In the article, we will consider compensation for retirement in public transport.
Citizens of Russia who are in retirement age must apply to the bodies involved in social protection in order to obtain compensation for travel. Subsidies are financed from the regional and federal budgets on the basis of legislative acts. The right to use public transport for free is reserved for a number of privileged layers; other elderly people can apply for material compensation or reduced travel tickets.
Let's talk about compensation for travel in public transport for pensioners in more detail.
What is compensation?
Subsidies for this category of citizens are one of the types of state social support. After reaching old age, each person has the right to receive benefits at the cost of a bus ticket in the framework of using public transport. These rules do not apply only when using a taxi.
What are the benefits?
They are partially subsidized at the federal level, and some of them are financed from regional budgets. The amount of payment of additional benefits to pensioners and the accrual scheme change annually. Social services recommend that once every twelve months to seek clarification of the information and registration of the necessary documentation for compensation. In addition to reduced fare, pensioners have the right to a number of other federal and regional discounts.
What does preferential fare for senior citizens in public transport imply?
Benefits Features
Compensation is provided to all categories of citizens who are in retirement age. But they do not apply to intercity transportation (although the exception in this case is the right of residents of the Far North to travel to places of rest on the territory of our country). Benefits are provided locally through:
- Travel tickets.
- Introducing special travel rules for citizens.
- Compensation payments for retirement benefits.
Compensation is provided when using public transport, which, as noted earlier, does not apply to minibuses, private buses and taxis. Tickets for commuter trips (in trains) give only certain categories of people in the amount of full compensation (free travel).
Seasonal Air Transport Benefits
Seasonal benefits are also provided for air transportation in favor of pensioners who live in remote regions (for example, in Siberia), and also for long-distance railway trips for elderly passengers who are residents of the Far North. The amount of compensation for the remaining categories of retired persons is established individually by the regional authorities in accordance with the local policy of social protection of unsecured layers of the population. Next, we find out which categories of people are assigned such compensation for travel in public transport to pensioners.
Who is entitled to travel compensation?
Free travel for retired people is provided for by federal law for the following categories of people:
- Participants of the Second World War, as well as members of military families who died during the hostilities.
- People affected during the aftermath of the accident.
- Workers of the rear, and at the same time, Heroes of Labor of the times of the USSR and members of their families.
- Prisoners of concentration camps and prisoners of war.
- Persons with disabilities of all groups and persons who are recognized as victims of political repression, as well as rehabilitated.
- Awarded with the distinction under the name “Honorary Donor” (in the period of present-day Russia and in Soviet times).
- Families who bring up children with disabilities, and in addition, people who look after children with disabilities.
- Categories of citizens who receive a pension due to the loss of their breadwinner.
Benefits for pensioners on electric trains
Preferential fare in this type of transport is provided to federal beneficiaries. For other groups, issues of appropriate compensation will be addressed at the regional level. Last year, Muscovite pensioners lost their free access to commuter trains, which is offset by a twofold increase in monthly transportation payments. WWII veterans along with disabled people and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other state security agencies retain the right to preferential use of suburban vehicles throughout the country.
Pensioners of St. Petersburg receive a seasonal discount when using ninety percent short-range trains from May to October. Citizens who live in the Leningrad Region and are in old age can enjoy an 85 percent discount regardless of the current season. Pensioners who permanently reside in Moscow and have a Moscow residence permit retain the right to free electric trains within the Moscow Ring Road. Residents of other regions should clarify their benefits in local social protection authorities.
Compensation for travel to citizens to places of rest
At the federal level, authorities for privileged groups provide for payment of travel to treatment centers. There is a fare for elderly residents of the Far North who receive a labor pension for disability or old age. They can go free of charge to the place of rest and back once a year inside the territory of Russia. In order to receive compensation, you need to contact the Pension Fund. The application is submitted in the prescribed form, indicating the place of rest and presenting documents confirming the upcoming stay in the dispensary, sanatorium or any other place of rest.
Northerners who have official confirmed status may receive compensation in the form of reimbursement of expenses for the purchase of tickets or in the form of travel documents. The benefits apply to the following types of trips:
- By rail (we are talking about reserved seats for passenger trains).
- By air (i.e. economy class).
- Inland water transport (we are talking about cabins of the third category on absolutely all ships that carry out domestic voyages).
- Sea (in this case we mean the cabins of the fourth and fifth groups of the sea vessel for any lines of regional communication).
- Road transport in the form of intercity buses and regular transport routes.
The right of free travel in public transport to treatment sites within the country is granted once a year to military pensioners with a length of service of twenty years. Compensation for ticket prices is also provided for accompanying persons. Free tickets, subject to the presentation of the relevant documents, are issued at any box office. Restrictions are placed on persons who retired after 2012. These people will have to pay for transport services on air, rail and road transport.
Travel Compensation: Where to Get a Travel Card?
In order to obtain a ticket, pensioners must contact the social security authorities. To do this, an application of the established form is written and the relevant documents are attached to it (in the form of a passport, certificate and papers giving the right to receive the corresponding benefits). After receiving certificates of medical examination, citizens are registered in a single database. The received certificate serves as the basis for the issuance of a pass, which is issued at any box office, and it operates on all types of public municipal transport.
How to apply for pension compensation for pensioners?
The discount for travel for pensioners is drawn up on the basis of the necessary documentation in the department of social local protection. A citizen who is in retirement age has the right to refuse to receive a free pass in favor of providing compensatory monthly payments. Material allowance will have to be transferred in parallel with the basic pension subsidy. Funds are usually issued monthly.
In a number of Russian regions, instead of a ticket, the state issues a transport card with a limited number of trips per month, which, upon presentation of the relevant documentation, is issued at multifunctional public service centers. For pensioners who live in St. Petersburg, there is a nominal single travel card. With it, for senior citizens, the cost of a bus ticket will be lower.
What is a social card?
This is a plastic registered card, which is issued to privileged categories of the population living in Moscow, it serves as an electronic personal key to the information on available benefits from its holder. The pensioner's social card for travel in public transport allows providing convenience along with the safety of receiving pensions, scholarships, subsidies, allowances, city social benefits and own funds.
With the help of such plastic, you can pay for various services, including housing and utilities. Thanks to it, citizens pay for goods in the store, and at the same time, its use is provided along with the policy on compulsory health insurance in city clinics.
Is it possible for a citizen to refuse benefits?
Such an opportunity is actually reserved for absolutely all beneficiaries, without any exception. It follows from this that if a person has the right to free travel, but he does not need such a privilege, then he may well write a statement to the territorial department of social protection. On the basis of this paper, a person will lose the right to free travel, but will receive a favorable surcharge to his pension. Note that such citizens reserve the right to purchase travel tickets at a discount.
In this regard, we can add that some citizens in our country are not even aware of the state benefits laid down by them. This is due to the fact that information about changes in the provision of appropriate subsidies is usually posted on Internet resources, which people of advanced age use very rarely. It is recommended to apply annually to the service for social support of pensioners in order to regularly learn about those or other eligible privileges.
Thus, even despite the pension indexation, unfortunately, the financial situation of many citizens at an advanced age is unenviable. It is in connection with this that the state introduces a number of benefits that pensioners can count on. These privileges are governed by federal law and regional regulations. One of the types of social benefits is the provision of free travel on absolutely all types of municipal transport. Therefore, it is very important to know what conditions exist today for pensioners to apply for compensation for travel in public transport.