Appendix A: Sample Profile

Survey Respondents

In total, 2,502 cardholders responded to the survey. This included 2,484 people who completed the online survey, plus 18 people who completed a large print paper version.

Of those who responded to the survey, most held a free bus pass themselves (n=2,384, 95%), 3% (n=72) were responding on behalf of someone aged 16+ who had a free bus pass, and 2% (n=46) were a parent/carer of a child under the age of 16 who had a free bus pass.

Almost all survey respondents lived in Scotland full-time (n=2,480, 99%), and only 1% (n=22) lived in Scotland on a part-time basis.

Table 27 Type of Card held

Response	Number	Percentage
Over 60	1,590	64%
Disabled	286	11%
Disabled plus companion (+1)	547	22%
Sight impaired	22	1%
Sight impaired plus companion (+1)	57	2%
Total	2,502	100%

Table 28 How long have you held your free bus pass for?

Response	Number	Percentage
Less than 2 years	613	25%
2 - 5 years	761	31%
6 -10 years	549	22%
Over 10 years	558	22%
Total	2,481	100%

Note: 21 respondents did not answer this question.

Table 29 Sex

Sex	Number	Percentage
Female	1,293	54%
Male	1,105	46%
Total	2,398	100%

Note: 104 respondents did not disclose their sex.

Table 30 Age group

Age group	Number	Percentage
Under 16	44	2%
16-19	43	2%
20-29	82	3%
30-39	128	5%
40-49	155	6%
50-59	241	10%
60-69	1,100	45%
70-79	523	22%
80+	118	5%
Total	2,434	100%

Note: 68 respondents did not disclose their age.

Table 31 Do you have any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more?

Response	Number	Percentage
Yes	1,424	59%
No	958	40%
Don’t know	28	1%
Total	2,410	100%

Note: 92 respondents did not disclose this.

Table 32 Does your condition, illness or disability/do any of your conditions, illnesses or disabilities reduce your ability to carry out day-to-day activities?

Response	Number	Percentage
Yes, a lot	674	49%
Yes, a little	584	42%
Not at all	122	9%
Total	1,380	100%

Note: 44 respondents did not disclose this.

Table 33 Ethnic group

Ethnic group	Number	Percentage
White (including Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showman/woman)	2,269	97%
Mixed or multiple ethnic groups	15	1%
Asian, Scottish Asian or British Asian	29	1%
African, Scottish African or British African	4	<1%
Caribbean or Black	5	<1%
Other ethnic group	10	<1%
Total	2,332	100%

Note: 170 respondents did not disclose their ethnic group.

Due to small sample sizes, the white ethnic group is the only disaggregated group presented below.

Table 34 White ethnic group

White ethnic group	Number	Percentage
Scottish	1,790	80%
Other British	328	15%
Irish	37	1%
Other (including Polish, Gypsy/Traveller, Roma, and Other)	85	4%
Total	2,240	100%

Note: 29 respondents did not disclose their ethnic group.

Note: Groups with small numbers have been combined with ‘other’ for anonymity.

Table 35 What is the first or main language spoken in your household?

Main language	Number	Percentage
English	2,361	97%
Other	63	3%
Total	2,424	100%

Note: 78 respondents did not disclose this.

Table 36 Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation	Number	Percentage
Straight/heterosexual	1,905	92%
Gay or lesbian	91	4%
Bisexual	68	3%
Other sexual orientation	17	1%
Total	2,081	100%

Note: 421 respondents did not disclose this.

Note: Those responding on behalf of someone else (either children or those aged 16+) were not asked this question.

Table 37 During the time you have had your free bus pass, have you (at any point) had access to a private vehicle?

Access to private vehicle	Number	Percentage
Yes, currently have access	1,670	69%
Yes, previously had access but not now	169	7%
No, neither currently nor previously	571	24%
Total	2,410	100%

Note: 92 respondents did not disclose this.

Table 38 Employment status

Employment status	Number	Percentage
In education (full or part time, including school, further or higher education)	116	5%
Doing an apprenticeship or other training programme	5	<1%
In work (full or part time, including self-employment)	629	25%
I volunteer (i.e. unpaid work)	67	3%
Unemployed - seeking work	31	1%
Unemployed - not seeking work	115	5%
Not in education/training/work due to health condition	149	6%
Looking after home/family	19	1%
Carer	31	1%
Retired	1,292	52%
Other	21	1%
Total	2,475	100%

Note: 27 respondents did not answer the question.

Of those that said ‘other’ most were disabled but were unclear about whether they were looking for work or not, or they indicated that a number of categories were relevant to them without identifying which would be their main status.

Table 39 Employment status by card type

Employment status	Over 60 Card Number	Over 60 Card Percentage	Disabled Card Number	Disabled Card Percentage
In education (full or part time, including school, further or higher education)	6	<1%	110	12%
Doing an apprenticeship or other training programme	1	<1%	4	<1%
In work (full or part time, including self-employment)	364	23%	265	30%
I volunteer (i.e. unpaid work)	39	2%	28	3%
Unemployed - seeking work	11	1%	20	2%
Unemployed - not seeking work	6	<1%	109	12%
Not in education/training/work due to health condition	4	<1%	145	16%
Looking after home/family	10	1%	9	1%
Carer	14	1%	17	2%
Retired	1,117	71%	175	20%
Other	7	<1%	14	2%
Total	1,579	100%	896	100%

Note: 11 respondents with an over 60 card and 16 respondents with a disabled card did not answer the question.

Table 40 How respondents are managing financially these days

Managing financially	Number	Percentage
Manage very well	432	19%
Manage quite well	590	25%
Get by alright	944	41%
Don't manage very well	129	6%
Have some financial difficulties	180	8%
Are in deep financial trouble	31	1%
Don't know	8	<1%
Total	2,314	100%

Note: 188 respondents did not answer this question.

Table 41 Local authority area respondents live in

Local authority	Number	Percentage
Aberdeen City Council	79	3%
Aberdeenshire Council	85	4%
Angus Council	43	2%
Argyll & Bute Council	64	3%
City of Edinburgh Council	278	12%
Clackmannanshire Council	27	1%
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles)	12	<1%
Dumfries and Galloway Council	45	2%
Dundee City Council	69	3%
East Ayrshire Council	64	3%
East Dunbartonshire Council	47	2%
East Lothian Council	81	4%
East Renfrewshire Council	48	2%
Falkirk Council	47	2%
Fife Council	118	5%
Glasgow City Council	198	9%
Highland Council	98	4%
Inverclyde Council	33	1%
Midlothian Council	82	4%
Moray Council	37	2%
North Ayrshire Council	13	1%
North Lanarkshire Council	64	3%
Orkney Islands Council	8	<1%
Perth and Kinross Council	62	3%
Renfrewshire Council	81	4%
Scottish Borders Council	31	1%
Shetland Islands Council	16	1%
Stirling Council	91	4%
South Ayrshire Council	51	2%
South Lanarkshire Council	240	10%
West Dunbartonshire Council	27	1%
West Lothian Council	53	2%
Total	2,292	100%

Note: 210 respondents did not answer this question.

Table 42 Urban/rural area (self-reported)

Location	Number	Percentage
In a city	793	32%
In a town	976	40%
In a village	499	20%
In the countryside	158	6%
On an island	52	2%
Total	2,478	100%

Note: 24 respondents did not answer this question.

Note: For consistency, all respondents living in island local authorities (i.e. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Orkney and Shetland) that had indicated they lived in towns, villages and the countryside were recoded to living on an island.

Focus groups

Overall, eight focus groups were conducted. The groups were structured as follows:

• Two in person focus groups were held with cardholders living in rural areas (one was an informal discussion group interview which was shorter to fit within the group’s planned meeting. As such, some questions were more general in nature and not all questions were covered, however, all of the main topics were discussed).
• Two focus groups were held with over 60 cardholders, one was conducted in person and the other online.
• Two focus groups were held with disabled cardholders, one focused on sight impaired cardholders and the other focused on those with the disabled card. One group was conducted in person and the other online.
• Two dedicated focus groups were held with infrequent users, both were conducted online.

In addition to the focus groups, two individuals took part in an interview for accessibility reasons. One deafblind adult preferred to speak by telephone, and one disabled adult participated in person as they were unable to participate at the time of the scheduled group. The focus group topic guide was used in these interviews to ensure questions were consistent and that the feedback could be collated.

Across all sessions/discussions, a total of 65 individuals took part. This included:

• 35 over 60 cardholders
• 10 disabled cardholders
• four disabled plus companion (+1) cardholders
• five sight impaired cardholders
• 11 sight impaired plus companion (+1) cardholders

It should be noted that, while some groups had been established to focus on particular demographics, all groups tended to include a mix of different cardholder types, including over 60, disabled and/or sight impaired cardholders. There was also overlap between the demographics and card type, e.g. some over 60 cardholders also had disabilities, while some disabled cardholders were also aged 60 and over.

Bus operator interviews

In total, six bus operators provided feedback. Five participated in telephone or online interviews, while one provided written feedback. Participants included:

• one rural/regional commercial operator
• one city/urban commercial operator
• one inter-city/long distance commercial operator
• one rural/regional community transport operator
• one city/urban community transport operator
• one rural community transport operator moving from a S22 to S19 permit model, i.e. although currently eligible to accept the NEC they were changing to a model that was not included within the Scheme

The research also sought to include feedback from a small-medium sized commercial operator, but could not identify suitable operators who had availability within the research timescale. As such, this represents a gap in the findings.