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During 2020 we carried out a 12 month trial which assessed applicants’ eligibility for a companion pass based on their disability rather than their income.
The information we collected from this trial has enabled us to gain a better understanding of customers’ disability and has allowed us to offer better support with bus travel requirements. The change to the eligibility criteria has now been agreed and you can read the report here.
If you need someone to help you when you travel on public transport you can apply for a companion pass ‘Orange stripe + C’. The pass allows people who are unable to travel alone on public transport to have a companion travel with them free of charge in Portsmouth. To be eligible to apply for the companion pass, you must already hold a disabled or older person’s travel pass from Portsmouth City Council (or be eligible for one).
To find out if you’re eligible, read our eligibility guidance published on these pages Disabled person’s bus pass or Older person’s bus pass
You will also need to provide the following documents:
To apply for a pass, you will need to provide the following documents:
When your current pass expires you will need to show us that you are eligible by providing us with the following:
If your bus pass is expiring in less than a week and your new one hasn’t arrived, please contact us.
We send your bus pass to the address we have on our records, so you must let us know if your address changes.
The companion pass is not allocated to a specific person, so it can be used by anybody who is travelling with you. Only one companion may travel free on any one journey, and you must both get on and leave the bus at the same points. The companion may be a child aged 11 or over as long as they are able to provide assistance to the companion bus pass holder.
If your journey starts outside Portsmouth, your companion may need to pay the full fare. The city boundary points can be broadly described by the following landmarks:
For more information you can contact us by: