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

The 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 2026

6,803,834

9,677,763

May 2026

7,315,124

9,901,277

June 2026

6,783,577

9,778,834

July 2026

5,828,272

10,236,375

August 2026

6,782,954

10,436,300

September 2026

8,208,414

9,865,177

October 2026

n/a

n/a

November 2026

n/a

n/a

December 2026

n/a

n/a

January 2027

n/a

n/a

February 2027

n/a

n/a

March 2027

n/a

n/a

Total to date

41,722,175

59,895,726

The total number of journeys taken through the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme since its commencement in January 2022 is 338,497,111 as at 30 September 2026.

Cardholders

The 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

34,108

58,958

Aberdeenshire

41,195

79,034

Angus Council

15,834

39,181

Argyll & Bute

11,068

33,929

City of Edinburgh

94,979

149,576

Clackmannanshire

6,186

14,368

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

3,272

9,310

Dumfries and Galloway

17,746

54,126

Dundee City

24,890

43,109

East Ayrshire

18,634

37,365

East Dunbartonshire

16,372

36,143

East Lothian

18,329

36,222

East Renfrewshire

17,181

27,864

Falkirk

22,717

43,648

Fife

63,492

121,414

Glasgow City

101,674

158,680

Highland

29,137

75,818

Inverclyde

11,457

26,260

Midlothian

16,937

28,562

Moray

12,887

29,013

North Ayrshire

21,077

45,754

North Lanarkshire

54,726

88,509

Orkney Islands

2,858

7,901

Perth & Kinross

21,518

52,100

Renfrewshire

28,778

53,731

Scottish Borders

15,677

38,424

Shetland Islands

3,749

7,562

South Ayrshire

14,189

40,114

South Lanarkshire

54,748

95,256

Stirling

13,175

25,762

West Dunbartonshire

14,826

28,010

West Lothian

27,185

47,941

Total as at 01 October 2026

850,601

1,633,644