Have your say: Is the Scottish Government right to bring back ScotRail peak fares?

But that is all set to end next month - the Scottish Government is scrapping its pilot scheme that abandoned all peak rail fares.

The £40 million pilot scheme involved rush-hour tickets between Edinburgh and Glasgow being nearly halved from £28.90 to just £14.90. Ticket prices on other routes across the country also fell dramatically at peak times.

However, Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop has announced this scheme will come to an end on September 27. She said passenger numbers needed to increase by 10 per cent to make the policy self-financing. However, they only increased by 6.8 per cent.

At the same time, ministers also recommended increasing fares on many popular peak-time routes. This means trains between Scotland’s two major cities will increase by 8.6 per cent to a whopping £31.40.

Trains between Inverness and Elgin are likely to go up to £22, and up to £16.10 between Glasgow and Stirling. Other measures to help passengers save some money will be introduced, such as super off-peak tickets and a 12-month discount on all season tickets.

New flexipasses will also be introduced to allow 12 single journeys for the price of ten if used within 60 days. But is this a necessary move for the government and do you agree with it?

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The 2024/25 budget was described as the most difficult since devolution, and earlier this month Finance Secretary Shona Robison put a stop to all but essential government spending.

This is mainly to help fund public sector pay deals - an 11th-hour deal was offered to call off bin strikes across the country earlier this month, for example.

The Government has also announced other cuts. Winter fuel payments for pensioners will now be means-tested rather than universal.

And many Scottish performers used their final show at the Edinburgh festivals to stage a demonstration against cuts to culture funds.

Ms Hyslop said: “The pilot will have been welcome in saving many passengers hundreds and in some cases thousands of pounds during the cost-of-living crisis, but this level of subsidy cannot continue in the current financial climate on that measure alone.”