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 6,690,256 9,492,514
May 2025 7,144,935 9,973,376
June 2025 Not applicable Not applicable
July 2025 Not applicable Not applicable
August 2025 Not applicable Not applicable
September 2025 Not applicable Not applicable
October 2025 Not applicable Not applicable
November 2025 Not applicable Not applicable
December 2025 Not applicable Not applicable
January 2026 Not applicable Not applicable
February 2026 Not applicable Not applicable
March 2026 Not applicable Not applicable
Total to date 13,835,191 19,465,890

The total number of journeys taken through the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme since its commencement in January 2022 is  225,760,601 as at 31 May 2025.

Cardholders

The table below shows the number of valid National Entitlement Cardholders who can access the different NCTS and the total.

Local Authority Young Persons' Free Bus Travel Scheme Older & Disabled Persons' Free Bus Travel Scheme
Aberdeen City 32,890 56,825
Aberdeenshire 39,462 75,279
Angus Council 15,266 37,549
Argyll & Bute 10,137 32,329
City of Edinburgh 90,476 143,116
Clackmannanshire 5,793 13,853
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 3,234 9,006
Dumfries and Galloway 16,725 57,076
Dundee City 24,377 41,871
East Ayrshire 18,402 36,063
East Dunbartonshire 15,052 34,973
East Lothian 17,579 34,506
East Renfrewshire 16,090 26,744
Falkirk 21,162 41,652
Fife 62,111 116,886
Glasgow City 94,983 151,392
Highland 26,002 72,318
Inverclyde 11,675 25,164
Midlothian 14,901 27,342
Moray 12,049 27,619
North Ayrshire 20,684 43,849
North Lanarkshire 52,612 84,735
Orkney Islands 2,587 7,587
Perth & Kinross 20,255 49,315
Renfrewshire 26,335 51,694
Scottish Borders 14,428 36,875
Shetland Islands 3,551 7,351
South Ayrshire 13,508 38,817
South Lanarkshire 51,409 91,511
Stirling 12,339 24,397
West Dunbartonshire 14,478 26,794
West Lothian 25,559 45,823
Total as at 31 May 2025 806,111 1,570,311