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The Scottish Government ran two rounds of the Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus scheme in 2020/21, awarding a total of £39.6 million to support operators acquire new zero-emission buses, and £11 million to support operators install the necessary depot charging infrastructure. Phase one of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund, has a total of £50 million available and is currently open for bids. The funding is to support the cost of both zero-emission buses and the associated charging infrastructure. Bidders can request up to 75% of the cost of battery-electric charging infrastructure, and up to 85% of the cost of hydrogen fuel-cell charging infrastructure.

The Scottish Government has established the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce, comprised of leaders from the bus operating, bus manufacturing, energy and finance sectors, including representation from rural bus operators. At its first meeting the group set out its vision for a future where “Bus operators are exclusively running zero-emission battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell buses, and the bus sector provides an excellent service meeting passengers’ day-to-day needs”. The guiding vision informs all aspects of the Taskforce’s work. The Scottish Government is making £120 million available over the coming years to support operators in both urban and rural areas transition to zero-emission technology. The first phase of our Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund, worth £50 million, is currently open for bids. A second phase will be subject to review of the first.

It is an objective of the National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons that bus operators are reimbursed for the costs of carrying concessionary passengers so as to leave them no better and no worse off through their participation in the Scheme. This objective should mean that there are not subsequent fare pressures on fare paying passengers as a result of the scheme.

We have worked with the Confederation of Passenger Transport to arrive at the reimbursement rates for the Scheme which seek to deliver this objective.

The new Scheme will be monitored closely in order to identify any significant adverse financial impacts, generally or for individual operators or groups of bus operators.

Transport Scotland officials are in regular contact with the Department for Transport regarding bus service provision and issues impacting on bus driver numbers. Discussions, which are ongoing, seek to identify and address issues delaying licence applications and driver testing to ensure timely recruitment and training processes. Officials will remain closely engaged with Department for Transport officials as this work progresses.

The Scottish Government has established the Bus Decarbonisation Taskforce, comprised of leaders from the bus operating, bus manufacturing, energy and finance sectors, including representation from rural bus operators. The Taskforce has explored energy infrastructure in depth and actions now being undertaken by the Taskforce include production of a “How To” guide for bus operators about working with the electricity sector to plan for and install the necessary charging infrastructure. The Taskforce has also discussed the suitability of hydrogen fuel-cell buses for rural bus services, and the challenges and opportunities associated with hydrogen refuelling stations. The Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund is currently available to bidders and is designed to encourage collaborative and consortium bids, with support of up to 75% of the cost of battery-electric charging infrastructure, and up to 85% of the cost of hydrogen fuel-cell charging infrastructure.

No evaluation has taken place of the ScotZEB scheme as it is still open for applications until 4 November 2021.

Since June 2020 the Scottish Government has made up to £210 million in additional financial support available to enable bus operators to continue to run services during the pandemic. It is for individual operators to lead dialogue with trade unions and to determine pay arrangements with their employees. Scottish Government funding is provided on a not for profit basis and any pay increases for staff would need to be funded by bus operators through efficiencies or any reserves they may have accrued prior to the pandemic.

The proposed National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons is expected to increase patronage and cause modal shift but the precise impact of these changes is uncertain. The Scottish Government will monitor the scheme to assess the level of take up and the impact it has on people’s travel behaviours and on other modes of transport, including active travel.

Evidence from the existing National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons indicates that people who benefit from free public transport tend to be more active as a result. These journeys can be used to access outdoor activities and most will involve an active component, for instance to get to or from the bus stop.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.

As at Scottish Budget 2020-21, 4% of Scotland’s GDP was planned to be spent on infrastructure, which is on a par to the percentage of UK GDP allocated to capital expenditure by the UK Government at Budget 2020.