The English National Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme is a national scheme by the Department for Transport

Department for Transport

In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...

 in conjunction with Local Authorities across England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

The scheme extended the provision of free bus travel within individual local authorities to allow travel throughout England from 1 April 2008. English residents over the age of 60 and eligible disabled people are provided with free off-peak bus travel on weekdays and all day at weekends and Bank Holiday

Bank Holiday

A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...

s.

Within Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

, the card is branded as the Freedom Pass

Freedom Pass

Freedom Pass is a concessionary travel scheme, which began in 1984, to provide free travel to residents of Greater London, England who are aged 60 and over or who have a disability. The scheme is funded by local authorities and coordinated by London Councils...

, and additionally allows access to London Underground

London Underground

The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...

, London Overground

London Overground

London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...

, Tramlink

Tramlink

Tramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000...

, Docklands Light Railway

Docklands Light Railway

The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...

 and National Rail

National Rail

National Rail is a title used by the Association of Train Operating Companies as a generic term to define the passenger rail services operated in Great Britain...

services in zones 1-6 (National Rail limited to after 9:30am on weekdays, the rest at any time).

Costs

The scheme applies to about 11 million people, and the total cost is about 1 billion pounds i.e. less than 100 UKP per person.
Channel 4's claim regarding 'millionaire pensioners' and that passes cost 1 billion UKP per year

Some reports state this figure as relating to all government bus subsidies http://www.nowcard.org/news.asp, and not just the one for over-60s.