Is it true that women over 60 can ride the tube and buses in the U.K. for free? If so, does this include London? Does the woman have to be a U.K. citizen, or can female tourists from other countries who are over 60 also ride the tube and buses for free? How old does a man have to be to ride the tube and buses for free?

It's only free if you live here. You have to be on the electoral roll.

Sorry.

Free travel for over 60's (of either sex) is available only to residents of the area concerned. So you can get a Freedom Pass for the London transport system if and only if you're on the electoral roll of a London Borough. If you're on the electoral roll of Little Snodsbury, you typically get a similar pass - but only for Greater Snodsburyshire Transport.

There are very few things (except liabilty to conscription) where being a UK citizen matters a damn: over 50 nationalities are allowed to vote here: indeed I believe even the few foreign residents not allowed to vote (like Americans and Japanese) can go onto the roll (to simplify credit applications) and then get their pensioners' bus passes.

Over 60's can get free bus travel in Scotland - but you have to be resident in Scotland

Scottish over-60s get bus passes for the whole of Scotland.(and they aren't "pensioners".)

zippo:

As someone who's about to qualify for this ridiculus subsidy of those who can afford to pay their own fares by those who are struggling to pay a mortgage, I've got no objection to its being called a pensioner's pass.

I just object to the damnfool idea. And it's be every bit as unjust if we called it the old Farts' Revenge.

everything that is wrong with Britain today can be blamed on the twirlies*. Bloody hippies and wrong 'uns the lot of 'em. Shirley Williams is the worst.

*you can't use the pensioner pass in london before 9.30 so you see all the biddies and codgers lining up at the tube station saying "am i twirly"

Only British, Irish, Commonwealth and EU citizens can go on the Electoral Register. EU citizens can only vote in local elections, not parliamentary. US and Japanese citizens, unless they are dual nationals with one of the above, cannot go on the EG.
While free local bus passes are only for locals, anyone aged 60 and over can buy Senior Railcard for £20 which typically get a third off most train fares. It's only valid on National Rail, not local bus, underground or tram network. There is also a Disabled Railcard, for which you normally need to be registered disabled in UK.

"[E]verything that is wrong with Britain today can be blamed on the..."

Old
Young
Tory
Labour
Irish
Establishment
Crown
European Union
Commonwealth "persons of colour"

...or anyone else you're not.

Nope. It's pretty much all the fault of hippies and shirley Williams.

Robespierre - you forgot
The Guardian
The Daily Mail
Rupert Murdoch
not listening to Enoch Powell (this one a favourite of my aunt)
working mothers
Social security
George W
and probably thousands more.

I think bus passes for the over 60s is a great idea - it seems all they have left after successive governments have lead to dropping the link between prices and pensions, and the loss of many NHS and retirement home benefits. Now if we could just supply some buses.

I blame Ryanair

flanner, not all pensioners are flush with money and for the many who are not, it's quite nice to have the free bus pass.