People over 60 will still be entitled to free travel on Oxford's park and ride buses, despite changes elsewhere in the country.

The concessionary bus pass scheme, which entitles those over 60 to free travel on local services, celebrates its first anniversary today.

But the Government has issued new guidelines to local councils to clear up 12 months of confusion about which services should and should not be included in the scheme.

From today, sightseeing buses, coach routes where more than half the seats can be booked, and park and ride buses which include parking charges in the bus fare will no longer be free for those over 60.

But according to Oxford City Council, because the city’s five park and ride services only charge for bus fares, the 400,000 pensioners who use them each year will still travel free.

Stagecoach said the changes would also not affect its Oxford customers.

And the National Express coach company, which runs services out of Gloucester Green Coach station in the city centre, said only one route would be affected by the new guidelines — the 737 service between Oxford and Stansted airport.

A spokesman added: “The legislation never intended to include services which are largely booked in advance, such as the National Express coach network.”

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said the changes had been clarified after public consultation.