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The age people become eligible for free bus passes in Wales is to rise from 60 to the state pension age under Welsh Government plans.

Ministers are concerned at the rising cost of the pass, with 880,000 people expected to be eligible by 2021.

Transport Minister Ken Skates confirmed the move, to be introduced gradually, will be included in a proposed new law.

But the Older Person's Commissioner is concerned about the potential impact on the most vulnerable older people.

The state pension age for men and women is 65 and will rise to 67 by 2028.

Details of when the changes will be introduced remain sketchy. The pass, introduced in 2002, entitles users to free bus travel.

According to a recent consultation, pass-holders represent about 47% of bus journeys in Wales.

There were about 730,000 passes in circulation at the end of last year.

Bus firms are reimbursed on the basis of an adult single fare, according to a White Paper published last year. Figures from 2016 show the cost of providing free bus travel up to then was in the region of £840m.

The White Paper that put the proposals to consultation said the cost to the public purse was "rising" and the Welsh Government "needs to consider ways of managing the rising costs without affecting the eligibility of those persons currently entitled to a concessionary pass".

It said the way reimbursement works was not an incentive for operators to keep fares low.

The consultation proposed introducing the change incrementally and in a way that means anyone who holds a pass at the time of the changes will be completely unaffected.

The changes will be included in a law, to be considered in the assembly in the next year, which also includes the introduction of London-style bus franchising.

One bus pass-user was "thrilled" when hers arrived the day before her birthday.

Alison Lewis, 62, from Cimla, Neath Port Talbot, was so keen to get her hands on her bus pass, she started arranging it months ahead of her 60th birthday in 2016.

Despite having a busy day planned, she had to fit in a quick bus trip using her new pass: "I decided I wanted to get on the bus just to celebrate my birthday. In the morning I opened my cards and my pressies and loaded up the car because we were going to Aberdovey afterwards.

"My husband followed the bus in the car and the bus driver said 'What's going on? Your husband is behind in the car'."

She will turn 63 in December and has used it to "pop down to Neath" and the occasional trip to Swansea but "not that much".

Despite enjoying owning a bus pass, she understands the government needs to make savings: "If you've never driven it's a godsend, but lots of people are still working at 60 so wouldn't have that much chance to use it.

"Maybe they should charge everyone [with a bus pass] 50p. I'm happy that I've got it, but I do feel that way."

In a statement to AMs, Mr Skates said the bill would "amend the eligibility for the mandatory concessionary fares scheme so that over time it will align with a person's state pension age".

Older People's Commissioner Heléna Herklots said although details were limited, she was "concerned the changes could have a significant impact on many older people".

"Many bus services in Wales have been lost in recent years, with many more currently under threat, and a reduction in the number of users on less popular routes, many of whom will be older people, is likely to further exacerbate this," she said.

"More importantly, increasing the eligibility age will undoubtedly affect some of the most vulnerable older people in Wales, such as those living in poverty or near the poverty line, people who have given up work to care for loved ones and those living with long-term health conditions."

A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We remain committed to the principles which have underpinned the scheme in Wales for more than a decade - providing older and disabled people, and more recently some veterans and service personnel, universal access to free bus travel anywhere in Wales on local scheduled bus services.

"Changes to the eligibility age will be phased in and we will ensure that universal entitlement is retained. Any person who holds a concessionary pass at the time the changes to the law are made will be completely unaffected."

Others who receive passes would be unaffected.