“Gangs are causing mayhem” on the streets as a result of free bus passes for under-22s, claimed one Aberdeenshire councillor last week.
Amid reports of increasing anti-social behaviour in our towns and villages, we asked readers whether it’s now time to get rid of free bus travel for youngsters.
Mid-Formartine councillor Derek Ritchie said yobs are causing havoc and “terrifying” locals in places including Balmedie, Oldmeldrum and Pitmedden.
“The anti-social element that’s growing just now within our communities is of deep concern,” Mr Ritchie said.
And many readers blamed the free bus passes for “hostile and dangerous” behaviour at Union Square when we reported on the problem last year.
So, should the Scottish Government’s free bus travel scheme – which since 2022 has been available for all those between five and 21 – be scrapped?
People worried about free bus passes ‘encouraging youths into the city centre and causing trouble’
Before delving into readers’ opinions, we took to the streets of Aberdeen to ask young people what they thought about calls to scrap free bus travel.
There, at least, views were unanimous.
Andrew Martin (neuroscience) and Alison Murray (medicine) are both 19 and students at Aberdeen University.
“I think it’s entirely unfair for people to want to get rid of it,” said Andrew.
“It doesn’t take into account people’s financial situations. And people worrying about it encouraging youths into the city centre and causing trouble, well, young people are going to go places either way.
‘It’s not the busses causing the havoc, it’s the people’
“So, it’s not really the buses that are causing the havoc, it’s the people. I don’t think getting rid of the bus passes is going to solve anything about people’s behaviour.”
Alison added: “It’s good for students as well, being able to get around places, especially in Aberdeen.
“I’m a medical student and if I had to go between the city centre, the hospital and the uni all the time, that’s either a lot of walking or it’s a lot of money on busses.
“I swear buses have gotten so much more expensive in recent years. For me to go home, it’s like £17 on a bus that takes an hour and a half. And that’s not on. So I feel like it’s a good thing to have for kids and young people.”
Amy Cumming, also 19, studies Sport Science at Robert Gordon University (RGU).
She said: “The bus pass saves students a lot of money to get to and from universities, on fuel costs and parking costs. So I think it’s a good thing because we can use it daily to get to and from university, and it’s quite reliable. We know that even in bad weather conditions, we’ll get to university safe.”
‘Take away the bus passes of those being anti-social, instead of punishing the good ones’
Online, hundreds of you gave your views. There were strong opinions on both sides, with a majority feeling that taking away youths’ bus passes would be punishing the well-behaved majority for the actions of a disruptive minority.
Fiona Lindsay said: “Why punish them all for the bad behaviour of a few? Deal with the problem!
“There are squads of youths travelling around on electric vehicles – I passed a group of 13 heading down Bedford Road recently.
“Taking away bus passes won’t make the slightest bit of difference.”
Leigh Marcella said: “Absolutely not. The majority of these youths are decent kids, why should they be punished for the irresponsible behaviour of the minority?
“Take away the bus passes of those being anti-social, instead of punishing the good ones.”
Stacey Forrest said: “It’s simple – take it away from those who cause trouble. It won’t stop, they’ll just pay for bus fares, they don’t care.
“My son’s 15, a decent kid who doesn’t cause trouble and uses his free bus card to get to and from his Young Carers groups, so he’d lose out in too many ways, and there are so many other children like him.”
‘It’s time to punish the culprits’
Indeed, Joanne Dolling pointed out that scrapping the free bus pass would adversely affect large swathes of society.
“No, it’s time to punish the culprits,” she said.
“Nobody talks about the young carer getting to work or college, the apprentice able to qualify because he can get to work or college, the young nurse getting to work, the disabled person whose lifeline to get out or to appointments is their bus pass, or the struggling parents that now find shopping, appointments or a day out less of a burden.
“All these thousands of people are putting good back into the world.
“It’s time the minority ruining it for everyone was punished, and not those that use it appropriately.”
Marion McIntosh said: “The majority of these kids are decent, so why should they be punished for what others do. The free bus passes help them get around safely.
“Not only that, for families on low income, it helps them get their kids to school or appointments without having to find the money.”
‘Bring back community police officers rather than take away bus passes’
Diane Mackie said: “Why should the ones who behave and use their passes with no problem be punished?
“My son is 12 and loves the freedom his bus pass gives him to do things at weekends like see his friends or go into town if he needs anything. I struggle with mobility so don’t go in often.”
Colin Hossack called scrapping free bus passes for youngsters a “terrible idea.”
He added: “It would be like making everyone pay more for alcohol because of the bad decisions of some drinkers.”
Keri Thomas said: “Bring back community police officers rather than take away bus passes.”
And Marina Valko said: “Punish parents of those causing problems. First penalty for anti-social behaviour: £500. After that: £1,000. Everything will be sorted in a month. Job done!”
‘They should never have introduced them in the first place’: Busses have become ‘an ordeal to travel in’ since youth passes started
Meanwhile, plenty of you support scrapping the youth bus pass, or at least, punishing those who misuse them.
Dawn Presslie-Bell said: “Take away their bus pass the minute they misuse them with their bad behaviour on the bus.
“Not every passenger has a free bus pass and busses are expensive enough without paying to have a bus trip from hell just because some kid can’t behave themselves.”
Tim Still said: “Free bus passes should be a privilege, not a right, and suspended or removed for those abusing it.”
Terry Arthur said: “They should never have introduced them in the first place. It’s money that could be better spent elsewhere.”
Elaine Hay said anti-social behaviour on busses has become more of a problem since free bus passes for youngsters were introduced.
“As a regular bus user, there are those who behave and those who don’t,” she said. “Quiet, courteous ones and those who play loud music, are disruptive, fight, argue and so on.
“I’m not quite sure what the solution is but it is a situation that needs to be reviewed, as there have been times when the bus driver has had to stop and remind them that there are other passengers.
“Personally, since these passes were introduced, the busses are busier, noisier, and can at times be quite an ordeal to travel in, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable.”
Some readers think bus passes should have curfew attached
And Warren Spalding said: “Why didn’t the SNP think to make the passes area-wide only? Who in their right mind thinks someone under the age of 16 travelling inter-city is a good idea?
“You frequently see posts from police asking for the whereabouts of a missing child, when it turns out to be a kid gallivanting at the other side of Scotland.
“To be fair, the bus operators should have a duty of care in this as well.”
Quite a number of readers thought the free bus passes should have a curfew attached.
Wendy Humphrey said: “Make it so that they can’t use free bus passes after 6pm – that covers school hours.”
Neil Robson agreed, but pointed to the lack of things to do for youngsters.
“Maybe have set times for when they can be used, set by the time the lights come on,” he said.
“There should, though, be more places opened for teenagers, like in the past. There’s absolutely nothing for them to do – they’re entitled to a social life.”
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