THOUSANDS of pensioners will be hoping that the tantalising prospect of free bus travel across vast swathes of Worcestershire doesn't hit a brick wall somewhere along the bureaucratic road. So do we.

Trying to make ends meet on a state pension brings tough choices and means having to let a lot of life's essentials pass by.

Among them, often, is being able to afford to stay mobile and active. They're the two vital ingredients for a retirement which doesn't creep slowly into isolation and decline.

It's difficult to tell, at this early stage, whether the hopes of Councillor Andrew Christian-Brookes and his Wychavon colleagues will come to fruition.

But he's optimistic that Wychavon can persuade Malvern Hills District Council and Worcester City Council to climb on board as well, making it possible.

It will cost money, of course. But - to revisit a cherished theme - among the measures of a society at ease with itself is the way it treats the people who have a lifetime of service behind them.

Eve Freer, chairman of the Droitwich's area forum, shares our thoughts and, doubtless, those of thousands.

"I'll only be really excited if this actually happens," she said. "At the moment, it's just talks."

But anything that improves transport or the cost of it is to be welcomed, she adds. She's absolutely right.