The Scotland-wide free bus scheme for Older and Disabled People builds on an agreement with the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT), the representative body for bus operators. The agreement commits the operators to an unrestricted Scotland-wide free bus travel scheme for older and disabled people at agreed levels of payment.
A scanned version of the signed agreement letter from Scottish Executive to CPT is available in PDF format (87 Kb)
A PDF version of the agreement letter from Scottish Executive to CPT is available (153 Kb)
The CPT agreement letter to the Scottish Executive is available (1 Mb)
A consultation on the legislation that underpins the Scotland-wide Free Bus Scheme for Older and Disabled People was run between October 2005 and December 2005. The consultation paper is available from the Scottish Executive website.
We have worked closely with bus operators, managers of current concessionary schemes and representatives from the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) to draw on their experience and knowledge in developing the scheme proposals.
Over 130 responses were received, commenting on issues raised in the consultation paper. The Executive website has published the non-confidential responses.
The consultation paper asked five questions based on the draft legislation for the new scheme. The Executive website contains the response to question 1 and question 4 of the consultation paper. These dealt with the technical proposals of the Scheme Order and Eligible Services. A further response will be issued outlining the Executive's response to the remainder of the consultation paper.
When the then Scottish Transport Minister announced the National Concessionary Scheme in December 2004, he indicated it should be provided on an ITSO Smartcard basis (ITSO is a technical Specification created to provide interoperability for smart ticketing in public transport). All decisions regarding how to implement the Concessionary scheme have been based on this announcement. The rollout of the Smart Electronic Ticket Machines and associated equipment to over 250 bus operators and over 6300 buses was successfully completed in August 2010.
Smartcards help stamp out fraud, as only valid National Entitlement Cards can be read by the electronic readers. They also allow bus operators to keep more accurate records of the numbers of passengers using National Entitlement Cards, ensuring they are properly reimbursed by Transport Scotland.
Benefits of SMART Technology
The new Smartcard scheme is intended over time to allow members of the public to use an increasing number of public services through a single electronic card (the National Entitlement Card). It provides a platform for future developments of Smartcard-based ticketing across all public transport modes.
The introduction of SMART technology means that Transport Scotland can assist smaller operators throughout Scotland with their re-imbursement. Both the Scottish Government and the taxpayer will benefit from SMART Technology.
Scotland leading the way
The Scottish Government is now leading the way in the implementation and usage of Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation (ITSO) technology. ITSO was established in 1998 as a non-profit sharing organisation. ITSO has created a common specification at the card and the application level to enable the use of interoperable Smart Cards in transport. More details on ITSO are available from its website.
Places that have gone successfully SMART include Dublin, Denmark and Hong Kong.
As a result of the consultation process, the Executive prepared two Statutory Instruments. These came into effect on 1 April 2006.
A copy of the National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons (Scotland) Order 2006 Scheme Statutory Instrument can be found on the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website, number 107.
The eligibility Statutory Instrument for the National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons (Eligible Persons and Eligible Services) (Scotland) Order 2006 is also published on the OPSI website, number 117.
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