I read with interest the letters from Denis Dean and John Dewdney (Have Your Say, November 12) about the concession-ary fares scheme for bus travel.

The front page story (Daily Echo, November 9) was entitled, ‘Free’ Bus Cost Shock, and that is what I was asked to comment upon.

It is perfectly fair that the elderly should have free bus travel and for them it’s a great scheme; it’s just a question of who should pay for it. Bournemouth council embraced the scheme the moment it was announced by the government, but based on their promise that it would be at no overall cost to councils.

However, that is not what has happened and in Bournemouth it now costs council tax payers £3.7 million a year.

My point is that it is extremely unfair to have to pick up so much of the cost, especially now that it has become a national scheme.

The saving in the budget to which Mr Dean refers was as a result of an efficiency saving rather than the government’s funding formula and the vast majority of that money was put into council balances in preparation for future cuts in government grant.

Cllr John Beesley, deputy leader Bournemouth council