Bus travel scheme for under-22s: FOI Release

Information requested

1. Since the start of the free bus travel scheme for under-22s how many people have been eligible to take part in the scheme?
2. Since the start of the free bus travel scheme for under-22s how many people have made use of the scheme?
3. Since the start of the free bus travel scheme for under-22s how many people in rural areas have been eligible to take part in the scheme?
4. Since the start of the free bus travel scheme for under-22s how many people in rural areas have made use of the scheme?
5. Has the Scottish Government carried out any assessment into any connection between the free bus travel scheme and anti-social behaviour on buses. If so, could you share any results?
6. Has the Scottish Government faced any increased costs from bus companies due to anti-social behaviour on buses since it started? If so, please could you share the total cost to date.
7. Over the course of the next two years, how much does the Scottish expect to spend on the scheme?

Response

1. At the beginning of the scheme on 31 January 2022 we estimated that there were 928,214 young people eligible. The current estimate of young people eligible for the scheme is 1,017,393. Population data is taken from the National Records of Scotland. In addition to those who currently hold a valid young person’s card, it is estimated that a further 1.1% of the estimated population aged 5-21 are also cardholders within the Disabled Persons’ Scheme. We do not hold an overall estimate for all those that would have been eligible from the start of the Young Person’s scheme to present.

2. As at 1 August 2024 there were 752,038 cardholders for the scheme. This data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). The data refers to the number of people aged 5-21 with a valid card but does not include products which either start in the future or have expired. We do not hold an overall total number of cardholders who have actively participated in the Young Person’s scheme from launch.

3. The data we hold is broken down by local council area. We are able to provide a breakdown by local council area of the estimated number of those eligible for the Young Person’s scheme at launch in January 2022 and at present. Estimated population data is taken from the National Records of Scotland. In addition to those who currently hold a valid young person’s card, it is estimated that a further 1.1% of the population aged 5-21 are also cardholders within the Disabled Persons’ Scheme.

The breakdown of the estimated eligible amount of people aged 5-21, per local council area, was:

Local council	January 2022 estimate	Current estimate
Aberdeen City	35,782	42,865
Aberdeenshire	47,968	50,714
Angus Council	19,296	20,199
Argyll and Bute	13,291	14,077
City of Edinburgh	80,476	97,655
Clackmannanshire	9,033	9,502
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	4,202	4,274
Dumfries and Galloway	23,484	24,029
Dundee City	25,416	31,147
East Ayrshire	20,879	21,954
East Dunbartonshire	19,670	20,491
East Lothian	19,488	21,551
East Renfrewshire	20,174	21,068
Falkirk	27,959	29,258
Fife	66,367	72,271
Glasgow City	100,942	118,720
Highland	39,337	40,521
Inverclyde	12,619	13,416
Midlothian	17,417	18,424
Moray	16,476	17,000
North Ayrshire	22,778	24,052
North Lanarkshire	62,810	66,565
Orkney Islands	3,549	3,659
Perth & Kinross	24,984	26,241
Renfrewshire	30,110	32,799
Scottish Borders	19,057	19,961
Shetland Islands	4,126	4,462
South Ayrshire	17,865	18,859
South Lanarkshire	55,249	59,618
Stirling	16,515	19,479
West Dunbartonshire	15,405	16,395
West Lothian	35,491	36,167
Total	928,214	1,017,393

4. The data we can provide is broken down by local council area. This data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). The data refers to the number of people aged 5-21 with a valid card but does not include products which either start in the future or have expired. We do not hold an overall total number of cardholders who have actively participated in the Young Person’s scheme from launch. As of 1 August 2024 the number of cardholders aged 5-21 in each local council area was as follows:

Aberdeen City	31,455
Aberdeenshire	37,369
Angus Council	14,554
Argyll & Bute	9,607
City of Edinburgh	85,938
Clackmannanshire	5,333
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	3,030
Dumfries and Galloway	15,183
Dundee City	23,474
East Ayrshire	17,576
East Dunbartonshire	14,119
East Lothian	16,654
East Renfrewshire	15,108
Falkirk	18,982
Fife	59,120
Glasgow City	83,470
Highland	23,390
Inverclyde	11,713
Midlothian	14,002
Moray	11,266
North Ayrshire	20,059
North Lanarkshire	49,614
Orkney Islands	2,330
Perth & Kinross	18,939
Renfrewshire	25,076
Scottish Borders	13,320
Shetland Islands	3,404
South Ayrshire	12,369
South Lanarkshire	46,459
Stirling	11,379
West Dunbartonshire	13,806
West Lothian	23,940
Total	752,038

5. To understand the impact of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme, the Scottish Government have committed to an ongoing evaluation during the first five years of operation. This includes a one year after launch evaluation published earlier this year. This includes consideration of the impact of antisocial behaviour on cardholders, other bus users and the bus industry. This evaluation can be found on the Transport Scotland website.

6. The Scottish Government has not faced increased costs from bus operators with regard to antisocial behaviour.

7. In the financial year 2024-25, the scheme is expected to cost up to an estimated £200 million in reimbursement claims. The Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme is the first of its kind globally. Therefore there is not sufficient economic, demographic or travel pattern data to make such estimates for future years.

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