Small point. Jobseekers can already get half price travel with the Jobcentre Plus Railcard.
Thank you for that simple snippet, bignosemac: I would like that very useful information to be made much more widely available.
And a small correction to my small point. The official name is Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card (JCP TDC)
It is provided to those unemployed claiming Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit for 3-9 months (18-24 year olds) or 3-12 months (over 25s). Other benefit recipients may receive a Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount Card from 3 months of their claim and if they are actively engaged with a Jobcentre Plus adviser. Cardholders are entitled to a 50% discount on selected rail tickets. The decision whether to issue (or re-issue) is solely at the discretion of the claimant's DWP Personal Advisor, but they have set guidelines to follow and refusal has to be justified. If you are out of work for more than 3 months and claiming JSA, or not working due to illness or disability and claiming ESA (Employment and Support Allowance), then the default should be to issue an JCP TDC on request.
Actually getting one issued though can be problematical, and I speak from personal experience. Jobcentre Plus staff aren't well versed in this scheme, most (in my experience) knowing nothing of it all. When I made my request for one I had to talk through the scheme with my Personal Advisor, show him the DWP Guidance I'd found online, and then talk through the issuing process with my local Jobcentre Plus manager who had to sign off the issuance. It was me that had to explain to them my eligibility and the form (RSP6001) they needed to find and fill out. My local JCP office had the form and a supply of the railcards but no-one had apparently ever issued one. The cards themselves were noticeably dusty when the JCP manager brought them out.
DWP - Department for Work and Pensions, the government department of which Jobcentre Plus is a part.
If you are eligible, and when you finally get a JCP TDC, then it entitles you to 50% off nearly all Standard Class walk-up rail tickets (Anytime, Anytime Day, Off Peak, Off Peak Day, Super Off Peak, Super Off Peak Day, Outboundary One Day Travelcards) and the discount can be added to an
Oyster▸ card to give 50% off Adult rate pay as you go fares and daily caps. It also entitles you to 50% off Season Tickets from 1 week to 3 months.
There is no discount for Advance Purchase, 1st Class, promotional fares, Rovers and Rangers, Sleeper services or combined Rail+Ferry. The discount is also not available in Scotland where a separate scheme operates. Other exclusions may apply.
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