Scottish Government could strip free bus passes from anti-social youths

Young people breaking the rules on buses could soon lose their free travel pass under plans by the First Minister.

John Swinney said work is under way to develop a system that would strip under-22s of their entitlement following repeated bad behaviour.

Concerns have been raised that the scheme has led to a rise in anti-social behaviour on public transport.

Last week, Holyrood’s Transport Committee heard of a link between the rollout of the bus pass and rising bad behaviour.

However, bus operators – including representatives from FirstBus, Lothian buses and Stagecoach – stressed the increase was proportionate to the rising level of passengers caused by the scheme.

During First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Conservative MSP Sue Webber asked the SNP leader to provide an update on the progress to remove the pass from those persistently breaking the rules.

Swinney said: “Work is under way to develop this and if we were to take the step there would be the likelihood of secondary legislation being required to enable a mechanism to be put in place to enable that to be the case.

“So these issues are being considered by the Government actively.”

The First Minister told MSPs the scheme itself has been “enormously successful” and that most people using it are well behaved.

He said: “It has attracted a huge amount of participation, and it has increased the mobility of young people.

“The overwhelming majority of young people exercise their participation in the under-22 scheme wisely and thoughtfully and effectively.

“We have to be prepared to tackle unacceptable behaviour, but we also have to applaud young people for the positive contribution they make to our society.”

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop had said in 2024 that she backed proposals to remove the cards from some young people and would explore the legal means to do so.

Speaking to Parliament earlier this week, Sarah Boyd, the managing director of Lothian Buses, said she had heard of “horrendous” experiences facing drivers and passengers on the region’s buses.

She told the committee: “It’s important to remember it is a minority of young people.

“It’s an incredible scheme. It’s enabled some of the most superb travel patterns now in our young people.

“But if you’re involved in an incident on the bus, if you’re the driver, if you’re the victim of something, if you’re other passengers, some of the experiences and stories are horrendous.”

Asked if badly behaved young people should lose their free travel entitlement, she said: “You asked about repeat offenders, I think absolutely.

“It is a minority but I don’t think we should underestimate the impact it has.”

Duncan Cameron, manager director of FirstBus agreed, saying the card should be taken away “if the offence is appropriate”.