SNP taking taxpayers for a ride - Sue Webber

Not the over 60s or under 22s, but working age adults with entitlement cards under a Scottish Government pilot scheme to give asylum seekers free bus travel. It has now ended but the cards are still valid for those who received them, a benefit not open to locals of the same age.

Taxpayers should not be expected to fund travel for adults, asylum seekers or otherwise, but the SNP is normalising free travel when the reality is everyone pays if the travellers don’t.

And now they have come up with an election bribe of an unaffordable £2 cap on all bus fares, which would mean Lothian Buses needing a 40p subsidy for every standard adult fare, and it would do nothing to encourage more people to use public transport.

Ultimately it means taxpayers in Stranraer and Stromness contributing to the cost of a bus journey to Stenhouse.

On the doorsteps, many people see absolutely no reason for under 22s to benefit from “free” travel to go on a night out. It’s a valid point. The argument was that young people shouldn’t be out of pocket to access education or to reach low-paid jobs, but if night buses aren’t included why should other socialising be covered?

A national entitlement card shouldn’t turn entitlement into a national religion, but the SNP is talking all taxpayers for a ride and it’s far from free.