Potential of free bus travel for under 19s

The transformational potential of free bus travel for people under 19 is enormous.

Because of the deal struck between the Greens and the Scottish Government that potential will soon be realised.

From 2021 the concessionary travel scheme entitlement currently held by the over 60s will be extended to include young people for the first time.

Buses remain the backbone of local public transport, linking Stirling to the towns and villages around the region.

They are relied upon by thousands of young people travelling for work and education but remain prohibitively expensive for many.

In Stirling alone more than 14,000 young people are set to benefit from this scheme.

The high cost of bus travel makes it particularly important for young people to have access to free travel. This is an age bracket who often find themselves in precarious low paid work, or who are living off limited student finance.

For 18-year olds the minimum wage currently sits at £6.15, dropping to a paltry £4.35 for people under 18.

This means a teenager travelling into Stirling from any one of a number of towns and villages could easily be spending a quarter of their daily earnings simply to get to work.

By removing that barrier, we lift an enormous pressure from people just starting out in life, making it far easier for them to independently pursue new opportunities and forge their own paths into work or education.

It’s not just individual teenagers who will benefit from this exciting new policy but families as well.

Schools will also be able to take advantage by using public buses for trips, saving money on private hire.

Too often for a family going on a trip the bus will cost significantly more than driving which makes it almost impossible for some to choose the more environmentally friendly option.

Encouraging use of public transport must underpin our response to the climate emergency, but that’s simply not possible unless we put together realistic alternatives.

It’s both pointless and unfair to criticise individuals for making certain choices when ultimately the problems are deep rooted and systemic. For far too long the car has been king in Scotland, with public transport often relegated to an afterthought.

Successive governments have predicated their entire transport strategies on that basis, meanwhile public transport costs have soared and emissions from vehicles remain a persistent problem.

By giving those 14,000 young people in the Stirling council area the chance to freely travel by bus the we are lifting a huge barrier to making environmentally friendly choices.

We know this isn’t the end of the road when it comes to improving bus services in Scotland.

For those not covered by the concessionary travel scheme the cost remains too high and there are many places which need to be better served.

But this does represent a huge step forward when it comes to fostering a new generation of public transport users and I’m proud the Scottish Green Party delivered that change.

For far too long the car has been king in Scotland