Meeting of the Parliament 11 September 2025
I, too, thank Sarah Boyack for securing the debate on what is an incredibly important motion in a week when we are joined by MSYPs in the gallery for today’s debate and in the garden lobby, where people can meet them and discuss the Scottish Youth Parliament’s manifesto.
That manifesto, entitled, “Dear Scotland’s Future”, is based on the voices of more than 5,000 young people. It makes it clear that transport is about much more than convenience. It is about reaching school and college; it is about travelling safely to youth work and community groups; and it is about the opportunity to take up jobs and apprenticeships. It is also about staying connected with family and friends, because, if that is impossible, we will hold young people back.
The manifesto sets out some clear priorities. It calls for cheaper and fairer ticketing systems, a joined-up network across buses, trains and ferries, and real accessibility for disabled young people and those with additional needs. It presses for better provision in rural and island communities, which we have already heard about in the debate.
The free bus travel scheme for under-22s is a welcome step, and it has made a massive difference to thousands of young people. However, as MSYPs have said, there are issues for people who live in rural communities, on islands or, indeed, in cities, where, at certain times of the day, services are cut. What is the point of a free bus card if there is no bus? The services must be there.
We hear stories from across Scotland about buses that never arrive, services that are cancelled at short notice and connections that do not link up. We hear about wheelchair users who are abandoned at stops. Those are not isolated cases but everyday barriers for our young people.
The manifesto highlights safety. Young people, especially young women and girls, want public transport to be safer, with better lighting and working closed-circuit television. They want a culture in which harassment is never tolerated.
The Scottish Youth Parliament is right to be ambitious. It is calling for a properly integrated network where timetables connect and for transport that disabled young people can truly rely on. It is also calling for an expansion of the free travel scheme, because a 22-year-old apprentice on a minimum wage faces exactly the same barriers as they did only a few days earlier when they were 21. Those are bold demands, but they are rooted in real experience.
Transport is not just about moving from A to B; it is about opportunity, fairness and dignity. If young people cannot rely on public transport, they cannot rely on us as their decision makers. Let us do more than just acknowledge their voices; let us listen to them and act on what they are telling us. If we want young people to believe in politics, they need to see that, when they speak, we hear and we deliver.
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