THE cost to London councils of the Freedom Pass for the over-60s and disabled people, may be getting a whole lot more expensive.

Furious Bexley councillors were told last week of government plans to reduce London’s £55m-a-year subsidy by £28.9m, to help pay for the scheme elsewhere in the country.

A number of councils outside London have complained the free travel is costing them millions of pounds extra in unforseen costs.

Councils have to pay a fee for every free journey which starts within their authority boundaries and those councils which have a major transport hub, say they are struggling to pay the bills.

To try and help those councils meet the cost, without putting any extra cash into the scheme, the government is now proposing to slash the London subsidy it agreed only last year and give it to authorities outside the capital.

Bexley, which successfully campaigned last year to change the way charges to London councils were levied for the passes, had stood to save £4m when this was fully rolled out.

If the government presses ahead with its plan, Councillor Peter Craske, cabinet member for transport, said it could mean up to two per cent extra on next year’s Bexley council tax.

He said: “It is disgraceful. We had a five-year deal on the pass and the government has pulled the rug from under us.”

There will now be an eight-week consultation on the government’s proposal.