Extent of concession

The fare concession granted may take the form of either a discount against the standard fare or the authorization of free travel for the beneficiary. Again this selection is essentially a political process, and is rarely related to the budgets of the authority responsible for the beneficiary group.

The concession may sometimes be restricted to the times of day when the operator is likely to have spare capacity, and this significantly reduces the costs involved. This restriction is most common in the case of free-travel passes, but may also apply to other beneficiaries not in full-time education or employment. Some conditions may also be set on access to the reduced fare, such as being in uniform for qualifying scholars, police and military.