Bus services in Scotland are to undergo a flat fare trial, the country’s transport secretary, Fiona Hyslop, has announced.
Hyslop confirmed the trial following the completion of a wider review of the cost of Scotland’s public transport.
The Fair Fares review, launched in 2021 under the Bute House Agreement between the Scottish National Party and Greens, also includes a pilot scheme to extend free rail travel to the companions of eligible blind people.
In addition, the review recommended that under-22s receive free inter-island foot passengers travel in the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland, as well as an extension of the National Ferry Scheme – which allows for four free single trips to or from the mainland a year – for 18- to 21-year-olds.
Hyslop said: “The recommendations and actions set out today will help us to ensure we have an available, affordable and accessible public transport system that enables people to make positive and proactive travel choices which result in using their cars less.”
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The flat bus fares plan, which would be tried in an as-yet undisclosed part of Scotland, marks a change of policy after ministers previously focused on free travel for the over 60s and under 22s.
However, past cuts of up to 40% on ferry fares under the Road Equivalent Tariff scheme since 2015 may be scrapped for non-residents.
Similar schemes have been trialled in England, including the £2 bus fare cap, which has been extended across the country until December 2024, while Lothian, Edinburgh’s main bus operator, has already rolled out a £2 flat single fare across the city.
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Transform Scotland director Colin Howden said: “We’re pleased the [Scottish] government has agreed with us that action needs to be taken to address the cost of motoring relative to the price of public transport.
“Over the last two decades, public transport costs have not only risen relative to costs of driving, but considerably above the rate of inflation.
“These price signals have encouraged people to drive and discouraged them from taking public transport.
“We see no prospect of transformational change unless and until it’s clearly cheaper to take public transport rather than use private cars.
“But it’s disappointing the review doesn’t set out how this will be tackled, instead kicking the can down the road to the traffic reduction plan, which is itself badly overdue.”
Achievements and innovations in public transport will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector.
