Highland councillors have agreed to look into free buses for Ukrainian refugees living in the region.
Under the proposed scheme, those eligible could gain access to a free bus pass for up to one year.
The economy and infrastructure committee met to discuss the proposal of the scheme and ultimately decided it would begin creating and developing it.
It is hoped that by giving people who were displaced from Ukraine easier access to public transport, they will feel more at home and find it easier to get around in the Highlands.
Feasibility
It will now need to be decided whether it is feasible to give all Ukrainian refugees access to free buses for a full year.
In the meeting, it was said the estimated cost of doing this could be around £154,000, but this would depend on the number of eligible people and the number of journeys they took.
This money would come from Scottish Government funding which was allocated the council for the resettlement of refugees.
This is sitting at £1.504m but could increase, however, moving forward with the transport scheme could take money away from other services it currently funds.
If it goes ahead, the transport scheme will only be available to Ukrainian refugees settling in the Highlands.
In the meeting, the reasons given for this were: “No other refugees or asylum seekers have arrived in Highland since March 2022, and the position of Ukrainians is less settled than that of refugees from other nations who have relocated to Highland on a permanent basis.”
It is likely the scheme would work using Saltire Cards as buses already have the infrastructure in place to accept them.
Hopes for the scheme
There are currently 460 Ukrainian displaced persons over the age of in the Highlands, but some may already be eligible for other transport schemes.
One of the issues surrounding the rollout of free bus passes is the length of time they would be valid for.
If more funding is secured, work will begin to finalise how the scheme would work and how people can apply for it.
Chairman of the economy and infrastructure committee, Ken Gowans, said: “Provided we can secure the necessary funding to progress and develop the proposed transport assistance scheme for Ukrainian displaced persons, I hope that this will enable those who have sought sanctuary here in the Highlands to become more settled and to embed themselves within the wider Highland community through more accessible transport.”
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