Call for 'clear answers' on £2 bus fare cap rollout amid uncertainty over SNP's pledge
Scottish Government says it will “progress” scheme during its committed 100-day timescale
Scottish Labour MPs have demanded “clear answers” on when the £2 bus fare cap will be extended to the west of Scotland as ministers indicated they were backtracking on the First Minister’s pledge to introduce it across the region containing half the country’s population within 100 days of being re-elected.
John Swinney pledged during the election campaign ahead of the May vote that the £2 bus fare cap to “would be extended” to Glasgow, Ayrshire, Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Inverclyde “within the first 100 days” of a new SNP government.
However, Transport Scotland said on Thursday that work was ongoing with partners “to progress” the £2 bus fare cap to the west coast areas within the 100-day timeframe.
It comes after Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn opened a debate at Holyrood on the issue last month by stating the government would be “making progress” to extend the cap within the period.
The apparent change came as government officials on Thursday twice clarified when the 100 days started.
It initially said that was from the date of the Scottish cabinet being formed on May 20 rather than the election result on May 8 - extending the end of that time period from August 16 to 28.
A spokesperson for Transport Scotland pointed to a Scottish Government announcement on July 15 which referred to its “100 days commitments since the new Cabinet was formed”.
However, at 10pm on Thursday - nine hours after The Scotsman asked the Scottish Government to clarify its position - officials said the period started on May 25 so would end on Sept 1.
A spokesperson said: The period of measuring the specific pledges set out within the First 100 days programme runs from May 25 to September 1 inclusive.
“This was publicly confirmed by First Minister John Swinney when he told Parliament during the Ambitious for Scotland speech on May 26”, in which he referred to pledges to delivered “over the next 100 days”.
The spokesperson said Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth also referred to the timetable during a debate on independence that day.
She said: “Today, the First Minister has set out a clear and ambitious vision, which we are starting to deliver in the first 100 days.”
Falkirk Labour MP Euan Stainbank, backed by 14 colleagues, has written to Mr Flynn.
It comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would bring in the £2 cap by January to all areas in England outside London, which has its own £1.75 cap.
Mr Stainbank said the “people of Scotland” needed “clear answers” to two straightforward questions - whether the £2 cap will be in place across the west coat by August 16 and whether the cap will be extended across all of Scotland by January, in line with Mr Burnham’s commitment.
Mr Stainbank said: “Scottish ministers have expressed plenty of rhetorical enthusiasm for a £2 fare cap. It is now time for them to explain when passengers will see it introduced”.
The Scottish Government has pledged to introduce legislation for a Scotland-wide £2 fares cap by the end of the Parliamentary term in 2031.
It launched a one-year pilot in the Highlands and Islands, Moray and Argyll and Bute, which started between January and March.
The trial was agreed as part of a deal with the Scottish Greens last year to get approval for the Scottish Budget after then Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop shelved the scheme because of lack of money and support from bus operators.
England has had capped bus fares since 2023 but the Scottish Government previously focused instead on pioneering free bus travel for various groups, including the over 60s - introduced 20 years ago - and under 22s, from 2022.
The organisation which represents bus operators warned against the scheme being hastily extended.
Firms are not required to take part, with several, such as Flixbus, boycotting the Highlands trial.
Paul White, Scotland director of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, said: “We and our operator members are engaging with Scottish Government to better understand the government's vision for a fare cap extension in Strathclyde, how it relates to the Highlands and Islands fare cap pilot, and the longer-term objective of a national cap.
“While there is a clear desire to introduce the policy as quickly as possible, discussions should not be rushed or cut short to meet a political target date, especially if the hope is to establish a model that is able to be rolled out across all of Scotland.”
Transport Scotland said: “The pilot is a clear demonstration of the Scottish Government’s commitment to making bus travel more affordable and improving access for low-income communities in rural areas.”
A Flixbus spokesperson said: “Our network largely operates in regions not currently covered by the pilot, but we’ll continue monitoring how the scheme develops.”
Scottish Greens transport spokesperson Patrick Harvie said: “John Swinney made a clear promise that the cap would be extended across the west of Scotland within his government’s first 100 days.
“The election being over does not give SNP ministers permission to shift the goalposts, rewrite their pledge or quietly downgrade ‘delivering’ the scheme to merely ‘making progress’.
“With the prospect of a £2 cap across England by January, we can’t let the Scottish Government simply drift - they need to show ambition, and catch up.
“Scotland should be leading on affordable public transport, not lagging behind.
“The Scottish Greens were first to push for a £2 bus fare cap in Scotland and secured the £10 million Highlands and Islands pilot through our Budget negotiations.”
Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Tim Eagle said: “John Swinney promised Scots this bus fare cap would be extended within 100 days, but now his government appears to be moving the goalposts in a desperate attempt to avoid breaking yet another pledge.
“This is exactly what happens when the SNP rushes out expensive headline-grabbing announcements without doing the hard work of making sure they can actually be delivered.
“Passengers deserve reliable, affordable bus services, not ministers constantly rewriting the timetable to save political embarrassment.”
Scottish Liberal Democrats transport spokesperson Willie Rennie said: “People are fed up with glitzy pledges getting announced and never materialising.
“The [Scottish] government should be straight with people about when this cap will be extended.”
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