Conclusion

Overall, the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme was considered highly successful and beneficial across the first year of operation. Many more benefits and positive impacts were identified compared to emerging negative issues, with benefits generally being felt more widely than the negative impacts. The scheme will require longer-term monitoring to address all expected outcomes, to determine the sustainability of observed impacts, and to understand any new ‘norms’ once the scheme has been fully embedded. However, early indications are very encouraging in relation to the extent to which the scheme is positively impacting on young people and their families.