In message , at 15:18:23 on Thu, 26 Jul
2018, "Dave Plowman (News)" remarked:

All council tax payers subsidise the fares of the subset who choose to
use TfL. As it happens, the last time I was a London Resident (for a
period of about 3yrs) I don't recall ever using a bus, there were no
tube lines where I lived, so only used them on occasional trips to WC1,
and Overground was just a gleam in someone's eye (and even today nowhere
near where I was living then).

I'd guess there were plenty other subsidies around then which others might
deem unfair too.

But let's stick to the present day, shall we?

If would be a very rare council tax payer who doesn't, didn't and won't
ever use PT to a greater or lesser extent. Or those in the household the
council tax is levied on.

I disagree. Five years ago I was living somewhere with excellent public
transport better than a bus every ten minutes; and paid my way on them
several times a week (on quasi-discretional trips as I worked from
home).

I was looking forward to a bus-pass so I could explore the area more,
but "they" changed the rules. So despite having paid in the recent past
into a pot, to give people at a younger age than myself free travel, I
was denied it.

Fast forward to now, when I've had my bus pass for a little over a year,
but have genuinely had no opportunity to use it because the bus service
in the new place I live is so appalling. Basically about half the
District Council[1] area is served by one bus an hour, and some of the
rest by one every perhaps three hours. The village I'm most likely to
want to go as a leisure destination basically has minimalistic buses
which are on the school-run [so against the tidal flow I'd need] but
take other passengers too.

No-one else in my household has any realistic proposition of finding the
local bus service useful either.

[1] I'm not blaming them, it's just to give an idea of the footprint.
--
Roland Perry