Impact on affordability
Travel Spend
Across both the baseline and follow-up surveys, parents and carers were asked to estimate their total household spend on travel expenses per month, and to identify what proportion of that was spent on their child (who was the subject of the questionnaire). Table B5 in Appendix B details the comparison in results. This shows that the overall proportions in travel spend remained relatively static before and after the introduction of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme, with 45% of households continuing to spend over £100 on travel each month.
However, the proportions spending less than 10% on their child’s travel expenses had increased across all spending brackets, ranging from 31% of those spending over £100 per month (up from 16% before the introduction of the scheme), to 72% of those spending £0-£10 each month on travel (up from 69% in the baseline survey). Meanwhile the proportion of respondents spending over 10% on their child’s travel had generally decreased across most other spending brackets.
Young people aged 16+ who completed the surveys themselves were also asked to identify their monthly spend on travel expenses. Table 9 outlines the results across the baseline and follow-up surveys and shows a large increase in the proportion of young people spending £0-£10 on travel after the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel was introduced, (up by 26 percentage points), and decreases in the proportions across all higher spending brackets.
| Monthly Spend | Before Scheme Implementation (Baseline Survey) | After Scheme Implementation (Follow-Up Survey) | Percentage Point Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| £0-£10 | 15% | 41% | +26% |
| £11-£25 | 20% | 15% | -5% |
| £26-£50 | 25% | 11% | -14% |
| £51-£75 | 15% | 7.5% | -7.5% |
| £76-£100 | 8% | 5% | -3% |
| Over £100 | 8% | 7.5% | -0.5% |
| Don't know | 9% | 13% | +4% |
| Total (n) | 1843 | 704 | - |
Similarly, while there was little difference in the total household spending on travel and transport in the follow-up survey by use of the Young Persons’ Free Travel Scheme, parents/carers whose children used the free bus travel were more likely to indicate that lower proportions of that spend went on the child. In addition, those aged 16+ who participated in the follow-up survey themselves were more likely to spend less on travel and transport where they used the free bus travel scheme:
- 42% of parents/carers whose child used the free bus travel reported they spent less than 10% of their total travel costs on their child, compared to 23% of those with a child that did not use the free bus travel; and
- 51% of those aged 16+ who used the free bus travel indicated they spent £0-£10 a month on travel, while a further 18% spend £11-£25. This was compared to 24% of those who did not use the free bus travel and spent £0-£10, and 14% who spend £11-£25.
Affordability
All survey respondents were also asked to rate how affordable or unaffordable they found travel and transport. Figure 14 outlines the results between the baseline survey and the follow-up survey. This shows an increase in the proportions of respondents who found travel and transport affordable after the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme was introduced (rising from 26% who found it either very or fairly affordable before the scheme’s introduction, to 38% after), and a reduction in those who found travel and transport unaffordable (declining from 48% to 38%).
Young people tended to find travel and transport more affordable than parents/ carers, while those who used the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme were slightly more likely to find travel and transport affordable than those who did not:
- 49% of young people indicated they found travel and transport either very or fairly affordable, compared to 33% of parents/carers; and
- 39% of those who used the scheme indicated they found travel and transport either very or fairly affordable, compared to 32% of those who did not use the scheme.
Tables 11 and 12 in Chapter 6 (Perceptions of and issues with bus use) also highlight improvements in perceptions related to the cost and affordability of buses. Table 11 shows that the proportion of respondents who considered buses to be affordable increased by 25 percentage points between the baseline and follow-up surveys, while Table 12 shows the proportion of respondents who indicated that cost of bus use was an issue for them/their child had reduced by 31 percentage points.
Financial Impact for Young People and Families
Focus group participants noted cost savings for young people and their families as a result of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme - indeed this was commonly reported to be the main benefit/impact of the scheme:
“I’ve seen a major impact on my finances because I’m not having to take them everywhere - the buses are frequent, reliable and I’ve cut my costs quite significantly.” (Parent/Carer of Scheme User)
“I would say the main benefit of it is to save you a lot of money. Before I used to spend £35 a month and after the bus scheme, I don’t need to spend that money. And I have a brother as well, so instead for my family, that’s £60-£70 a month they can spend it on something else.” (Scheme User)
“I know someone who uses it quite a lot… and she’s ended up saving, only in the past year it’s been like £800… so she’s saved a lot of money.” (Eligible Non-User)
In March 2022, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) published their report, The Cost of a Child in Scotland, which suggested that the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme would save “a total of £3,000 in the lifetime cost of a child in Scotland compared to England.” However, based on the comments above, CPAG’s figure might be an underestimate of the actual savings relevant to Scottish young people and their families, at least for some.
In addition to saving money, the scheme was also said to have made young people and families feel less worried about money linked to travel:
“I've been able to travel to cities across Scotland, visited museums and art galleries, had more opportunities to meet with friends and not had to stress about spending money to travel to uni [university]. In general, the free bus travel has saved me a huge amount of money, which I've been able to put into savings and help cover the cost of university.” (Follow-up survey)
“It’s easier just to go out and about - it saves money and it’s one less thing you have to worry about paying for.” (Scheme User)
“This is my first year in [city] and I still don’t know all the stops and everything and I’m always scared that I’ll get lost somewhere. Knowing that even if I’m lost I can just take the bus for free and get back to the city centre compared to having to pay and not have money and being lost without money or spending too much - I’m so much more chilled about it now.” (Scheme User)
Even parents/carers of younger children who were not yet using the scheme frequently commented that they could foresee longer term financial benefits, which had eased some concerns:
“I can definitely see the benefits of this for my children in the future… The financial side of it in the future is just going to be massive when I think about the amount of money that I spent to go to college and I think ‘Gosh, my children won’t have that financial burden to worry about’ and that might open up opportunities for them.” (Parent/Carer of Scheme User)
While saving money was seen as a key benefit of the scheme, it was also considered to support people in a more general financial sense, as young people and families would have money available to spend on other things. This was considered among various stakeholders to be particularly valuable for those experiencing poverty and during the current cost of living crisis.
Financial Equality for Travel
The Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme had also created a sense of equality between friends in being able to go out/travel together regardless of their individual financial situations, and this was very welcomed:
“I do go out a lot more with friends, because, before, we’d have the whole complex thing of ‘Do you have the money to go out?’, ‘I’ve not got the money’ - it just makes it a lot more simpler.” (Scheme User)
“Sometimes you don’t know people’s financial situation… so I guess that helps that you can travel anywhere and there is no financial panic involved in travelling. So, we can do a trip out in [city], and I don’t need to talk to them about if they can afford it or anything… I’m more likely to ask people [to go out] and I can ask more frequently.” (Scheme User)