Scots free youth bus travel ‘from next year’

The Scottish Government is targeting January next year for the launch of free bus travel for young people aged 18 and under.

The ruling SNP administration gave in principle agreement to the Green Party proposal as part of the deal to secure the passage of the Scottish Government’s 2020/21 budget. 

In a letter to Green Party MSP  Patrick Harvie, Scotland’s cabinet secretary for finance Kate Forbes says: “I am happy to give an in principle commitment to a national concessionary travel scheme for free bus travel for those aged 18 and under, subject to the completion of the necessary preparations, including research and due diligence. 

“We will aim to have this work completed in time to allow the expansion to begin in January 2021 and have allocated £15m to the budget to enable this.”

The policy is likely to have a knock-on negative impact for patronage on the railways, the Glasgow Subway and the Edinburgh tram.