Friday Blog | Free Bus Travel for Young Scots — A Policy Success Still Finding Its Balance

Free bus travel for young people in Scotland has now been running for more than four years, and few policies show the trade-offs of public transport investment more clearly.

On one hand, it has opened up work, education, volunteering and social opportunities for hundreds of thousands of young people. On the other, operators, drivers and communities continue to raise concerns about anti-social behaviour and safety on parts of the network.

The result is a scheme that is widely used, clearly valued, and increasingly central to how young people move around Scotland — but one that also needs stronger support systems around it.

For 19-year-old medical student Poppy Fairbairn, from Kirkcaldy in Fife, the difference is practical and immediate. She studies at the University of St Andrews, works part-time as a swimming teacher and volunteers with organisations including the Scouts, Young Scot and Scottish Action for Mental Health.

That means regular journeys across Fife and beyond. Without the National Entitlement Card, she estimates she could be spending at least £25 a week on buses.

"Having the card means I don't have to decide what I can and can't do," she said.

"For work, because I only teach for two or three hours at a time, it's not feasible to commute there and earn a wage, I'd have to spend most of it getting there and back.

"It's the same with going to see friends, I can just go and not have to worry about the cost for them or for myself, we can just make the most of it."

That is the strongest argument in favour of the policy. For young people with limited income, transport costs can quietly shape what is possible. A bus fare can determine whether someone takes a shift, attends a class, joins a club, visits family or volunteers.

The under-22 scheme, introduced in January 2022, allows anyone aged five to 21 with a valid National Entitlement Card carrying the blue ITSO symbol to travel free on buses across Scotland. Children under five already travel free on most services.

The take-up has been significant. As of 1 April this year, 838,992 young people had a valid pass — around 80% of those eligible. Since the scheme began, young people have made 296,776,082 journeys under the programme. In 2021/22, people aged 16 to 22 made around 3.5 million bus journeys. In the first full year of the scheme, that figure rose to more than 33 million.

Those numbers show the policy is not sitting unused. It has changed behaviour and helped embed bus travel into everyday life for many young Scots.

The Scottish government has framed the scheme partly as a cost-of-living intervention and partly as a longer-term transport policy. The hope is that young people who grow up using buses will be more likely to choose public transport over private car use later in life.

That matters. Transport habits are often formed young. If buses are familiar, affordable and useful, they can become a normal part of daily life rather than a last resort.

But the scheme also sits within a difficult operating environment. Bus services across Scotland have faced pressure from rising costs, driver shortages, changing travel patterns and service withdrawals. Free travel is only truly transformative if services are frequent, reliable and safe.

And safety is where the debate becomes more complicated.

The scheme has been referenced in discussions about rising anti-social behaviour on buses. Incidents involving abuse, vandalism and assaults have caused concern among drivers, operators and passengers.

The most serious case was the death of bus driver Keith Rollinson in Elgin in February 2024. He suffered a cardiac arrest after being attacked by a youth he had refused to let board because he was too drunk. The teenager later pleaded guilty to culpable homicide and was sentenced to four years and four months in prison.

The case intensified pressure on ministers to consider whether free travel could be withdrawn from card holders who behave dangerously or abusively.

Legislation has since been brought forward allowing the Scottish government to suspend or withdraw free travel if a card holder breaches a new code of conduct, though the rules are not expected to come into force until later this year.

Speaking after the legislation was brought forward, then-connectivity minister Jim Fairlie said: "Our aim is to make the bus network safer by deterring unacceptable behaviour and, where necessary, removing the privilege of free travel.

"Criminal behaviour will remain a matter for the police and justice system, but this policy forms part of wider efforts to improve community safety."

That distinction is important. Free travel is a transport entitlement, not a substitute for policing, youth work, school engagement or community safety measures. Removing a pass may be appropriate in serious cases, but it cannot be the only response to anti-social behaviour.

Operators have also reported problems in several areas. In Edinburgh, reports of anti-social behaviour on Lothian services rose by nearly 5% last year. First Bus and Stagecoach have previously withdrawn services in Glasgow because of vandalism. Stagecoach also temporarily withdrew its number 82 service in Dunfermline after vehicles were targeted and windows smashed. In Hawick, Borders Buses drivers were told to call police after some school services were cancelled because of disruptive behaviour.

For drivers, these are not abstract policy debates. They are workplace safety issues.

Unite, which represents around 8,000 bus workers in Scotland, says it supports the pass in principle but wants better protection for staff.

Deputy Scottish secretary Dougie Maguire said: "The incidence of anti-social behaviour is at record levels which is leading to unacceptable levels of physical and verbal abuse being directed at drivers and passengers.

"We need bus companies and the Scottish government to adopt stronger preventative and protective measures on all buses such as CCTV.

"This is complicated societal issue which needs a multi-agency response, because it's having a detrimental impact on communities, passengers and workers."

That feels like the central lesson after four years. The pass has succeeded in getting young people onto buses. The next challenge is making sure the bus network can support that success.

That means investment not just in fares, but in the full passenger experience: staffing, CCTV, reporting systems, youth engagement, driver support, service reliability and safe waiting environments. It also means making sure consequences for serious misconduct are clear, fair and enforceable.

There is a wider political question too. The Scottish Greens want free bus travel expanded to everyone in Scotland through greater public control. That would be a much bigger step, with major financial and operational implications. The current under-22 scheme already costs the Scottish government around £472.7m a year. Any expansion would need to answer difficult questions about funding, capacity and service quality.

Still, the core idea remains powerful. Free bus travel gives young people freedom. It helps them study, work, volunteer, socialise and take part in civic life. For many, it reduces isolation and widens opportunity.

Poppy’s experience shows what the policy can achieve when it works well. It removes a barrier that many young people cannot easily absorb. It turns the bus from a cost into a connector.

But the concerns from drivers and operators cannot be dismissed. A successful public transport policy must work for passengers and staff alike.

So, as England prepares to introduce free bus travel for under-16s, Scotland offers a useful case study. The headline is not simply that free travel works, or that it creates problems. The more honest conclusion is that it works best when it is treated as part of a wider transport and community safety system.

Free fares can get young people on board. Keeping the network safe, reliable and respected is the work that follows.