Committee
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee 20 January 2026 [Draft]
20 Jan 2026 · S6 · Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee
Item of business
Subordinate Legislation
National Bus Travel Concession Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Order 2026 [Draft]
Thank you very much, convener. I also thank the committee very much for inviting me to discuss the draft order.As the committee is aware, free bus travel has been a truly transformative policy, helping to reduce child poverty, grow the economy and tackle the climate emergency. In December of last year alone, more than 15 million journeys were undertaken by those eligible for free bus travel, and the vast majority of those journeys were undertaken by individuals who exercised their entitlement to free bus travel responsibly.Unfortunately, a small minority do not travel responsibly, and their behaviour, whether it be abuse towards drivers, intimidation of passengers or vandalism, is unacceptable, making others feel unsafe and eroding confidence in public transport. This new piece of legislation will allow concessionary travel to be suspended for or withdrawn from anyone who breaches the forthcoming code of conduct. The code will set out appropriate behaviour for those who travel on the bus network using their entitlement to free bus travel, and it, and the accompanying procedures, will apply to all users of the national concessionary travel schemes, regardless of age.We are taking a phased approach to implementation. This will not be an overnight change, but it is an important step forward. The legislation sets out the framework and, once put in place, it will send a clear message that antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated.For this change to our free bus travel schemes to be successful, on-going and open engagement with stakeholders in the policy development process is essential. I am grateful to the many organisations that have been working, and which continue to work, with officials to ensure that the implementation of the new legislation will result in an effective and equitable process. Detailed reporting and suspension procedures, as well as the code itself, will be shared with the committee in due course.The order is one of a range of measures that we are introducing to set out our expectations with regard to safe and responsible behaviour on Scotland’s public transport network. We are developing a multifaceted approach to encourage positive behaviour on the bus network, including by developing educational materials, outlining responsible behaviour on buses and exploring additional visible safety measures, such as the potential for travel safety officers. They will provide a multipronged approach to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers on buses.The initiatives complement the Scottish Government’s wider approach to tackling antisocial behaviour, which includes the prevention and early intervention approaches taken in the violence prevention framework and the cashback for communities programme, as well as the package of measures that we are putting in place to ensure responsible behaviour on Scotland’s rail network. Our aim in introducing the legislation is to protect a benefit that helps tackle poverty. By making buses safer and more welcoming, we will ensure that those who rely on free travel can use them with confidence.I commend the order to the committee, and I am happy to take questions on it.
In the same item of business
09:03
The Convener
Con
The next item is consideration of a draft Scottish statutory instrument. The order would give Scottish ministers the power to draw up standards of conduct fo...
The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity (Jim Fairlie)
SNP
Thank you very much, convener. I also thank the committee very much for inviting me to discuss the draft order.As the committee is aware, free bus travel has...
The Convener
Con
Thank you very much, minister, and I must ask Sue Webber to accept my apologies for not saying at the beginning that she was present. She will get a chance t...
Jim Fairlie
SNP
The convener is absolutely correct—this is not about targeting young people. We have been very clear about that from day 1. It is about antisocial behaviour,...
The Convener
Con
I am pretty sure that there has always been boisterous behaviour on buses; certainly, that was the case when I was younger. Before I move to the next questio...
Jim Fairlie
SNP
I cannot give a specific answer, but we have received anecdotal responses from young people. When the proposal was announced, it caused some consternation am...
The Convener
Con
Purely for the record, I think that anyone who makes use of concessionary travel and misbehaves to the extent that their bus pass should be removed, whether ...
Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green)
Green
I recognise that antisocial behaviour is a problem on our buses and I think that the minister is right to highlight it. Why has no code of conduct been prese...
Jim Fairlie
SNP
The code of conduct is still in development. I have to take some responsibility for that. Officials have done a lot of work on it, but I chose not to present...
Mark Ruskell
Green
You can perhaps see the difficulty that the committee is in. We are being asked to approve an order—a power, effectively—to remove a person’s bus pass withou...
Jim Fairlie
SNP
Those are precisely the kind of things that I want to be sure that we have got around. Carole Stewart nodded when you set out that example, so she clearly un...
Mark Ruskell
Green
That is in the code. That person’s bus pass would be removed if they were having an argument with a bus driver.
Jim Fairlie
SNP
Is that in the code at this point, Carole?
Carole Stewart (Transport Scotland)
In practice, we anticipate that the bus operating company, Police Scotland or someone else will file a report on the circumstances of a particular incident, ...
Mark Ruskell
Green
That is as close as we have come to an acknowledgement that, if a disabled person had an argument with a bus driver because they were frustrated that they co...
Jim Fairlie
SNP
Transport Scotland would have to take a view on the situation. It is not an automatic—
Mark Ruskell
Green
There would be a whole process of Transport Scotland adjudicating on it and the person needing to present evidence on it.
Jim Fairlie
SNP
Yes. A driver making a complaint would not necessarily guarantee that a pass would be taken away. Transport Scotland would have to take a view on that.
Mark Ruskell
Green
Again, I am trying to fish for real-life examples. It seems that you and your officials have done the work on this, but you are not presenting it to the comm...
Jim Fairlie
SNP
I apologise to the committee that I did not allow officials to give you a copy of the draft code at this stage. I also apologise to the officials, because th...
Mark Ruskell
Green
Could the example that I gave trigger a Transport Scotland adjudication process on the withdrawal of somebody’s bus pass?
The Convener
Con
Mark, I will come in very briefly.Minister, I fear that a lot of the questions this morning will be about understanding the draft code, which the committee h...
Mark Ruskell
Green
Let us go back to Kate Bush.
Carole Stewart
The code of conduct covers certain types of behaviour, for example, a passenger acting in a way that hurts or threatens others on the bus, such as by hurting...
Mark Ruskell
Green
All those things are potentially criminal activities, particularly breaking a bus or abusing somebody. Presumably, they are also reflected in the conditions ...
Carole Stewart
Operators’ conditions of carriage give them the right to remove passengers who act in a way that hurts or threatens others or causes damage or disruption to ...
Mark Ruskell
Green
Will there be a big difference between—
Jim Fairlie
SNP
We were asked as a Government—
Mark Ruskell
Green
Hang on, minister. Is there a big difference between the conditions of carriage and the code of conduct? Conditions of carriage are an existing agreement for...