Chamber and committees

To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to address the illegal use of off-road bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters. (S6O-04942)

Will the member take an intervention on the use of the term “cis woman”?

I acknowledge that I was at that meeting on 29 May.

Antisocial behaviour is up 5 per cent in the past year, and e-bikes and e-scooters are playing a huge role in encouraging it. Trail bikes and souped-up e-bikes and e-scooters are tearing around the streets, often in a very dangerous manner, and are repeatedly being used to facilitate home break-ins, shoplifting and car thefts. My constituents are fed up.

Meanwhile, the police are powerless. They do not give chase, and they lack the required resources to stop them. If the bikes are seized, they are more often than not handed back.

Minister, enough is enough. Do you not agree that it is time that we got tough on this sort of crime, and that we should provide the police with real resources to tackle it?

With due respect, Mr Ruskell, I have only 30 seconds left and I have tons to say.

I have no doubt that the removal of the free bus pass for under-22s would make a difference. Therefore, I would like the pass to be taken away from those who are responsible for significant antisocial behaviour. I hope that the minister will provide an update on where we are with that. The First Minister has said that work is under way to develop a system that would strip under-22s of their entitlement following repeated bad behaviour, and I look forward to that being implemented.

First—I was going to call you First Minister, Presiding Officer.

Right now, there is a great opportunity to allow our young people and their voices to influence our transport for the future, and I am delighted that the debate has taken place this afternoon. I again thank Sarah Boyack for the opportunity to speak on this important issue.

Lothian Buses has done an awful lot of study and data analysis—it is the only bus company to have done that—and its research shows a direct correlation between the increase in antisocial behaviour and violence on the buses and the introduction of the under-22 bus pass. I cannot hide from that.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app would not refresh; I would have voted no.

I extend my thanks to Sarah Boyack for securing the motion for debate in the chamber and congratulate the Scottish Youth Parliament on its work, which is about reinforcing the importance of youth voices in discussions about our country’s transport needs. We cannot disagree with the statement that public transport should be affordable, safe, accessible and reliable, not just for young people, but for everyone across Lothian and Scotland. In Edinburgh and the Lothians, we are lucky enough to have an award-winning, first-rate bus service, Lothian Buses. However, other parts of the country are not so fortunate and suffer from extremely limited bus services and infrastructure. In some cases, there are no bus services.

We all know the importance of good transport links for the Scottish economy and businesses, but they play a key role in our social development. Dr Allan outlined some specific challenges in our island and rural communities, and some of my colleagues in the Scottish Conservatives tell me about the limitations in rural areas because of the lack of public transport. That inequality is not acceptable. We need good transport links to form the backbone of our communities. They link people to work, education and leisure, and they offer a direct alternative to car travel. The benefits of good public transport are particularly important for young people’s access to social, educational and employment opportunities, while it also gives them independence. Access to colleges, universities, apprenticeships and work is so important for young people as they grow into young adults.

The young person’s under-22 bus travel scheme has attracted a huge number of participants and has increased our young people’s mobility. However, I will talk a bit about the challenges. Most people who use the under-22 scheme exercise their participation thoughtfully, but some groups of youths are abusing the scheme to engage in antisocial behaviour. The actions of the very disruptive minority are unacceptable and we must be prepared to tackle antisocial behaviour head on. As the shadow cabinet secretary for transport in the Scottish Parliament, I spent an evening on patrol with Lothian Buses and Police Scotland, and I witnessed at first hand the growing problems of antisocial behaviour and heard the views of drivers and passengers.

Not at the moment.

That fact is one of the reasons why so many people are reluctant to get back to office working, and that decision has a direct correlation with the recovery of town and city centre economies.

The SNP’s decision to reintroduce peak fares across ScotRail trains last year was a disastrous decision, which served to punish hard-working Scots, especially those businesses and employees who were just considering returning to work to kick-start their business performance and increase productivity. We campaigned against that. Despite being defeated on a Scottish Conservative motion on the issue last year—a year ago almost to the day—the SNP refused to budge. Its members claimed at the time that abolishing peak fares permanently was unaffordable.

Perhaps I am far too cynical, but the timing of the U-turn did not really come as a surprise to me. The Government was desperate for a good news story and desperate to take full credit—we have seen that modus operandi before from the SNP. However, I am thrilled with the SNP’s latest U-turn, which is long overdue. The Scottish Conservatives have always said that we would permanently scrap peak rail fares to ease the burden on hard-working Scots.

Today’s debate is also about improving rail connections throughout Scotland. That is not just about the regional benefits—it is a national priority. We need to enhance the infrastructure to not only foster local community cohesion but bolster the entire country’s transport network. Passengers have been let down by SNP mismanagement. It is common sense to link new railway developments to future centres of population growth, and the SNP Government must outline how it plans to link the railway with growing towns and villages across the country.

Will the member take an intervention?