Basildon pensioners are facing a 26.7 per cent rise in the cost of bus passes, it was revealed today.

A report to tonight's<THURS> Basildon Council cabinet meeting proposes an increase in the price of the existing fare paid pass from £135 to £171 in April.

The passes allow pensioners to travel at no extra charge on buses all over Essex, but Basildon Forum for the Elderly chairman Bob Sears said the cost was still above the means of many elderly residents.

Mr Sears, who is also transport adviser to the National Pensioners' Convention, claimed pensioners wanted the rise to be limited to just five per cent, in line with the rise in the state pension.

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