Application and other scheme processes

The 30 organisations that had a role/responsibility for directly supporting the provision and delivery of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme, were asked whether they had experienced any challenges during the setup and early implementation of the scheme. Overall, 19 reported operational challenges, five highlighted infrastructure challenges, and 11 noted funding challenges. Stakeholders also discussed other issues related to the processes involved in setting up and delivering the scheme (mostly the application process) throughout their consultation feedback, which is also presented here.

Setup and Implementation Challenges

Operational Challenges

Of the 19 organisations that indicated they had experienced operational challenges, 14 were local authorities.

The main challenge highlighted by local authorities was the high staff resource and increased workload required to deal with the volume of applications. The perceived complexity of the online application process, implemented and managed by the Improvement Service, also meant that local authority staff needed to deal with a high volume of queries and requests for support. It was suggested that requirements in this respect were far greater than expected, with local authorities not having sufficient resource to tackle this. In addition, it was also noted that the support they could offer to applicants was limited as they did not have access to partial applications:

“We were relying on most of the applications being applied for using the online webpage created by the Improvement Service, however, applicants experienced a lot of issues applying online therefore looked to the council office for support. We didn't have the resources to employ any additional staff to assist with the high demand.” (Local Authority)

Due to the difficulties experienced by applicants in relation to verifying documents and identity, some local authorities said that they had introduced alternative verification processes through schools to aid the application process. However, it was felt that the overall difficulty/complexity of the application process had put some people off applying:

“We decided to introduce a process where all school aged pupils could verify their identity and apply through [the council] to receive their entitlement as opposed to applying through the Get Your NEC website.” (Local Authority)

One respondent also discussed practical challenges of the application process and adjustments that were needed to deal with cross-border situations (i.e. where pupils/students lived in England but accessed education establishments in Scotland). They highlighted the need to implement systems which ensured these young people were not signed up to the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme but could still be provided with a card for cashless catering, etc. within their establishments. This same respondent also noted that, while they offered residents the ability to have schools verify parentage/identification, an alternative route was needed for those who did not attend schools within the area.

While one respondent suggested that variation in uptake of the scheme was driven by the differing provision of bus services, other responses suggest that uptake variation could also, in part, be linked to the extent to which local authorities were resourced and/or were able to support the application process. One local authority with uptake levels below the national average indicated that, while they had worked with schools and their local authority customer service teams, they lacked the resources to support parents/carers with applications. They noted that they continued to receive feedback that the application process was complicated for some applicants and that they had “given up on applying”. Meanwhile, another local authority with uptake figures above the national average indicated that they had provided facilities to allow face-to-face applications, and persevered in supporting applications despite the resource challenges this created.

Another local authority also suggested that differing application methods and variable levels of support provided to applicants may contribute to local uptake rates:

“We initially experienced fairly low take up, with anecdotal evidence suggesting a difficulty in applying as one of the key reasons. We worked closely with partners across the Council, with additional support from the Scottish Government, to implement alternative arrangements and this has proven to be successful in encouraging greater participation. In addition, the department's high engagement rate with ParentsPortal enabled an improved experience for families in signing up to the scheme. We recognise that not all authorities have similar levels of engagement with ParentsPortal which may result in further difficulties in signing up to the scheme.” (Local Authority)

Other organisation types also noted the challenging application process for young people with limited support available for those applying.

Infrastructure Challenges

Of the five organisations who experienced infrastructure challenges, four were local authorities.

These local authorities again noted the increased staff resource required to facilitate the scheme and the difficult application process. In addition, one highlighted that not all buses were equipped with the necessary ticketing machines, particularly in remote rural areas. Another noted that service capacity issues were being experienced as the demand for services had increased, particularly on services which coincided with school start and finish times (this issue is discussed in more detail in Chapter 6 Scheme Challenges and Suggested Changes).

The non-local authority respondent that cited infrastructure challenges highlighted an issue with regards to the quality of information on the cards - they noted that the hologram rubbed off too easily - although this was noted to not impact on the scheme itself.

Funding Challenges

Again, most of the respondents who indicated they had experienced funding challenges were local authorities - seven out of 11 respondents.

The core funding challenge faced by local authorities centred around the high demand for applications and queries/support in relation to applications with no increase in funding to facilitate this. Some cited the need to pay for additional staff to manage the demand, while others moved resources within the council to manage the application process (to the detriment of other services):

“We had to move our resources to deal with the high demand which had a negative impact on our other services and continues to have an impact.” (Local Authority)

One local authority needed to provide an additional bus on a route servicing a school to ensure sufficient capacity was provided, at an additional cost to the council. This same local authority also noted “a slight loss in fares from fare-paying pupils on some registered school transport services” (i.e. on service buses used by the general public but where school issued bus passes were accepted to provide free travel to pupils entitled to free school transport). Issues related to school transport services are discussed in more detail at Chapter 6 Scheme Challenges and Suggested Changes.

Whilst not an actual impact to date, concerns were also raised over the potential for operators of subsidised services (in rural areas) to request increased payment if there was a large increase in demand/passengers:

“With our services being remote rural and a number of services currently pre-bookable requests, contracted operators have raised concerns (currently only verbal) that if there is a large increase in these services due to this new entitlement we should consider increasing their payments… any changes to contract terms will be of concern.” (Local Authority)

One bus operator noted the need to change ticket offerings such as college, school and child tickets as a result of scheme implementation, which resulted in the need for processing ticket refunds and had created redundant ticket types. The need for additional driver training was also highlighted.

Among organisations tasked with managing the scheme, two indicated that, while they were funded, this did not cover the full extent of input that was ultimately required. For example, it did not cover the necessary input from senior managers, and the delay to the roll-out of the scheme (due to the Covid-19 pandemic) meant that staff were committed to the scheme for longer than anticipated. Another felt that insufficient early prospective user research had impacted their ability to forward plan and left them exposed to increased financial risks within the supply chain - they suggested this resulted in stockpiling of materials needed for the production of the NEC cards.

Benefits of the Application Process

While practical challenges were discussed by stakeholders (particularly for local authorities), some benefits were also identified.

It was suggested that the national roll-out of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme and integration with local authorities had encouraged all areas across the country to adopt the online application approach via getyourNEC. This ensured a standardised approach for applicants, and encouraged wider uptake of online applications for other NEC cards as well:

“Young people and parents are able to apply for a NEC with free bus travel in the convenience of their own home, via a national online application process. Prior to U22s, not all Local Authorities had signed up to use getyournec.scot, resulting in a “postcode lottery” approach for citizens… U22s pushed the agenda for a national application process which encouraged all 32 Local Authorities to sign up, benefiting both young people and parents who were required to apply… The U22 scheme essentially forced Local Authorities who had not adopted getyournec.scot, to sign up to use the service to avoid complaints that an online application process was not available in their area.” (Representative Body)

Other stakeholders noted that improvements and/or streamlining had also been made to the application process, verification of identification, and/or in dealing with queries relating to the scheme. Again, a few indicated that this had resulted in similar improvements being made to other application and query processes, suggesting that benefits in this respect were more widely applicable:

“We developed and moved to an online contact form which allows all YPFBTS [Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme] requests to be processed more efficiently. Prior to this the majority of contact was via email to [a] service mailbox which was unmanageable and inefficient.” (Local Authority)

A few stakeholders also acknowledged that improvements had been made to the main getyourNEC application process since its introduction. However, an RTP suggested that continued monitoring was required in relation to the application process, with them concerned that a negative perception around this persisted:

“At the beginning of the rollout of the scheme, it was challenging to obtain a Concession Card. This hopefully is now improving but it is important that all partners continue to monitor this going forward. However, a general community perception persists that it is hard/difficult/complex to get a card.” (RTP)

Continued Development of the Application Process

Despite the improvements noted to already have taken place in relation to the application process, both in relation to the getyournec.scot and local systems, several stakeholders felt that this could still be problematic and needed to be further simplified. In particular, it was suggested that the application process was complicated by the need for parental involvement for children aged 12-15, noting that this had previously not been necessary. Others noted difficulties in the initial application and/or replacement process for those who cannot access the documents needed to verify their/their child’s identity.

A few suggested that greater guidance and support was required for applicants, both in general and for specific groups that might find the process difficult/have difficulty providing the required documentation. In particular, it was suggested that schools and libraries could be more involved in supporting or facilitating applications or to develop pilot programmes where cards could be automatically issued to school children within the school setting:

“More information/assistance on helping young people struggling with access to identification documents i.e. Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Looked after Young People, etc.” (Local Authority)

One stakeholder also suggested that a simplified approach was required for those aged 12-15 that already held a photo style Young Scot/NEC. It was felt there needed to be an easier method available for parental approval to be provided (both online and offline) to add the travel element to existing cards.

Positive Aspects of the Process

Despite the challenges that were faced during the early implementation phase and in relation to the application process, it should be noted that several respondents also felt that the scheme had been well managed overall:

“It has generally been well managed and positive.” (Local Authority)

A few local authority respondents also commented positively about regular meetings that had been held during the design and setup of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme. (It is expected that respondents were referring to meetings of the NEC Stakeholder Forum which was chaired by Information Service/NECPO. This forum was implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic and held regular meetings during the scheme’s implementation phase.) While these had been helpful at the time, it was also suggested that similar meetings would provide a useful way to identify and understand local impacts of the scheme, and that such meetings would be useful to incorporate during any other new transport/policy developments:

“Regular meetings such as the ones held for the YP [Young Person] scheme would be good. Even one-on-one meetings with LAs [local authorities] as we won't always share the same issues so would be good to converse about the issues or impact of a scheme that might be felt specifically within our LA.” (Local Authority)