John Swinney says Scottish Government considering removing under-22 bus passes from young people causing trouble

At First Minister’s Questions, he said the scheme giving free bus travel to young people had been “enormously successful” but that unacceptable behaviour had to be tackled.

And he warned that secondary legislation in the Scottish Parliament was likely to be needed to allow bus passes to be withdrawn from those committing anti-social behaviour.

John Swinney said under-22s free bus travel had been "enormously successful" | Screenshot

The issue was raised by Lothian Tory MSP Sue Webber at FMQs, two days after Lothian Buses’ managing director told MSPs of “horrendous” incidents of anti-social behaviour on buses.

Ms Webber said: “At this week’s net zero, energy and transport committee meeting, Sarah Boyd from Lothian Buses made it clear that there is a link between the increase in anti-social behaviour on the Lothian Buses fleet and the under-22s concessionary bus pass.

“Will the minister provide an update on progress to find a mechanism to remove the under-22s concessionary pass from those who persistently engage in antisocial behaviour?”

Mr Swinney replied: “Work is under way to develop that mechanism. If we were to take that step, there is the likelihood that secondary legislation would be required to enable the mechanism to be put in place. The government is actively considering those issues.

“I should also say that the under-22 bus travel initiative has been enormously successful. It has attracted a huge amount of participation and it has increased the mobility of young people. The overwhelming majority of young people exercise their participation in the under-22s scheme wisely, thoughtfully and effectively.

“We have to be prepared to tackle unacceptable behaviour, but we also have to applaud young people for the positive contribution that they make to our society.”

At Tuesday’s committee at Holyrood, Ms Boyd - who was among a panel of bus industry leaders giving evidence to the MSPs - backed calls for under-22s’ free travel being withdrawn from repeat offenders who were abusing the scheme, though she stressed it was a minority of young people who were involved.

She said: “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.”