AN AMNESTY is being held for people in Wiltshire to hand in bus passes that should no longer be in use ahead of a new system going live in February.

Across the south west from February 2 buses will have an improved card-reading system which will check whether bus passes are valid to combat fraud.

The amnesty period will run until 1 February 2015 for people to arrange for a new pass to be issued or return the old pass to Wiltshire Council.

During this time if a pass is shown which is no longer valid, the driver will tell the passenger that the pass must not be used again but the user will not be charged for that journey.

When someone has been issued with more than one bus pass, only the most recently issued bus pass is valid, even though they may both have the same expiry date.

John Thomson, cabinet member for transport said:“For many people the concessionary bus pass offers a real lifeline but there are cases where it is used unscrupulously and we want to put a stop to this.

“We’re offering this amnesty period so if people discover their bus pass is not valid they can get in touch with us and we can replace it in good time.”

People who are told their pass is not valid should call Wiltshire Council on 0300 456 0100 or email concessionarybuspasses@wiltshire.gov.uk to receive advice.

If it is necessary for Wiltshire Council to issue a replacement bus pass there will be a £5 charge to cover the cost of reissue.