Question reference: S5W-06182
- Asked by: Alexander Burnett, MSP for Aberdeenshire West, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 16 January 2017
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 January 2017
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the National Entitlement Card not being accepted on the Glasgow Subway service, and what discussions it has had or plans with Glasgow City Council regarding this.
Answer
Travel concessions on the Glasgow Subway are a matter for Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme Joint Committee (SCTSJC).
Bus travel concessions for older and disabled people are provided by the Scottish Government through the National Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme for Older and Disabled People (NCTS). Travel concessions on other modes of transport are at the discretion of local authorities. The conditions and extent of such schemes are for local authorities to determine.
In the Strathclyde, area Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) operate a concessionary travel scheme covering the Strathclyde area on behalf of the SCTSJC, which brings together the relevant local authorities and SPT. The scheme provides discounted travel on the Glasgow Subway for eligible elderly and disabled residents in the Strathclyde area who hold a National Entitlement Card.
Extending the NCTS to include the Glasgow Subway would entail additional financial pressures on the scheme and would impact on the money available to support bus services including bus concessions across Scotland.