>A PILOT scheme capping bus fares will be trialled across the Highlands and Islands.
>
>The Scottish Government initiative, backed by a £10 million investment as part of the 2025/26 Budget, seeks to encourage increased use of public transport.
>The Greens said the cap would be set at £2 per ticket. The pilot was one of the party’s demands for backing the SNP Budget.
>By reducing travel costs, the scheme is aiming to offer greater value for money, particularly benefiting low-income passengers, while also supporting the resilience of local bus networks in rural and island communities.
>
>The government will collaborate with Regional Transport Partnerships HiTrans and ZetTrans to deliver the pilot scheme.
>READ MORE: ‘Indefensible’: Fears for Scotland’s industry after Labour snub EU defence fund
>The areas targeted include Highland, Moray, Argyll and Bute, and the island communities of the Western Isles, Orkney, and Shetland.
>The partners were selected following a successful Expression of Interest process.
>The pilot is positioned as part of a broader strategy to promote sustainable travel and strengthen community links through improved public transport options.
>Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Scotland’s public transport system is a key enabler for growth and opportunity, helping people and communities to connect to jobs, education, retail, public services, leisure, social and family networks.
>
>“I am pleased to confirm the establishment of the bus fare cap pilot, another way in which we can help people to make positive and proactive travel choices to use bus and address affordability issues.
>“I very much look forward to working with HiTrans and ZetTrans, and relevant bus operators within these areas, to progress the launch of the pilot and make bus travel more affordable, improve access for low-income communities, and support sustainable travel for people across those regions.”
>The pilot is expected to launch during the 2025/26 financial year, with further implementation details to follow as planning progresses with transport and bus operators across the selected regions.
>Mark Ruskell MSP, the Scottish Greens’ transport spokesperson, said: “This is fantastic news for residents and visitors to the Highlands and Islands. I hope its success will convince the Scottish Government to roll it out to the rest of the country as well.
>“Capping single bus fares at £2 will obviously bring huge savings for passengers, but it goes far wider than that. It will also open up new job and education opportunities, make services like GPs more accessible and boost local shops by leaving people with more money to spend at the end of their journey.”
It’s not all that needs to be done to make public transport as attractive as it could be, but making fares a lot more affordable is a good start.
2 quid a journey is a great idea.
But all the governments need to start looking at a universal public transport fare card like Germany (did/does) and Spain (is about to do).
If people can travel to work and study means villages don’t have youth drain and the countryside stays vibrant rather than being a place with no shops and services – just a place for 2nd home owners.
Calling fares like this is far more sustainable than making it universally free at the point of use. It makes it affordable and it funds itself to a degree.
These people need cars, not slightly cheaper buses.
This is a good move
The fact it’s like £3 single in Inverness for even a short distance distance in town on Stagecoach is absolutely insane. Maybe it’s a plan to encourage us to just walk? 😂
Just bring it into public control. Fares are clearly a problem but not the biggest barrier to increasing public transport usage. By all means cap it once it’s franchised/publicly run but this just represents more subsidies to the private companies who are being rewarded for providing an awful service.
8 comments
>A PILOT scheme capping bus fares will be trialled across the Highlands and Islands.
>
>The Scottish Government initiative, backed by a £10 million investment as part of the 2025/26 Budget, seeks to encourage increased use of public transport.
>The Greens said the cap would be set at £2 per ticket. The pilot was one of the party’s demands for backing the SNP Budget.
>By reducing travel costs, the scheme is aiming to offer greater value for money, particularly benefiting low-income passengers, while also supporting the resilience of local bus networks in rural and island communities.
>
>The government will collaborate with Regional Transport Partnerships HiTrans and ZetTrans to deliver the pilot scheme.
>READ MORE: ‘Indefensible’: Fears for Scotland’s industry after Labour snub EU defence fund
>The areas targeted include Highland, Moray, Argyll and Bute, and the island communities of the Western Isles, Orkney, and Shetland.
>The partners were selected following a successful Expression of Interest process.
>The pilot is positioned as part of a broader strategy to promote sustainable travel and strengthen community links through improved public transport options.
>Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Scotland’s public transport system is a key enabler for growth and opportunity, helping people and communities to connect to jobs, education, retail, public services, leisure, social and family networks.
>
>“I am pleased to confirm the establishment of the bus fare cap pilot, another way in which we can help people to make positive and proactive travel choices to use bus and address affordability issues.
>“I very much look forward to working with HiTrans and ZetTrans, and relevant bus operators within these areas, to progress the launch of the pilot and make bus travel more affordable, improve access for low-income communities, and support sustainable travel for people across those regions.”
>The pilot is expected to launch during the 2025/26 financial year, with further implementation details to follow as planning progresses with transport and bus operators across the selected regions.
>Mark Ruskell MSP, the Scottish Greens’ transport spokesperson, said: “This is fantastic news for residents and visitors to the Highlands and Islands. I hope its success will convince the Scottish Government to roll it out to the rest of the country as well.
>“Capping single bus fares at £2 will obviously bring huge savings for passengers, but it goes far wider than that. It will also open up new job and education opportunities, make services like GPs more accessible and boost local shops by leaving people with more money to spend at the end of their journey.”
It’s not all that needs to be done to make public transport as attractive as it could be, but making fares a lot more affordable is a good start.
2 quid a journey is a great idea.
But all the governments need to start looking at a universal public transport fare card like Germany (did/does) and Spain (is about to do).
If people can travel to work and study means villages don’t have youth drain and the countryside stays vibrant rather than being a place with no shops and services – just a place for 2nd home owners.
Calling fares like this is far more sustainable than making it universally free at the point of use. It makes it affordable and it funds itself to a degree.
These people need cars, not slightly cheaper buses.
This is a good move
The fact it’s like £3 single in Inverness for even a short distance distance in town on Stagecoach is absolutely insane. Maybe it’s a plan to encourage us to just walk? 😂
Just bring it into public control. Fares are clearly a problem but not the biggest barrier to increasing public transport usage. By all means cap it once it’s franchised/publicly run but this just represents more subsidies to the private companies who are being rewarded for providing an awful service.
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