EQUALITY campaigner John Taylor has won his fight to bring cheaper bus travel to more than a million men.

The Government has given £50 million to local authorities so they can allow men to take advantage of cut-price bus journeys from the age of 60 from April 1.

The move signifies a victory for male equality campaigner John Taylor, from Norton, who has been campaigning for equal fares for men since 1999.

Mr Taylor said: "I am very pleased that the Government are finally delivering on their promise.

"It feels like a little bit of history, we have been here before. They promised us this two years ago, but they are delivering at last."

The new legislation will see more than a million men eligible for cut-rate travel at 60, the same age as women, from April 1.

Under previous law, men's fares would not have been reduced until 2010 at the earliest, in line with state pensions.

But Mr Taylor and equality group Parity have pressed the Government to introduce concessionary changes well ahead of schedule.

Transport Minister John Spellar announced the additional funding to local authorities to pay for the changes.

He said: "This is very good news for a great number of older men. Bus services are a vital means of linking communities and tackling the problem of social exclusion."

Mr Taylor previously won a landmark victory in 1999, forcing the Government to give winter fuel payments to men over 60, the same as women.

He then turned his attention to transport.

Mr Taylor said: "Obviously we are very pleased people will finally be feeling the benefit of this, but there are many more injustices out there.

"We are currently concentrating now on parity of state pensions. We will not rest until we achieve this aim."

Debbie Smith, campaigns manager for Help The Aged, welcomed the extension of travel concessions to men over 60.

But she said: "The practical assistance these schemes offer older people is very much a post code lottery across England. Public transport needs to be safe, accessible and reliable as well as affordable, in the shape of a national scheme of free full fare travel passes, to allow older people to fully utilise it. In practical terms, this means providing more buses, more routes and better co-ordination between services."

Updated: 10:39 Tuesday, March 25, 2003