Walking disability
You can apply for a National Concession bus pass if you have a disability, or have suffered an injury, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to walk:
- To qualify under this category, a person would have to have a long term and substantial disability that means they cannot walk or which makes walking very difficult.
- It is envisaged that passes will be issued to people who can only walk with excessive labour and at an extremely slow pace or with excessive pain. Their degree of impairment should be at comparable level to that described in the "Guidance on assessing ability to walk" box below. Where an applicant has been awarded PIP, with an award of eight points or more for the "Moving around” activity, or the Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance (HRMCDLA), a relevant benefit award letter may be accepted as evidence of an automatic entitlement to the travel concession (see Annex A for details). Where the specified rates of PIP or DLA have not been awarded, or where these benefits have not been applied for, applicants may still be found eligible if assessed using the criteria below:
Guidance on assessing ability to walk
"(i) they cannot walk or…"
Being unable to walk means that they cannot take a single step.
They need to show that because of their disability they cannot put one foot in front of the other.
Walking involves always having one foot on the ground.
If their only way of getting about is to swing through crutches then they will be considered unable to walk.
"(ii) …they are virtually unable to walk, or…"
They will need to show that they are unable to walk very far without experiencing severe discomfort.
Discomfort can mean either pain or breathlessness. Extreme fatigue and stress may also be taken into account. It has been accepted that discomfort is subjective and that
ome people have higher pain thresholds than others.
Unless both legs are missing then they will need to show that they experience severe discomfort even when using an artificial aid.
When deciding whether they are virtually unable to walk the following factors should be taken into account:
- the distance over which they can walk without experiencing severe discomfort
- the speed at which they can walk
- the length of time for which they can walk
- the manner in which they can walk
If they can only walk up to 27 metres without severe discomfort then they will qualify for the statutory concession.
If they can only walk between 27 and 64 metres without severe discomfort then it is likely that they will qualify for the statutory concession.
If they can walk more than 64 metres without severe discomfort then they will need to show that the other three factors mean that they are virtually unable to walk. For example, if they can show that it takes them five minutes to walk 100 metres, they should qualify for the statutory concession.
As a guide, the average person can walk the following in a minute:
- 90 metres at a brisk pace
- 60-70 metres at a moderate speed
- 40-50 metres at a slow pace
- 30-40 at a very slow pace
It does not matter whether the severe discomfort occurs at the time of their walk or later. What counts is that the discomfort is a direct result of their attempt to walk.
"(iii) The exertion required to walk would "constitute a danger to their life or would be likely to lead to a serious deterioration in their health."
The test here is whether the exertion required to walk would constitute a danger to their life or whether it would be likely to lead to a serious deterioration in their health.
They need to show that they should not walk very far because of the danger to their health.
This criterion is intended for people with serious chest, lung or heart conditions.
Some people with haemophilia may also qualify for the statutory concession in this way.
The serious deterioration does not need to be permanent but it should require medical intervention for them to recover.
They will need to show that any danger to their health is a direct result of the physical effort required to walk.
People with epilepsy will need to show that any fits were brought about by the effort required to walk.
- In all cases, entitlement depends on the applicant's difficulty in walking and considerations, such as difficulty in carrying parcels, are not to be taken into account.
- The fact that a walking aid is or is not used may be relevant to the eventual decision, but these alone should not determine whether or not a person qualifies. For example, if a person can walk relatively normally with the use of an artificial leg, then they should not be considered eligible.
- Alternatively, a person who can only swing through on crutches could be considered eligible, as they would be seen as having considerable difficulty walking (provided it is due to a long term disability and not due to legs being in plaster).
The Department advises that the authority should normally require medical evidence to support the claim that the applicant's walking ability is long term and substantially impaired.
Based on the guidance have you got a walking disability?