Meeting of the Parliament 11 September 2025
I thank Sarah Boyack for bringing the debate to the chamber. The background to it was a great piece of collaboration between the cross-party group on sustainable transport and the Scottish Youth Parliament. It was a really good example of how a cross-party group can be effective in the Parliament.
The cross-party group held an inquiry into inequalities in transport. Transport has a vital role in delivering a fairer society and enabling everyone in Scotland to have equal access to daily life, work, education and community wellbeing. However, there are gaps in the current system, which mean that women, children, disabled people and low-income households do not have equal access to transport. Those groups experience barriers that are related to cost, availability, safety and convenience of the transport network. We must create a fair and reliable transport system that everyone can access.
We held a series of valuable evidence sessions to consider those different experiences when it comes to accessing transport. Each of the groups raised issues, which included unaffordable fares, poor transport connectivity, inaccessible services and safety concerns. All those issues have been mentioned during the debate already.
Our report made a number of recommendations to the Scottish Government and transport authorities to achieve a transport system that works for everyone. Those include
“defining transport poverty and better data collection and metrics to facilitate better monitoring”.
We also called for
“transport authorities to implement lived experience participation with those most affected by transport inequalities.”
The Scottish Youth Parliament and Sustrans presented to the CPG meeting in October 2024, and they both highlighted the critical role of transport in shaping the lives of younger people. As we have heard, we had great presentations from David McGilp MSYP and Islay Jackson MSYP—two fantastic and impressive young people. They outlined the youth perspective on public transport, building on their all aboard campaign, which helped to secure free public transport for under-22s. They emphasised the importance of making transport accessible to all young people, especially those in rural and island communities. They called for the extension of the free travel scheme to people up to the age of 26—they did not put a cost on that, I have to say—and recommended improvements in affordability, accessibility and frequency of public transport services. A key theme that emerged from the question-and-answer session was the critical need to involve young people in transport decision-making processes.
The free bus travel scheme for under-22s has made a significant difference to the lives of young people, but challenges remain around the availability and reliability of services. Earlier this year, I joined the Transport, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee of the Scottish Youth Parliament to discuss transport and young people. It called for more reliable and frequent services, safer waiting areas, better route planning and the ending of negative attitudes towards young passengers.
It has been fantastic to work with members of the Scottish Youth Parliament and it behoves us all to listen to young people when we are designing public services such as transport.
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