Free bus scheme uptake‘dire’

The take-up figures from young people eligible for free bus travel across South Ayrshire are “dire,” and the scheme is “failing miserably” according to a Labour MSP.

South Scotland Labour List MSP, Colin Smyth, who is the party’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Transport has criticised the SNP Government’s “botched” young person’s bus pass scheme. Data obtained by Scottish Labour reveal that in South Ayrshire, only 18.1 per cent of the area’s 19,100 eligible young people have a pass. This equates to just 3,451 passes.

Smyth has called for the process to be ‘streamlined’ and for councils to be supported by the Scottish Government in the implementation of the scheme.

He said: “These dire figures are a humiliation for the SNP and the Greens, who have spent years talking about this card but still failed miserably to deliver it. The botched scheme is a huge missed opportunity, which could have unlocked opportunities for children and young people, eased the cost of living crisis and helped us tackle the climate emergency.”

All young people and children aged 5-21 years can apply for a card to access the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel Scheme, which began on January 31.

A spokesperson for transport minister Jenny Gilruth said Scotland was in the grip of the Omicron variant when the scheme launched and this had affected it and added: “Since the end of January, over six million journeys have been made and over 300,000 cards issued under the new scheme.”

Gilruth’s spokesperson added that a number of changes had been made to the online application process, adding: “The transport minister has said that she will continue to monitor the situation and is not ruling out making further changes to the scheme if that is what is needed.”