Concessionary travel data

We monitor data relating to our National Concessionary Travel Schemes (NCTS), which provide free bus travel for those aged under 22, 60+ and eligible disabled people, on a regular basis. You can find the latest data on concessionary bus journeys and cardholders below.

Important information about this data

  • All information is correct, based on available data, at the time of publication.
  • Transport Scotland does not own the National Entitlement Card. Cardholder data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO).
  • Cardholder data refers to the number of people with a valid NEC but does not include products which either start in the future or have expired.
  • NECPO work with stakeholders and partners to carry out regular data cleansing of the customer database which may impact cardholder numbers when records are updated.
  • ‘Journeys’ refers to a smart journey recorded against a valid product that has been received and processed for payment by Transport Scotland.

  All data is subject to change due to late data being received.

Journeys

Number of smart journeys made by bus through the different NCTS and the totals
Month Young Persons' Free Bus Travel Scheme Older & Disabled Persons' Free Bus Travel Scheme
April 2025 6,692,764 9,496,102
May 2025 7,160,689 10,002,989
June 2025 6,310,229 9,260,999
July 2025 5,551,290 9,906,170
August 2025 6,566,022 10,104,947
September 2025 8,104,183 9,697,858
October 2025 7,937,257 9,826,729
Total to date 48,322,434 68,295,794

The total number of journeys taken through the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme since its commencement in January 2022 is  261,166,461 as at 31 October 2025.

Cardholders 

Number of valid National Entitlement Cardholders who can access the different NCTS and the totals

Local Authority

Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme

Older & Disabled Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme

Aberdeen City

33,783

57,546

Aberdeenshire

40,065

76,546

Angus Council

15,658

38,177

Argyll & Bute

10,560

32,869

City of Edinburgh

94,156

146,389

Clackmannanshire

5,973

14,019

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

3,244

9,142

Dumfries and Galloway

17,000

58,181

Dundee City

24,996

42,417

East Ayrshire

18,606

36,533

East Dunbartonshire

15,561

35,654

East Lothian

17,799

35,020

East Renfrewshire

16,760

27,209

Falkirk

22,220

42,584

Fife

63,077

118,441

Glasgow City

99,970

154,238

Highland

28,364

73,690

Inverclyde

11,813

25,694

Midlothian

15,793

27,808

Moray

12,431

28,050

North Ayrshire

20,625

44,469

North Lanarkshire

53,431

86,251

Orkney Islands

2,728

7,726

Perth & Kinross

20,721

50,293

Renfrewshire

28,017

52,789

Scottish Borders

15,008

37,480

Shetland Islands

3,647

7,493

South Ayrshire

13,916

39,272

South Lanarkshire

53,168

93,356

Stirling

12,688

24,874

West Dunbartonshire

14,746

27,367

West Lothian

26,400

46,810

Total as at 01 November 2025

832,924

1,598,387