Iemma should axe pensioner booking fee

Greens call on Iemma Government to axe CountryLink pensioner booking fee

The Iemma Government should axe the CountryLink 15% pensioner ticket booking fee, following revelations that since the introduction of the booking fee last year 50,000 pensioners have been forced to miss out on using their free travel vouchers.

"The Greens call on the Iemma Government to axe the 15% booking fee and restore the original spirit that the free tickets were introduced with.

"The new CountryLink booking fee has hit pensioners so hard that 50,000 people cancelled their travel plans last year. It’s a disgrace.

"The spirit of the free pensioner CountryLink tickets was to reward people for a lifetime of work with the opportunity to travel in their retirement. The 15% booking fee has soured the gesture.

"By slugging the most vulnerable people in our community with this unfair tax, the Iemma Government has put regional train travel out of reach for many retired people.

"Pensioners rely on their free travel tickets to attend medical appointments, visit family and to stay connected to their communities.

"I am concerned that the people who have cancelled their travel plans are the pensioners living in the lowest fixed incomes. This booking fee has denied them the opportunity to travel in NSW.

"The Iemma Government must axe the 15% booking fee to undo the harm it has caused to pensioners in rural and regional NSW.