Free buses open doors for Scotland’s under-22s –  privatisation undermines the scheme.

Free bus travel is making a world of difference to under-22s in Scotland, opening access to jobs, education and social life – but privately-owned transport companies are creaming off profits from the scheme.

Campaigners in Scotland are calling for public ownership and control, to stop exploitative over-charging and poor service by the private companies.

We could learn from Scotland’s success with free public transport, while avoiding the nightmares brought on by privatisation, Fare Free London says.

Free bus travel for the under-22s was introduced by the Scottish government on 31 January 2022. More than 300 million bus journeys have been taken by 838,900 young people who have a National Entitlement Card.

The benefits were spelled out in a report by Young Scot, a charity, which surveyed more than 650 22-25 year olds who had benefited from the scheme up until their 22nd birthday.

□ More than 91% of survey respondents said the scheme had increased their access to work, education and leisure;

□ Free bus travel helped improve young people’s independence, confidence and financial stability;

□ Focus groups run by Young Scot highlighted the positive impact on mental health, reducing isolation and increasing social participation.

One survey respondent said: “I’m from a low-income family. Sometimes I would use the lunch money my mum gave me to get the bus. … My sister is 13 and now she has the free bus travel. I am so happy for her that she doesn’t need to make that choice.”

Another said free travel gave them “a sense of independence and adventure – no matter where you were, you knew you wouldn’t have to worry about the travel cost”.

And a third said: “It drastically improved my mental health, and social life, as it meant I was not worried about spending too much on travel.”

After their 22nd birthday, scheme respondents used buses more than other travel modes, with 52% taking five or more bus journeys per week.

But car usage increased: while still on the scheme, only 4% of people used a car five or more times per week, but after it, 25% did.

Young Scot’s report also showed that the scheme influenced how people chose to travel.

Nearly two thirds of respondents (63%) now consider public transport more often in their decision making, and more respondents used active travel – walking, wheeling and cycling – after reaching their 22nd birthday.

In Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, where bus fares are extremely expensive – more than £3 each for many journeys – there has been a big ramp-up in cycling infrastructure.

The city council has committed to build 270 kilometres of segregated bike lanes, of which they are now promising 50 km by 2030.

The age limits on the free buses scheme is one obvious problem. Paul Shaw of Better Buses for Strathclyde, a coalition campaigning for franchising and public ownership, said: “As things stand, your 22nd birthday is a cliff edge. All of a sudden you could be paying more than £6 for two journeys, or £12 for four journeys – patterns that are quite common for people to get to work and back.”

The prospect of free public transport for all has been discussed by Glasgow City Council. In 2024 it commissioned a report that made a strong case for it. A pilot scheme followed – an unambitious model, offering free passes to 1000 residents for seven weeks. Any assessment of that has not yet been made public.

Meanwhile, national legislation has opened the door to local authorities outside London getting a foothold for publicly-owned bus services, by setting up municipally owned bus companies.

In Scotland, private ownership of bus companies has actually stopped the free-fares scheme reaching its potential, Paul Shaw argues.

This is due to the way the free travel is paid for. The bus companies charge the Scottish government for the cost of the fare, at a pre-agreed percentage of an adult single fare for the same journey.

In 2025-26, for older and disabled users, the bus companies charged 52.9% of a single fare, for a young person aged 16-21, 72.4%, and for 5-15 year olds, 47.9%.

That means, for example, that if a 16-year old takes four journeys in a day, the operator First Bus is paid £9.40 by the Scottish government (four times 72.4% of an adult single).

“This is despite the fact a First Bus all-day ticket is £6.30”, Paul wrote in a recent substack post. Does that make First Bus no worse off? “That sounds quite a bit better off if you ask me.”

If that 16-year old is travelling with their grandma, and a younger sibling, First Bus would collect £22.49 from the government – while two adults and one child all-day tickets would cost just £15.70.

“This system incentivises the operators to design bus routes which requires passengers to take more than one bus per journey – and since it is tied to the cost of an adult single fare, it keeps those high”, Paul Shaw wrote. “This is why two singles are more expensive than an all-day ticket.”

Bus fares – and political attitudes to them – are changing nationwide. The cost of living crisis, and war-related fuel price increases, are forcing rethinking all round. Andy Burnham has ordered a £2 bus fare cap in England. Millions of school-aged children have been offered free travel deals over the summer by local authorities.

In London, where we already have public control of bus services – which are franchised to operators by TfL – many of the problems suffered by the under-22s scheme in Scotland can be avoided from the start.

On the other hand, we have a two-tier public transport system, with relatively cheap bus fares (capped, for now, at £1.75 for a single adult journey) and some of the most expensive tube fares in the world.

Fare Free London says it is time for the Mayor to look at the options for TfL, including the universal free public transport that we favour, and any number of steps towards it.

□ On Tuesday 29 September, at our public event, “How to make public transport free”, we will consider our next campaigning steps. All welcome – just register on eventbrite.

The event, at 7.0pm at the Golden Lane community centre in the Barbican, and on line, will hear a talk by Julie Frêche, vice-president for transport and mobility of the Montpellier metropolitan area in France, which introduced universal free public transport in 2023.

By Simon Pirani, Fare Free London.