Question reference: S6W-26904
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 18 April 2024
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Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 29 April 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is reviewing the performance of the Young Persons’ (Under 22s) Free Bus Travel scheme.
Answer
Since the Under 22s Scheme launched in January 2022, over 130 million free bus journeys have been made by over 700,000 cardholders across Scotland. This landmark policy is already helping young people and families with children cut costs for everyday and leisure travel, while at the same time helping to protect our climate. Scotland-wide free bus travel schemes for Young People and for Older and Disabled people provide access to free bus travel to a larger percentage of the population than schemes elsewhere in the UK.
In line with other travel/transport schemes, Transport Scotland are conducting process, impact and outcome evaluations of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel scheme.
A baseline study to establish travel behaviour and seek to understand the attitudes and perceptions of young people towards travel was undertaken prior to implementation of the scheme. This report was published on the Transport Scotland website on 24 June 2022. Following this, a Year One Evaluation of the scheme was conducted between April and August 2023 and the report was published on the Transport Scotland website on 14 December 2023.
The next stage of the evaluation of the scheme is planned for 2025, three years after opening, and will focus on longer-term impacts of the scheme and whether any behaviour change has been sustained.