1. Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will extend the national concessionary travel scheme to include demand-responsive community transport schemes such as Dial-a-Journey in Forth valley, which is used by older and disabled people who are eligible for the scheme but cannot use scheduled services. (S3O-7024)
The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson):
The Scotland-wide free bus travel scheme for older and disabled people already includes demand-responsive community transport services that are registered local services. The scheme has been the subject of a review since last July. The review is now complete and the resulting report and recommendations will be published this month.
Cathy Peattie: Why are private bus operators trusted to operate concessionary transport schemes when community transport organisations are not? A number of disabled and older people throughout the country cannot access travel schemes. Will the minister please look again at the discrimination that those people face daily?
Stewart Stevenson: The member makes a perfectly fair point about the need to provide access to affordable public transport for people with a range of disabilities that prevent their having ready access to standard service buses. We provide substantial support for a wide range of demand-responsive transport, which comes in many shapes and sizes. Some forms fall within the present scheme, whereas others are outside it. We have commissioned additional work on the demands of the transport sector to which Cathy Peattie refers. That work will be available to us later.
Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): What are the differences between the concessionary travel schemes north and south of the border? Does any reciprocity between them exist?
Stewart Stevenson: The scheme in England is operated locally. Unlike the Scottish scheme, it does not provide national coverage. It has been examined recently and several revisions to it have been made—for example, it now excludes, for the first time, bus services on which the majority of seats are booked. We are not minded to follow such a restriction on the successful scheme in Scotland.
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About Stewart Stevenson
Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - Bell Baxter - and studied Mathematics at the University of Aberdeen, graduating with a modest degree in 1969. That's also the year Sandra & I married. Her family comes from the North East.Thirty years later I retired from Bank of Scotland as Director of Technology Innovation and was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2001 as member for Banff & Buchan having first joined the SNP in 1961.
I then represented the new constituency of Banffshire & Buchan Coast Constituency in our Parliament. I retired as an MSP on 5th May 2021
I was also previously (2007-2010), Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change and (2011-2012), Minister for Environment and Climate Change.
I hold the honorary posts of President of the Scottish Association for Public Transport
and Vice-President of Railfuture UK.I am a Fellow of The Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, a Member at The Institution of Engineering and Technology, a Professional Member of the Association for Computing Machinery, a Member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists and an Associate Member of the Highland Reserve Forces' and Cadets' Association.
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