Glasgow has started its pilot scheme, with 1000 free transport passes (some reports say 500) given out to Glaswegians aged 22-59. Older and younger age groups are excluded because they already have free bus travel.

Glasgow’s public transport fares are nearly as expensive as London’s, with bus fares costing £3.60-£5.90, and Underground £1.80 or £4.30 for all-day. The transport network, and the city as a whole, is smaller than London, with less than 1 million residents compared to London’s 9 million.

The pilot is costing £225,000. The research report for the pilot was published in March 2024 and is available to read here. The costings for the pilot project are set out in Table 4-2 on page 34 of the PDF. The pilot has, by some accounts, been reduced to 6 weeks, not 9 weeks as recommended by the pilot research report.

Fare Free London has been calling for an equivalent exercise to take place in London, and last year called on the Deputy Mayor to appoint a commission to write an equivalent report, setting out how an informative pilot could be achieved in London. We are still calling on the administration to do this, and you can add your name to the petition here.

Published 14th February 2026.