Health and social care

Disabled person's freedom pass

The freedom pass allows free travel in London for qualifying disabled people.

You can get a disabled person's freedom pass if you:

• are blind or partially sighted
• are profoundly or severely deaf
• are without speech
• have a disability or have suffered an injury that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to walk
• do not have arms or have long-term loss of the use of both arms
• have a learning disability
• have applied for a driving licence and have been refused (under the Road Traffic Act 1988).

The list of medical conditions under which a person may be refused a driving licence is extensive but includes:

• people with certain mental health issues
• people with impaired vision but whose sight is not so impaired that they qualify as blind or partially sighted (see above)
• people with a diagnosis of epilepsy, whose condition has not been completely controlled by medication for a year or more.

For more information about the conditions and circumstances under which a licence may be refused on medical grounds please see the DVLA and Directgov websites.

The pass allows free travel on:

• all buses within greater London
• the underground
• Docklands Light Rail
• Croydon Tramlink
• National Rail trains after 9.30am (no tome restrictions apply on weekends and public holidays).

In addition to passes issued under criteria specified in the Transport Act, we will also continue to issue some discretionary passes.

A discretionary pass may be approved for Croydon residents if they:

• receive support from adult services and housing under the National Assistance Act 1948 due to a severe mental illness that has been acknowledged by a medical professional and assessed as part of an ongoing package of care and they have regularly attended day care in the past 12 months or more
• are registered as physically disabled under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 and the issue of a pass will support an ongoing package of care.

Discretionary passes are issued for London use only.

Applying for a new freedom pass

If you are applying for a disabled person's freedom pass for the first time, you need to complete a form and return it to us, together with proof of address.

A disabled person's freedom pass is only issued following an assessment of eligibility by the travel services team.

Application forms may be downloaded from the link below, may be collected from Access Croydon at Taberner House or applied for online (use the link under 'Do it online' at the top of this page) .

Lost, stolen or faulty passes 

If you lose your pass, it is stolen or develops a fault, please telephone the freedom pass support line on 0845 275 7054 or 020 7934 9633 (Mondays - Fridays 9am - 5pm). A replacement pass will be sent to you usually within 5 working days.

If you find a pass which has been lost, please send it to FREEPOST FREEDOM PASS RETURNS.

If you change your name or address

Please contact Travel Services to let us know. You should send us proof of your change of name eg copy of deed poll or marriage certificate, or change of address eg copy of a tenancy agreement, recent utility bill etc.

Contact Details

Contact name

Travel services

Telephone

020 8726 7100

Email

travel.service@croydon.gov.uk

Address

Travel services team
Taberner House, 5th floor, north east quadrant
Park Lane,
Croydon, CR9 3JS