Youths guilty of anti-social behaviour on public transport could lose free bus travel

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Greens introduced free bus travel for under 22s in 2022.

However, concerns have been raised over some young people being able to travel on public transport free of charge while repeatedly abusing staff and passengers.

Transport Scotland has said it is aware of anti-social behaviour linked to the free bus travel scheme and is exploring preventative measures including the temporary suspension of concessionary cards.

Read more: Charities condemn move to axe free bus travel for asylum seekers

Last month, SNP transport secretary Fiona Hyslop confirmed the legislation that put the scheme into law “does not make specific provision for removing access to the scheme when it is misused”.

Scottish Labour will use a Holyrood debate on Wednesday to call for concessionary bus passes to be revoked from those who carry out antisocial behaviour.

The party’s intervention follows the death of Keith Rollinson, a bus driver in Elgin, who suffered a cardiac arrest following an assault by a teenage boy.

Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, said: “With unions and workers raising the alarm and an 84 per cent increase in reports of verbal or physical abuse over the past year, the need for action cannot be clearer.

“Enough is enough – it’s time that the Scottish government woke up to the scale of the violence and intimidation that bus drivers face.”

The Glasgow MSP added that “under 22s that are found to have repeatedly acted violently on buses” should have their free bus passes taken off them.

He said: “Scottish Labour supports the concessionary scheme for under 22 bus travel but we will not see this scheme abused by those who pose a risk to workers.

“Without taking action now, we risk signalling that bus drivers are fair game for abuse. It’s time to end this scandal, punish those who abuse bus drivers and keep workers safe.”

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “We have the greatest sympathy for bus drivers who are at the sharp end of antisocial behaviour from a small minority of bus passengers.

“Everyone should be able to go to their work without fear of abuse. That’s why the cabinet secretary for transport met Unite representatives last month to discuss the safety of bus drivers and confirmed that she is committed to ensuring a full range of options are available to support the police, local authorities and bus operators to tackle this issue.

Read more: Why Scotland's universal offers such as free bus travel and tuition may not be in the public's interest

“The vast majority of passengers travelling by bus behave appropriately, including people of all ages using their free bus entitlement to travel. None of this would be possible without bus drivers keeping communities connected.

“However, there is a minority of people, of all ages, who abuse their entitlement, including to commit offences, and which can result in serious harm to bus employees and passengers. That is simply not acceptable.

“Bus operators can already restrict access to their services in line with their own conditions of carriage and we are working with operators, unions and other stakeholders, to develop further sanctions and preventative measures. This includes development of a new behaviour code for passengers and a process for temporary suspension of concessionary travel cards.”