Edinburgh anti-social behaviour: Lothian Buses boss tells MSPs of 'horrendous' experiences

Sarah Boyd, managing director of Lothian Buses, indicated she backed calls for under-22s’ free travel being withdrawn from repeat offenders who were abusing the scheme.

Giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s net zero, energy and transport committee, she said: “It's important to remember it is a minority of young people.

Lothian Buses managing director Sarah Boyd was giving evidence to MSPs | Screenshot

“It's an incredible scheme - it's enabled some of the most superb travel patterns now in our young people.

“But if you’re involved in an incident on the bus - if you're the driver, if you’re the victim of something, if you’re other passengers, some of the experiences and stories are horrendous.”

Ms Boyd was on a panel of bus industry leaders being quizzed by the committee on challenges facing public transport.

She agreed with others that anti-social behaviour had increased with the introduction of concessionary travel for young people in 2022.

Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden asked if anything could be done about repeat offenders and whether the entitlement to free travel should be removed if it was being abused.

Duncan Cameron, managing director of First Bus Scotland said that should happen “if the offence is appropriate”.

Ms Boyd said: “You asked about repeat offenders - I think absolutely. It is a minority but I don't think we should underestimate the impact it has.”

She said Lothian was tracking incidents and gathering data on the problem and also working closely with the unions on what could be done.

She said: “It’s a societal issue, it's not just the buses. But coming together and the scheme being viewed as something that’s a privilege and not something that should be abused is really important.”

A freedom of information response revealed last week that incidents of anti-social behaviour on Lothian buses had more than doubled since 2022.

And in December the city council agreed to write to the Scottish Government calling for concessionary bus passes to be removed from young people who repeatedly carry out antisocial behaviour on buses or trams.

Tory councillor Marie-Clair Munro has also claimed young people from Motherwell, Glasgow and Inverness are using their bus passes to come to Edinburgh to cause trouble and indulge in anti-social behaviour.