a whole, and will be looking to add hundreds of other trades union branches and community organisations to this growing list of supporters in the month's ahead.

In stark contrast to Greater Manchester transport chiefs who sought to tackle the problem via a peak time congestion charge on hard pressed commuters, City bosses in Zagreb have introduced free public transport to help cut car numbers in the Croatian capital.

Public transport in the wider Zagreb downtown area became free of charge as of Tuesday 5th May 2009, a policy which also encourages residents to park their cars in public garages outside the centre.

Interestingly enough Zagreb Municipal Transit System (ZET) Head Ivan Tolic said: "The city's finances would not be hurt by the new measure." a fact which should surely warrant investigation by the new Greater Manchester Integrated Transport Authority, and which can only strengthen our own case, that this is the road we should go down here in Manchester and across Britain as a whole.

Well done Zagreb! Fortunately, we've still got the better football teams!

Our last news update featured an article reporting that Ministers are under increasing pressure to impose restrictions on free bus passes for pensioners after a leading transport operator warned that giving old people a "blank cheque" for travel is financially unsustainable.

The free bus pass, a key benefit for 11 million over-60s, costs £1bn a year, but is the cause of mounting tension between local authorities and bus operators. Both sides say it is inadequately funded and the financial strain has increased since it was extended to allow pensioners to travel anywhere in the UK - prompting two friends to travel more than 500 miles by bus from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Land's End last year.

Keith Ludeman, Chief Executive of Go-Ahead Group, whose services operate in London, Oxford, Brighton and the north-east, told the Observer: "The government has stated that the pass must become a smart card [similar to London's Oyster card]. Like any card, it can be limited with a certain amount of value and that seems a reasonable move. Pensioners cannot be given a blank cheque."

If the demands of the private operators are not considered a sufficient threat to our senior citizens' free bus pass, recent announcements by Labour & the Tory alike, and plans already underway, point to massive public expenditure cuts across the board whoever is elected at the General election, and may get the axe altogether in the attempt to balance the country's books following the massive multi-£billion bail-outs.

Help the Aged have rejected the call for any restrictions, claiming that the pass is vital for tackling one of the least publicised problems among the elderly - isolation. "One in eight old people would describe themselves as isolated and lonely and transport is key to assuaging that. Limiting the card could undermine the progress that we have made," said David Sinclair, the charity's head of policy.

To cap it all however, and if the calls by the private operators and the major cuts pledges of the two main political parties are not alarming enough, it seems we also have people amongst us in Britain who are actually campaigning to abolish the 60 and overs' free bus immediately.

Check out the thousand plus sick and selfish folk who have set up this SCRAP THE FREE BUS PASSES FOR PENSIONER'S (E'PETITION) on facebook. According to its administrator - Oliver Andrew Peters "the free travel that all pensioners get at the cost to the tax payers of this counrty. . . . is one 'privilege' to much."

Pity about the rat's spelling and grammar (it's 'country' not 'counrty' and 'too' much' you selfish, ageist, plonker!) What a disgrace of a human being this man is, and what a disgraceful lot all of those people who have signed up to his "E'PETITION".