The End of the Twirlies

Until January this year, you may have found a group of over-60s waiting together outside the tube or at the bus stops just before 9AM on any weekday morning. This group of people call themselves the ‘twirlies’ as they are ‘tooearly’ to make use of their freedom passes which only grant them no-charge travel after 9am. However, this is soon to change as a 24-hour Elderly Freedom Pass is to be put into use as of 12 January, 2009.

The freedom pass was introduced in 1921, when only blind service-men could use transport free of charge. The ‘qualifications’ one needed to gain a freedom pass changed over the years, and in 1974, free travel was granted to pensioners. For women, this was at the age of 60, and for men, 65. In the summer of 2003, the pension age for men reduced to 60 and remained the same for women.

The twirlies have existed for quite a while, as the 9AM start on the freedom pass has existed since the introduction of the freedom pass for over 60s in 1974. The idea behind the 9am freedom pass is that elderly people can now be punctual for their early hospital appointments. However, over 60 professionals have been using their free passes to travel to work as well, something that one professional, David Hanger, 63, does not believe should happen:

“If someone is over 60 is travelling before 9AM they are probably going to work, and if they are going to work, they can probably afford to pay the bus fare.”

However, David does take full advantage of his freedom pass, as do the majority of over 60 professionals. David says that there seems to be a camaraderie between the twirlies says David, “When there’s only a couple of minutes to go, and you realise there’s a couple of other people of the same age waiting outside the tube station, one of them will often ask me, ‘Are you a twirlie as well sir?’”

David is happy though that he will now be able to travel 24 hours a day around London, “It’s wonderful being released, it takes away the embarrassment of five old people waiting for a bus!”