Meeting of the Parliament 17 June 2026 [Last updated 18:21]
Mr Hoy tries to drag me into a conversation in relation to the reliability and availability of buses, but he need not do that, because I understand and recognise the importance of access to buses in our rural communities. I would like to think that there would be agreement and consensus on that. Is Mr Hoy doing the “6-7” gesture there? I am not entirely sure what he is doing. Is it a wee dance?
It is important that we all work together to ensure that the public have access to the services that they feel that they require. I will come on to that later in my speech, as I said to Mr Rennie.
For our young people, free bus travel has opened up a sea of opportunities. I think that I speak for us all—indeed, most of us—when I say that we would have loved to have had those chances in our youth. I am proud that it is a Scottish National Party Government, supported during the budget process by others, that has chosen to provide them to that generation.
It is not only about giving our young folk more choice and a better life; it is about the core value of reducing daily costs for families. With 85 per cent of our young people saying that the bus pass has done just that, we can safely say that it has done its job. I make it clear to the Parliament that, although I celebrate the work of those who came before me and the cross-party support that there has been for those actions, I see the policy as only a starting point. It is for us in this parliamentary session to take action to ensure that public transport is affordable for everyone.