A scheme to provide free bus travel for under-22s in Scotland – using smart ticketing infrastructure delivered by Unicard – has passed the major milestone of 100 million completed journeys.
The landmark moment coincides with the publishing of the year-one evaluation of the Scottish Government’s Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme. The report says more than a third of the cardholders have been able to use it to access new social, education, employment and leisure opportunities.
Scotland's Minister for Transport Fiona Hyslop and Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights Patrick Harvie visited a school in Edinburgh to mark 100 million free bus journeys
Transport Scotland procured Unicard to replace their previous AMS-HOPS system with a more advanced one that could handle the expected major increase in the number of concessionary smartcards after the introduction of the free travel scheme in 2022. The new system also had to deal with commercial bus journeys and concessionary travel for 1.4 million older and disabled people.
Unicard’s HOPS is a transport data management system that supports all ITSO-accredited smart ticketing schemes. It is a fully automated, scalable and secure solution, capable of handling high volumes of ITSO messaging and data transactions. The new HOPS provides Transport Scotland with the ability to monitor live reporting data, track concessionary fares and facilitates smart reimbursements with transport operators.
Unicard also introduced a Part 11 / mobile app solution for Transport Scotland that enables customers to download smart products from their mobile devices, making it simple for passengers to load new entitlements onto their existing National Entitlement Card. This also opened up the potential for other retail channels and collection points, providing customers with a comprehensive network of retail sales and fulfilment.
Unicard successfully delivered the HOPS migration within a 12-week period, and this project faced additional pressures as it took place in the midst of the Covid pandemic. To meet this deadline, Unicard diverted extra people and resources to the Transport Scotland project, and our experience in delivering previous HOPS contributed to the successful completion of the project on time.
Unicard recently confirmed our commitment to the delivery of transport services in Scotland with our acquisition of smart ticketing specialists Ecebs from Visa, which added a new office in East Kilbride to our presence in Scotland.
"Getting the technology right to operate the scheme was critical, and Unicard have delivered important and effective HOPS and app solutions."
Transport Scotland commissioned a Year One Evaluation of the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme to consider the impacts and outcomes of the scheme.
The scheme aims to encourage more sustainable travel and tackle issues related to transport poverty by:
- embedding positive sustainable travel behaviours
- opening up social, education, employment and leisure opportunities
- reducing household outgoings to aid children, particularly those living in poverty
The latest evaluation of the scheme shows that progress has been made against each of these objectives, with increasing numbers of young people travelling by bus, and families reporting cost savings and reduced worry and anxiety relating to travel.
Overall, the scheme was considered highly successful and beneficial across its first year of operation. Early indications are very encouraging in relation to the extent to which the scheme is positively impacting on young people and their families.
Minister for Transport Fiona Hyslop MSP said: “I’m really pleased to see that over 100 million journeys have now been made by under-22s across Scotland – and that the scheme is making a positive difference to young people’s lives.
“This policy is truly transformative. It’s reducing travel costs for young people and their families; encouraging a shift towards public transport from private car use and improving access to social, leisure, education and employment opportunities.”
"It’s fantastic to see our technology enabling the young people of Scotland to engage with free public transport and the benefits it brings to local communities."
Mary Docherty, Head of the Concessionary Travel and Integrated Ticketing Unit at Transport Scotland, said: “With over 100 million journeys now made through the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme since its launch, we’re really seeing the positive impact it’s having in so many aspects of young Scots’ lives. It’s reducing travel costs for families, improving social mobility and helping young people connect more with friends, family, work and education.
“Getting the technology right to operate the scheme was critical, and Unicard have delivered important and effective HOPS and app solutions. They have been responsive to the needs of scheme delivery, and the Transport Scot Pass Collect App has helped enable over 32,000 young people to get quicker and easier access to the scheme using their existing card.”
Alex Sbardella, Commercial and Product Director at Unicard, said: “It’s fantastic to see our technology enabling the young people of Scotland to engage with free public transport and the benefits it brings to local communities. We’re committed to improving delivery of transport services in Scotland, and our new office in East Kilbride will be a centre of excellence in the region.”
Unicard have vast experience and a strong heritage in smart ticketing and payments for concessionary and smart travel schemes. Our solutions enable Local Authorities and transport operators to deliver commercial and concessionary travel schemes.
Unicard’s suite of smart ticketing solutions have been adopted by over 60 Local and Regional Authorities in England. The Transport Scotland project marked one of our largest deployments in Scotland, building on the work carried out in the region by our Ecebs subsidiary.