Bus fares in west of Scotland now capped at £2 – but some call it 'half a solution'

The Scottish government has implemented a new policy capping bus fares at £2 in the west of Scotland, marking a significant step in its commitment to make public transportation more affordable. First Minister John Swinney introduced the fare cap as part of his latest programme for government. Starting Monday, this capped fare applies in several regions, including Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire, and Inverclyde, with plans to eventually extend the cap across the entire country by the end of the current parliamentary term. Prior to this rollout, a pilot scheme had been tested in the Highlands and islands, although no timeline has been provided for expanding the initiative beyond these areas yet.

The scheme is backed by a £10 million investment by the Scottish government, which funded the pilot program conducted over the past year in the Highlands, Western and Northern Isles, Moray, and Argyll and Bute. Under this arrangement, Transport Scotland, a public agency, will reimburse bus operators participating in the scheme within the designated regions. Swinney emphasized the importance of bus travel as Scotland’s most widely-used form of public transport, describing efforts to make it “as affordable, accessible and attractive as possible” as essential to economic growth, sustainable travel, and environmental protection. First Bus, a key operator in the western regions, expressed willingness to collaborate closely with the government to ensure the initiative’s success.

However, some concerns have been raised about how the £2 fare cap will function, especially on journeys crossing the boundaries of participating and non-participating areas. Electric bus operator Ember praised the concept as “a good slogan” but pointed out that the current setup leaves gaps in service affordability. For example, travel fully within a capped area, like on routes between Glasgow and Cumbernauld, will benefit from the fare limit. Yet, longer intercity journeys extending outside these zones, such as from Glasgow to Dundee, require passengers to pay the capped fare only within the capped segment, with normal charges applying elsewhere. Ember acknowledged support for the scheme’s objectives but voiced reservations about the proposed mechanism.

Industry voices also highlighted operational challenges tied to the new fare structure. Paul White, director at the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) Scotland, reported that most large bus operators were prepared for implementation, though CPT does not represent every service. Coordinating reimbursement, updating ticketing systems, and managing back-office processes had to be rapidly addressed. White noted that while a similar £2 cap in England increased bus usage by 5%, issues like increased boarding times and potential network capacity strains might arise. He described the fare cap as an “eye-catching initiative” that could ease cost-of-living pressures but argued that it must be paired with improvements in bus reliability, congestion reduction, and sustained investment in bus priority measures to be truly effective. Campaigner Ellie Harrison agreed that the fare cap was a positive, albeit limited, step. She criticized it as addressing only part of the larger problem caused by bus deregulation, arguing that it does not enhance service quality, restore discontinued routes, or better integrate buses with other transport modes, all of which she believes require municipal control through bodies like Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. Transport Scotland emphasized that participation in the scheme is voluntary and reaffirmed its priority to support households by making public transportation more affordable amid ongoing economic challenges

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