Official Report 1017KB pdf
The next item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S6M-18570, in the name of Bob Doris, on the abolition of peak rail fares. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes the Scottish Government’s reported decision to abolish peak rail fares in Scotland; acknowledges what it sees as the ambition to make public transport more affordable and help people with the rising cost of living; considers that initiatives such as the abolition of peak rail fares can encourage more people to switch from cars and opt to use the train; believes that this can help tackle inequalities by making commuting, day trips and access to leisure activities more affordable, and notes the view that passengers in the Maryhill and Springburn constituency should be encouraged to use this opportunity, not only for the daily commute but to see all that Scotland has to offer.
12:48
I thank all those who have supported my motion on the Scottish Government’s abolition of peak rail fares, which has allowed it to be debated today.
As a non-driver and regular rail and bus user in my constituency of Maryhill and Springburn, I am well aware that many of my constituents require an accessible, reliable and affordable rail service. The abolition of peak rail fares by our Scottish National Party Government sits at the heart of that ambition. It is not the only aspect, though—I will return to that later.
My local train station is Summerston, which sits on the Maryhill line. I used the train service to get to Edinburgh this week, changing at Queen Street station. Many of my constituents will have made a similar journey this week. Maryhill, Kelvindale, Gilshochill and other stations on the line all serve commuters heading into Glasgow city centre and onward destinations elsewhere. Before the abolition of peak rail fares, an anytime return journey from Maryhill to Edinburgh would have cost £35.50. Today, it costs £19.90, which is a 44 per cent reduction.
For those who travel to work in Glasgow city centre, an anytime return to Glasgow Queen Street cost £5.40 last week. It now costs £3.10, which represents a 43 per cent reduction. Of course, not all my constituents travel into Glasgow city centre. Some areas do not have access to a large supermarket and do not have alternative public transport that allows people to get to one. They will make savings at former peak times when they travel to, perhaps, Summerston or Anniesland to use or work in one of the large supermarkets there. All those savings will make a real-life difference to my constituents.
The cost of living crisis that has swept across the UK has not gone away.
Mr Doris has extolled the benefits of the Maryhill line, which is a fantastic piece of infrastructure that was, of course, extended under the previous Labour Government. However, does he agree that it is badly in need of further upgrading, including electrification and an increase in frequency, so that we have turn-up-and-go frequencies and do not need to rely on timetables?
I confirm that I am continuing to press to make sure that the Maryhill line is either electrified or is made carbon neutral in some other way, in order to meet our net zero aspirations and build resilience into the line. Of course, there should be a half-hourly service on that line. I will return to that later in my speech.
The measures that our Scottish Government has taken have made, and continue to make, a real difference for many in the face of the cost of living crisis. I will not reel off all the other policy initiatives, but, needless to say, the abolition of peak rail fares by the Scottish Government is a key contribution to helping rail users during the cost of living crisis. I very much hope that it will assist my constituents who have felt priced out of using Scotland’s rail network at peak times.
The abolition of peak fares also has the potential to play a crucial role in Scotland’s contribution to tackling our climate emergency and achieving our net zero ambitions, which I have just referred to. I say that it has a “potential” role because, unless we significantly drive up the number of commuters who would otherwise take a car for their journeys but who take the train instead, the contribution that our rail network can make to our climate aspirations will not be maximised. Decarbonising our railway is vital, and the Scottish Government is currently investing heavily in it.
I am keen to hear from the minister how he will monitor the impact of the permanent abolition of peak rail fares. Such monitoring and analysis must be done over the longer term, with no rush to judge the impact over the short term. This is a long-term, strategic approach.
I welcome the strong cross-party support for the abolition of peak fares, as well as the strong support from trade unions such as the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, and from business, including from the Scottish Retail Consortium.
At the start of my speech, I said that my constituents require an accessible, reliable and affordable rail service and that the abolition of peak fares sits at the heart of that. ScotRail timetables must also meet the needs of commuters. When I was first elected, securing a rail service on the Maryhill line seven days a week was a major campaign effort of mine. There used to be a Sunday service only on the four Sundays before Christmas. Following my campaign, an all-year-round service on Sundays was secured for the benefit of my constituents, and it has made a real difference.
However, I note that the frequency of services on the Maryhill line during the week, outwith the rush hours, is still to return to pre-Covid levels. The services are hourly during the day. If there is a single cancellation for whatever reason—it is not always ScotRail’s fault; often, it is due to Network Rail—it is often not practical, and it is certainly not desirable, for people to wait another hour for the next train. The frequency of the service used to be every 30 minutes. ScotRail tells me that, as passenger numbers continue to recover, it will continue to look at running a 30-minute service on the line once again. Can we have that as soon as possible, please? The abolition of peak rail fares can make an important contribution to the efforts to secure a greater frequency of services in my local communities.
Making rail fares more affordable across the board, be it through peak fare abolition or through other ScotRail initiatives such as kids for a quid or club 50, builds commuter confidence and loyalty in our publicly owned rail network. I hope that we will see more journeys being taken more often. That will build on the strong progress of ScotRail. In 2023-24, there were 81.2 million passenger journeys on ScotRail services, which represents an increase of 27 per cent on the previous year. However, the potential is clear, with numbers still being 16 per cent lower than in 2019-20. As passenger numbers continue to grow across the network, it must be a socially responsive railway, and it must invest in and enhance services for communities such as those that I represent, which use the Maryhill line. I am confident that it will do so.
12:55
Presiding Officer, I apologise to you and to Bob Doris, because I will not be able to stay for the whole debate. You should have received an email about that, Presiding Officer. With the Deputy First Minister, I have a prior engagement with my cross-party group.
I thank Bob Doris for bringing this important debate to the chamber. One of the reasons that I was keen to speak in the debate, despite the fact that I have a prior appointment, is that it is a policy that impacts greatly on my constituency, which has no fewer than nine very active train stations. That is probably one of the highest numbers in the central area of Scotland, and both of the main Glasgow to Edinburgh lines are included in that coverage.
Those stations are used regularly by my constituents, and, as members can imagine, the issue of rail fare costs has come up regularly. Over the years, a lot of people have said that the cost of the trains puts them off using them, so they stick with taking the car, which is something that we all want to move away from. Therefore, this policy is a very welcome step, and my communications on it in various channels over the past couple of days have been very well received and have led to an influx of emails to my office.
I will give an example of some of the local routes that people take regularly for work and leisure and the difference in price because of the change in policy. A return from Coatbridge to Glasgow Queen Street was £8.20 and is now £5.30; a return from Coatbridge to Edinburgh was £27.80, which was really high, and is now £16.40; a return from Kirkwood in Coatbridge to Glasgow Central was £8.70 and is now £5.40; a return from Gartcosh to Queen Street was £7.80 and is now £5.00; and a return from Whifflet to Motherwell was £5.90 and is now £3.30. Those are significant savings for people.
As a result of the comms that I have put out on the issue, a lot of people have got back in touch with me, because they are concerned about the fact that concession fares went up prior to the announcement. In particular, older constituents have got in touch to say that, although it is great that peak fares have been scrapped, concession fares have gone up quite significantly.
Because today’s debate is a members’ business debate, it is maybe not the right time to go into too much detail on that issue, but, given the correspondence that I have had on it, I am keen to write to the minister on the matter. Could he look at that today and perhaps go back to ScotRail to look at where the concession fares are? I do not think that anybody—whether from a Government or an Opposition point of view—would want such a fabulous and great policy to be undermined because vulnerable groups feel that they are almost paying the cost of funding it. I am sure that that is not the intention of either the Government or ScotRail; I simply ask the minister, when he is summing up, to have a wee look at that.
I can see that I have already used most of my four minutes, Presiding Officer, so I will bring my remarks to a close. Again, I thank Bob Doris for bringing this debate to the chamber and I welcome the policy that the Scottish Government has brought forward. It will have a real impact on my constituents, and we are all here to make sure that that happens.
12:59
I thank Mr Doris for bringing the debate to the chamber. It is great to be back after our summer recess and to talk about something that people care about so much.
Nicola Sturgeon promised passengers that Scotland’s rail service would improve under Government ownership, yet things are manifestly worse than they were under Abellio. Public transport has become unreliable and far too expensive. Taxpayer subsidies, ticket prices and the number of complaints have all soared, but the number of services and the number of passengers using them have plummeted.
It was the Scottish National Party’s decision to reintroduce peak fares on ScotRail trains last year. That was a disastrous decision, because it punished hard-working Scots, who paid hundreds or thousands of pounds more simply to commute to their work.
Our party, the Scottish Conservatives, campaigned against that. Despite being defeated in the Parliament last September on a Scottish Conservative vote on the issue, the SNP at that time refused to budge, claiming that abolishing peak fares permanently was unaffordable. We have always campaigned to permanently scrap peak fares, because we want to ease the burden on hard-working Scots.
I was disappointed when the pilot ended. At the time, the Scottish Government said that it had to put its policy on a firm financial footing and that, if the Government found the funds, it would return to the matter. It found those funds and put them in the budget this year, and peak rail fares have now been scrapped. Did the member support that budget?
I did not, because the budget is not about one specific thing; it is about a collection of things. There were many things in the Government’s budget that we would never prioritise ahead of other things.
I am pleased that the SNP has U-turned on peak rail fares. We have seen all the SNP’s tweets and other social media posts congratulating itself on reversing its own decision. I am glad about the decision. However, sadly, some passengers will still miss out, despite the sudden SNP U-turn, as is always the way when we scratch underneath for the detail.
Those with a club 50—or over-50s—rail card cannot get a discount with that card until after the old peak time. We have had lots of numbers today, so I will give just one example. On a 9.15 am service from Waverley to Queen Street, they will pay £16.80, but, at 9.30 am, it will be £13.40. People with other rail cards can get that discount, so why is it not the same for everyone?
I want to make sure that the detail is provided and that everyone can benefit from there being no peak rail fares. We have also heard that consumers paying the anytime fare, no matter what time of the day they travel—I am getting a bit mixed up with my notes here. I apologise, Presiding Officer.
Mr Doris said that it is not just about affordability but about services being accessible and reliable. We know that cheaper rail fares in Scotland will contribute to our net zero goals and better connectivity, so we need to encourage people to leave their cars at home. We want them to choose rail travel, because we know that it reduces congestion, lowers emissions and will support our climate targets.
Although encouraging a shift from the car to the train is a worthwhile goal, it does nothing to address the underlying issues that Scotland’s rail system faces overall—the unreliable services, the frequent cancellations and the underinvestment in key routes. We heard some of the specifics from Mr Doris, including the need for Sunday services at Maryhill. We need greater frequency rather than one train an hour.
Consumer Scotland research shows that 11 per cent of consumers feel that lack of safety is a barrier to adopting more sustainable travel methods. It is not just about fares but about accessibility, reliability and passenger safety.
13:03
I begin by declaring my interest as the convener of the RMT Scottish parliamentary group. I thank Bob Doris for lodging the motion. I know that, like me, he is a regular passenger on the Glasgow to Edinburgh train, so maybe he should declare his interest, too.
I also thank the Scottish Government, because Abellio is gone, Serco is gone, ScotRail is in public ownership and the Caledonian Sleeper is in public ownership. I am not sure that the Government is building socialism, but it is taking steps in the right direction.
I thank Mr Leonard for his kind words. I did not declare my interest as a regular Glasgow to Edinburgh rail user because I am privileged that the taxpayer steps in and funds my rail travel. It is my constituents who do not have that privilege who will benefit, rather than me.
Yes, I take the point.
Let me return to what I was saying. I have said before in this Parliament and in these debates that ownership is power. The Scottish Government is now the sole shareholder in Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd, so it must use that ownership and power for the common good.
Let me be clear: I, for one, welcome the Government’s conversion to the scrapping of peak fares once and for all. In my view, it is a victory for the RMT and the other rail unions, which have campaigned for it with tenacity and with banners bright. In the face of that, the Scottish Government has maintained for the past year that it was only existing, undeserving and—worse yet—middle-class ScotRail passengers on above-average earnings who gained from the scrapping of peak fares, when in fact it was a benefit to all workers travelling to and from their work, which, by my definition, is the working class.
We know that this is about leading a long-term change in behaviour. As the Auditor General told Parliament earlier this year,
“it can take time to sustain positive behavioural changes, such as encouraging modal shift from car to rail use”.
He also concluded that, when it came to getting people out of cars and on to public transport, the Scottish Government had carried out no consultation, had no clear costed plan, had no measurable milestones and had done no equality impact assessments, and he said that monitoring and scrutinising arrangements were insufficient. I hope that ministers will heed this warning and learn this lesson.
I hope that the Scottish Government will also dispel the dark cloud of funding cuts that is hanging over the alliance between Network Rail, Babcock Rail and Arcadia—the rail systems alliance Scotland—which has forced redundancies and is compromising safety-critical work.
I hope as well that the minister today will address the question of supporting the trade union campaign against cuts to British Transport Police in Scotland, and that he will make a statement against the outsourcing of ScotRail customer experience services to the anti-trade-union company Teleperformance.
Of course, I also hope that the Government will address and reverse the big cuts in ticket office opening hours in railway stations right across Scotland, which have been forced through as a political choice. They are not operational decisions; they have been signed off by the Scottish Government.
Let me conclude by saying this: the removal of staff from railway station ticket offices will not only deter passengers; it will deny many passengers access to public transport altogether.
I welcome this week’s move, and I welcome public ownership, but we must have public ownership that is equal and inclusive, is transparent and accountable and is comprehensive and democratic—public ownership of our railways that is of the people, by the people, for the people.
13:07
I join members in thanking Bob Doris for securing this very timely debate. It echoes the debate that I led on the same topic in February, but I think that we are now in much happier times on the issue. Alongside my Scottish Green colleagues, rail unions and commuters, I am delighted that peak rail fares are now gone for good.
It has been quite a journey to get here. A six-month pilot that introduced off-peak all-day tickets was secured by the Greens, working with the Government, in 2023. It was extended to nine months before ending a year ago. Now, the scheme is back, and commuters are enjoying those savings once again.
Scrapping peak rail fares is all about making travel cheaper and simpler at a time when many households are still struggling to make ends meet. Peak fares have always been a tax on workers who have no say in what time they travel to work. As pre-Covid work patterns started to return in 2022, the absurdity of spending £30 a day to travel from Edinburgh to Glasgow hit home for many workers. Workers having to spend most of their morning’s wages just to pay for their commute was never right. It was simply not credible to run a nationalised rail service with fares set at extortionate levels. That marginalised rail as an option that was available only for the well paid or for those who, like us in this chamber, are on expenses.
The nine-month pilot got results. It resulted in a nearly 7 per cent increase in passenger numbers and an extra 4 million journeys by rail, half of which would have been otherwise taken by car. With transport accounting for a third of Scottish carbon emissions, it was a win for the climate, too. However, the policy clearly needed time to bed in to convince more people to make the switch.
The magic of the railways is that they shrink Scotland. They make job options viable that would otherwise require people to move house or to sit in spirit-crushing traffic jams for hours on end every day. As a result, they help to keep children in schools in the communities where they are settled. They allow people to choose between having one or two cars—or even no car at all.
However, the power of the railways to shrink Scotland works only if rail is affordable. It takes time for everyone to take stock of a big change such as the scrapping of peak fares and to make choices about where to live and what job to take in the future. It will take time to bed in, but now that certainty has been given that peak rail fares are gone for good, it will enable more people to choose rail as a more attractive option for travel.
It is important that the simple daily savings are understood better so that people can make such choices. Perth to Glasgow is a popular fast commute by train, and it is now £20 cheaper than the old peak price. Stirling to Edinburgh is another really busy commute—it is the one that I take—and the cost of it is down from nearly £20 to about £12 a day.
The introduction last year of better deals on passes was also welcome for those who were prepared to make a commitment to regular travel by rail, but the passes were never a substitute for a cheaper flat fare that meets the demands of a post-Covid world.
I will always remember the queue of people at Queen Street station—I was in that queue—on the day that peak fares were brought back in by the Government. It was chaos. People were confused and angry about having to upgrade tickets because they had missed the off-peak fare by just a few minutes. That is gone now—peak fares are gone. I am pleased that the Government has listened to those passengers, to the rail unions, which have been persistent in their campaigning on the issue, and to the Scottish Greens. We have now ended peak fares for good.
13:11
I, too, congratulate Bob Doris on securing the debate. I am delighted to speak, not only because I am a custodian—I jest—of the Borders railway but because I just love trains. That is particularly useful, as I am terrified of flying, but I digress.
The removal of peak-time rail fares is brilliant. It makes rail so much the better choice for commuters who travel to work or college, for example, and for commuting not just out of the Borders but into the Borders, where the cost of housing is much more reasonable than in the city and where there are excellent schools.
The story of the Borders railway, which on 9 September celebrates its 10th birthday, is one of unmitigated success. The passenger numbers that I am about to give represent thousands of journeys off the Borders roads, reducing congestion into the city of Edinburgh. Here are just a few stats. Borders railway footfall was nearly 2 million in 2019-20, which significantly exceeds the initial projected 600,000 annual passengers. That demonstrates a successful reintroduction of all rail services to the area after decades of local campaigning—and failure of the union.
More recently published figures show that, at some stations, the number of travellers increased by more than 30 per cent during 2023-24. The highest percentage increases were at Tweedbank station, which saw a 32.4 per cent increase, and at Gorebridge station, which had a 32.9 per cent increase. Although, nationally, Scotland enjoyed a 16 per cent uplift in the number of passenger journeys, local figures for stations in that section of the Borders line exceeded that impressive rise by a considerable margin.
The reduction in the daily return fare from Edinburgh to Tweedbank, for example, which was £22.50 before the abolition of peak fares and is now £15.10, will only serve to increase usage and reduce congestion and emissions. Keeping with the day return—you can, of course, buy weekly, monthly, seasonal and other tickets, with even more cost savings—I note that its reduction in price of more than £7 a day equates to a saving of £35 for the week and, for a working month, say, £140. Take another step up and it could be £1,500 a year. That is a huge economic bonus in this time of raging food inflation and energy costs. Other concessions and discounts still apply, including the kids-for-a-quid £1 ticket, which has already been referenced.
The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen supports the removal of peak-time rail fares. For me, that approach underlines the value of our railway system—although not the network—being in public ownership; we can avoid the costs and complexities that are so obvious in England, with its range of private companies and bewildering plethora of prices—all of which Sue Webber managed to dodge. On top of that, it adds to the argument for extending the line to Carlisle; there is a £10 million feasibility study to see whether an extension of the railway through the Borders to Carlisle would be financially viable—that case, I think, is proven. What has happened with the railway in the past 10 years shows that the extension is important. That is all a good thing and is assisted by the abolition of peak fares.
By the way—I am sorry that Sue Webber is the only Conservative here to hear this—the Conservatives initially opposed the return of the Borders railway. I have been here so long that I remember that.
13:15
I thank Bob Doris for securing the debate. The removal of peak fares from Scotland’s railways on 1 September is very much welcomed. In the rail debate next week, there will be an opportunity to discuss that policy, along with others, in our consideration of the future of Scotland’s railways. I welcome the fact that Bob Doris took time this afternoon to highlight some of those other issues.
At the 26th United Nations climate change conference of the parties—COP26—in Glasgow, the rail trade unions launched a vision for Scotland’s railways, recognising the significance of COP taking place in Scotland. That was a welcome document that firmly placed the future of Scotland’s railways as part of the way in which we can tackle climate change and meet our ambitious environment targets. It included the removal of peak fares, which it argued were a tax on workers and a disincentive to using the train.
This week, ASLEF welcomed the decision on peak fares, saying:
“So while today is a victory and good news for passengers, more could and should be done to cut fares further and ensure Scotland’s rail services are as affordable and accessible as possible. We urge the Scottish government to keep on working to this end.”
Although today is an opportunity to highlight the change in fares, next week’s debate may be the time to consider what more could and should be done to make rail more affordable and inclusive. Scotland and the UK have some of the highest fares in Europe, and reductions such as reducing a peak-time return from Kirkcaldy to Edinburgh from £19.60 to £12.60—a saving of £7 per journey—are to be welcomed. There is also an additional benefit for Fife travellers, as the peak fares applied over a longer period and did not just cover the morning rush hour but restricted travel in the evenings for almost two hours, which made a cheap day return less attractive.
The minister will have also heard me say that, in terms of price per mile, Fifers pay some of the highest fares, and that discrepancy will still remain. I appreciate that that is not always the best way to measure costs, but the fair fares review was designed to address some of those anomalies, and we need to see more progress on that.
It is fair to say that some of us might have been surprised when the Government announced the scrapping of peak fares. The pilot, which ran from October 2023 to September 2024, was deemed by Transport Scotland to not have been successful, and the Cabinet Secretary for Transport has previously defended in the chamber the decision to scrap the pilot. She recently said:
“Was modal shift part of the original intention of the pilot? Yes. Did the pilot achieve the shift that we wanted or desired? Unfortunately, and regrettably, no.”—[Official Report, Public Audit Committee, 23 April 2025; c 10.]
The cabinet secretary also said:
“the pilot did not achieve its original aim of encouraging more people to travel by train. The analysis shows that there was only a limited increase in passenger numbers—6.8 per cent—during the pilot. Consequently, insufficient levels of income were generated to justify continuing the pilot, which mostly benefited existing passengers who have above-average incomes.”—[Official Report, 26 February 2025; c 51.]
Some of us will be familiar with the argument that the pilot was flawed. It was not initially advertised or promoted, and it took place during industrial action, at a time when there was a reduced timetable and we were still in a post-pandemic period, when patronage of public transport was going through a transition.
The cabinet secretary also argued, just at the end of February, that
“the trial had limited success, and Parliament simply cannot and should not overturn a carefully crafted and agreed budget for transport this coming year, the day after agreeing to it.”—[Official Report, 26 February 2025; c 69.]
The plans were, therefore, not in the budget that Parliament passed in February. However, within a matter of months—coincidentally, before a crucial Scottish Parliament by-election—the First Minister announced a change of heart.
Next week will provide more time to consider the detail of the policy, but I will finish with one more quote from the cabinet secretary. She said:
“The Scottish Government would be open to consider future subsidy to remove peak fares should UK budget allocations to the Scottish Government improve in future years.”
Therefore, maybe it is the UK Government that we have to thank for the First Minister’s change of track.
13:19
I thank Bob Doris for bringing the debate to the chamber today. East Lothian has seven rail stations: Dunbar, East Linton, Drem, Longniddry, Prestonpans, Wallyford and Musselburgh. I work closely with the Rail Action Group East of Scotland—RAGES—which was established in Dunbar in January 1999 and now has about 170 members. RAGES aims to improve rail transport in East Scotland in order to reduce social isolation, promote rail transport as an essential element in an integrated transport system that serves all sections of the community—I will touch on that later—and promote rail as an environmentally friendly, sustainable and affordable mode of transport. Those aims were set out in 1999, and things have not changed.
In 2007, when I was elected as a councillor for the first time, one of my main objectives was to secure a rail station for the village of East Linton in my ward. With that in mind, I set up a steering group with councillors, MSPs, council officers, South East of Scotland Transport Partnership, ScotRail, Transport Scotland and Network Rail. We met four transport ministers in the campaign as we pushed for a rail station.
East Linton railway station opened on?Wednesday, 13 December 2023, for the first time in almost 60 years. I had the privilege of travelling on the first train from Edinburgh Waverley to East Linton alongside Fiona Hyslop, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, and Alex Hynes, the then chief executive of ScotRail. My enduring memory of that day was seeing the entirety of the East Linton primary school children meet the train and wave as we arrived, along with many local residents—it was a fantastic sight.
I continue to work with RAGES as we push for a new rail link from Haddington and Blindwells in East Lothian. We will meet the council next week to discuss the campaign. I also work with RAGES to push for more services and train stations in the rest of East Lothian.
East Lothian, along with Midlothian, has the fastest-growing population in Scotland. I mentioned Blindwells, which has the potential to be a new town in East Lothian, increasing the population by between 25 and 33 per cent. East Lothian has traditionally been a commuter belt for Edinburgh but Covid changed travel patterns, and those are continuing to change—many people now work from home in East Lothian and occasionally travel in to Edinburgh.
East Lothian has an amazing tourism offering, which is also important in relation to the abolition of peak rail fares. According to figures from the Scottish tourism economic activity monitor, the tourism industry in East Lothian generated £379 million for the local economy in 2024. It also noted that there were 1.56 million visitors to the county last year, a 9.5 per cent increase from 2023 and 14 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Overnight stays saw a significant rise, with visitor numbers increasing by 20 per cent. Overnight tourists contributed more than two million stays, adding £311 million to the local economy. Day visitors also played a crucial role, accounting for 63 per cent of all visits and generating £68 million. We are fortunate to have the Scottish open at the Renaissance club near North Berwick and the fringe by the sea in North Berwick, which have also boosted tourism. Many travel by rail.
The abolition of peak rail fares from 1 September saw an anytime day return from North Berwick drop from £15.60 to £9.10 and an anytime day return from East Linton to Edinburgh drop from £16.70 to £10.80. The decision to scrap peak rail fares will put more money in people’s pockets in East Lothian. It will also drive forward tourism and support jobs in that sector. It will make travel by train more affordable and encourage more people to use sustainable public transport.
Once again, it is a better deal for people because they live in Scotland, thanks to the Scottish Government.
13:23
I thank my colleague Bob Doris for bringing forward this debate on the abolition of peak fares from ScotRail services. He has done something that we in the Government are sometimes not good at doing, which is celebrating success and making sure that we let people know that we are taking steps that will help make the lives of the people of Scotland better under this SNP Government.
Bob Doris asked about the monitoring of the programme. We will monitor it over a three-year period, but I point out that we have abolished peak rail fares for good. We will see what will happen over the three-year period, but those peak rail fares are gone.
I also want to congratulate Bob Doris, because he has an exemplary record of standing up for his constituents in the chamber on a regular basis, and I commend him for that.
Fulton MacGregor raised the issue of concessions. Despite the fact that he is not here, I encourage him to write to us. A lot of the fares that he was talking about are local authority and transport authority concessionary travel fares, but I am happy to have a further discussion with him on those.
Sue Webber was, unfortunately, disappointing but not surprising in making her miserabilist speech. I will correct her on one thing, which is that ScotRail is one of the top-performing train operators in the United Kingdom; it performed better than most operators in Great Britain. In 2024-25, ScotRail cancelled just 2.2 per cent of its trains, which is around half as many cancellations as the GB average of 4.1 per cent. I could read the entire list of other performance measures in which ScotRail is doing so well under public ownership, but I will spare Ms Webber’s blushes.
I am delighted to welcome Richard Leonard’s warm response and vociferous support. We may not agree on some things, but we absolutely agree on this.
Mark Ruskell made a point about the Greens’ involvement, which I absolutely accept, but he should remember that it was the cabinet secretary who extended the pilot scheme in order to see how it would work. He also talked about season tickets and the variety of ways—again, I have a full list—in which people can save money by using ScotRail. Christine Grahame pointed out the same thing.
Claire Baker made points about remarks that were made by the cabinet secretary, on which I will come back to my notes. Her last point was that perhaps we should be thanking the UK Government for the extra money. I go back to the point that the First Minister made during First Minister’s question time, which was that the people of Scotland should have the right to choose; we should not have to wait for Westminster to do things in order to allow us to deliver for the people of Scotland.
I thank all the staff who are involved in Scotland’s Railway for helping us to deliver our landmark policy commitment. It is a collective effort of the staff in ScotRail and Network Rail Scotland, and has resulted in ScotRail performing better than most GB operators.
Public ownership has created the opportunity to deliver a railway that is run for the benefit of the nation. ScotRail passenger numbers have increased by 75 per cent from 46 million in 2021-22 to around 82 million in 2023-24. That makes ScotRail one of the fastest-growing operators, with one of the best passenger satisfaction rates. We are building even further on that success by removing ScotRail peak fares for good.
We have always been clear that further initiatives on peak fares would be considered if money was available. Balancing our budget for the benefit of the people of Scotland is, and will always remain, a priority for the SNP Government. Removing the peak fares is a bold and pioneering initiative that has not been done elsewhere in the UK, and it was possible only due to the Government’s bringing ScotRail into public sector control.
I applaud the unions for their role in helping the Scottish Government to deliver what is a pioneering policy and for their collaboration, which demonstrates that working together allows us to achieve more. That is a further commitment of our desire to be able to do more and to create a railway that is run in the interests of the nation and for the benefit of passengers rather than shareholders. An ambitious move such as scrapping peak fares from ScotRail services shows exactly what we can achieve with a modern, efficient and sustainable publicly owned railway, and I again commend everyone who has partnered us in delivering it.
Getting more people to travel by public transport is crucial in tackling our climate emergency. To do that, we need to make public transport more appealing. Removing peak fares will do exactly that. The pilot demonstrated that more people chose to travel by train when fares were removed. By taking this step and providing certainty that peak fares are gone for good, we are confident that more people will take the opportunity to make sustainable long-term choices, choosing public transport, which will make public transport more sustainable as a result. That is a win-win for us all, but not only that; the decision to remove peak fares was taken against a backdrop of continuing global uncertainty—arguably, a period of even greater economic uncertainty than when the pilot was initially operated. That has had an impact on the day-to-day lives of the people of Scotland. That is why it is vital that we as a Government take direct action to reduce uncertainty and improve the lives of those who live in Scotland. Permanently removing those peak fares will help many passengers to cut down on their travel costs. That is the SNP Government working hard for the people of Scotland.
I understand that folk thought that we had not done enough to promote the pilot removal of peak fares, so I will be clear: we want as many folk as possible to take advantage of the excellent value that our railway offers. That is why significant promotional activity is under way right now so that we can maximise the uptake of the great value that the train offers. I am sure that many of you will have encountered advertising on television, radio or social media, spreading the message that peak fares are gone for good.
Indeed, I and almost every other SNP MSP were all over social media at the start of the week, highlighting the scrapping of peak rail fares with videos and memes, and even handing out tickets at stations, letting commuters know that the SNP Government had scrapped peak rail fares for good. Ironically—
Will the minister give way?
Yes, I will.
Briefly, please, because the minister is concluding.
This time last year, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport talked about how flexi and season passes were going to be the way forward and the way to reduce costs. Was there any analysis of how successful that approach was, and did that lead the Government to changing its view and reintroducing off-peak fares all day? I just thought that that was the main answer that the Cabinet Secretary for Transport gave this time last year.
If you could bring your remarks to a close, please, minister.
In the interests of brevity, I will continue what I was saying. The fact is that we have taken the decision to scrap peak rail fares, which will get more people on to public transport.
As I have said, I and every other SNP MSP were all over social media last week about this. In the interests of time, I will just say that I very much look forward to seeing every other member across the chamber celebrating this successful SNP policy and the fact that fares have been driven down for the people of Scotland.
That concludes the debate.
13:30 Meeting suspended.Previous
First Minister’s Question Time