Meeting of the Parliament 27 November 2024
I thank Claire Baker and the Labour Party for bringing this serious and important debate to the chamber this afternoon. Scottish Liberal Democrats will support the motion, which I hope will be passed.
I also associate myself and my party with what has been said about bus driver Keith Rollinson. Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and colleagues. Their loved one went out to do a day’s work and did not return because of the horrific actions of another. I can only imagine their pain and grief.
Ensuring safety and security for workers is of paramount importance. No one should feel unsafe at work, whatever that environment may be. No one is entitled to make anyone else feel unsafe or to act however they wish to act and to cause fear and alarm. Free bus travel provision is not a free entitlement—it comes with responsibility. We should not be apprehensive about sanctions such as the removal of free bus travel from individuals who repeatedly and persistently behave antisocially towards drivers or other passengers, or who cause damage to buses, but any policy to remove entitlement to bus passes must be clearly defined. There should be just cause for removal, and there should be an appeal mechanism.
As Sue Webber and others have pointed out, the vast majority of concessionary bus pass holders use their entitlement responsibly. We should be wary of tarnishing any group of people with the antisocial behaviour brush, but the evidence of an increase in antisocial behaviour following the introduction of free bus travel for under-22s points towards younger people—albeit a small minority of them.
I note with great concern the fact that Unite the union’s recent mass survey of bus drivers in Scotland showed that 51 per cent of respondents did not feel safe at work. That was just one of the survey’s many shocking findings.
All bus users can be affected by antisocial behaviour. In its briefing, the Confederation of Passenger Transport Scotland highlights the concern that vulnerable passengers might become isolated if they feel unsafe travelling on public transport.
I call on the Scottish Government to do more to tackle the underlying causes of antisocial behaviour. Early intervention strategies that could prevent antisocial behaviour have been eroded through the decline and underfunding of youth services.
Scotland’s alcohol issues need to be addressed, too, as does underage drinking. We need to ensure that the legal tools and measures that are used to combat antisocial behaviour are fit for purpose and that they act as deterrents or punishments, or are able to provide rehabilitation.
Buses do and will continue to play a core role in our efforts to decarbonise our economy and tackle the climate emergency. The CPT estimates that a full double-decker bus can take up to 75 cars off the road. If everyone swapped one car journey a month for a bus journey, that could save 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, but people will choose buses as an alternative to the car only when bus services are reliable, convenient, appealing and safe.
Our society sets laws, rules and boundaries. When it comes to antisocial behaviour, we should not shy away from the task of tackling repeat offenders. Taking away free bus provision is not the only measure that we can pursue. There are many causes of antisocial behaviour that the Scottish Government can do more to tackle today.