Exclusive:Fears of more bus driver deaths after anti-social behaviour soars by 466% on major operator

The fears followed Keith Rollinson, 58, dying of a cardiac arrest in hospital after being headbutted and punched in February when he refused to let a 15-year-old boy onto his bus in Elgin because he was too drunk. The youth was detained for four years and four months.

Incidents such as physical and verbal abuse, and bus windows being smashed, surged from 473 in 2019 to 2,581 at City of Edinburgh Council-owned Lothian last year, according to figures provided to the party by the firm in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request response.

Figures were not sought from other operators because they are privately owned and not subject to FOI. But an industry source told The Scotsman there had been a “marked increase” elsewhere and the true scale of the problem may be masked by under-reporting.

Scottish Conservatives transport spokesperson Sue Webber blamed young people for the Lothian rise following the introduction of free bus travel for under-22s in 2022. She said there had been a 168 per cent increase there since then compared to the previous two years.

The number of incidents peaked at 355 in March last year - the equivalent of 11 a day.

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Ms Webber said under-22s’ free bus travel was “well-intentioned”, but since its introduction anti-social behaviour on Edinburgh’s buses had “spiralled out of control”.

She said: “Bus drivers are paying the price for the growing minority of young people who think it is acceptable to abuse them. Unless the SNP takes action now, there is a real risk we will see other tragic incidents like we saw when Keith Rollinson lost his life in Elgin.

“Every option, including curfews, restrictions, and, in extreme cases, permanent bans, should be on the table to tackle this growing crisis.”

A Lothian spokesperson said: “Lothian adopts a zero tolerance approach to all incidents of anti-social behaviour, and the safety of our colleagues and our customers is our main priority.”

The Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents bus operators, agreed there should be sanctions such as the suspension or removal of free travel from offenders.

Scotland director Paul White said: “Anti-social behaviour incidents have a marked impact on bus drivers and other frontline staff. Additionally, communities may lose vital local services that cannot be run due to operators taking action to protect staff.

“Vulnerable passengers may become isolated if they feel unsafe travelling on public transport. We cannot let the actions of a minority disadvantage the majority of bus users, young and old, who rely on their bus services and travel responsibly."

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop told MSPs on Wednesday that a Scottish Government working group on anti-social behaviour would report by the end of the year.

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “Bus operators can already restrict access to their services in line with their own conditions of carriage and we are working with operators and unions 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.”