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Fair Fares

Public transport should be less expensive than taking the car.

Our work on Fair Fares aims to rebalance prices to incentivise public transport over driving, to tackle both inequalities and climate change.

This includes examining how affordable public transport fares can be financed, so that bus, train and ferry operators have revenue to reinvest in and improve services.

Why do we need fair fares?

Despite frequent protests from the motoring lobby that drivers are being priced off the road, it is public transport passengers who have seen massive real term fare increases over the past 15 years. Over the last two decades, public transport costs have not only risen relative to costs of driving, but considerably above the rate of inflation.

Disabled people and those on lower incomes are particularly badly affected. Traveling costs more for people with disabilities, and cost is also a huge barrier to accessing public transport for low income households.

Prior to the pandemic, Scottish public transport was already struggling. The increased costs of running services were leading to higher passenger fares, with bus services in particular seeing a decline in patronage. The pandemic exacerbated these problems. Even as car travel recovered to at or above pre-pandemic levels, public transport patronage did not, leaving public transport operators much more dependant on public funding.

Public transport operators are also faced with changing travel patterns and a cost-of-living crisis. Fewer people are travelling during peak hours. Operating costs for public transport are also rising, but raising ticket prices would put unacceptable strain on many people who already struggling to afford their travel costs.

Our actions and impact

Our recommendations to the Scottish Government

In 2021 the Scottish Government decided to set up a Fair Fares Review, to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares.

Our recommendations to the Government’s Review have been widely shared. We have called for:

  • Affordable fares so that using public transport is cheaper than the cost of driving

  • A simple, flexible and affordable public transport network that allows disabled people to travel with freedom and independence

  • Revenue from measures such as road pricing or parking levies to be ring-fenced for funding improvements and subsidies for local public transport services
READ THE REPORT

In March 2024 the Scottish Government published its long-awaited Fair Fares Review. You can read our response to its publication here.

Read our response

Fair Fares Card

We designed a ‘Fair Fares Card‘ campaign for a national flat fare ticket for use across all modes of public transport.

This is modelled on successful examples of European-style integrated ticketing systems in countries such as Germany and Austria.

Find out more

Read more about Fair Fares:

Fair Fares Review: Our response

22 March 2024

We respond to the Scottish Government’s Fair Fares Review, published today (Friday 22 March). The Review – originally proposed in 2021 to ‘ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public…

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Scrap peak fares for good: An open letter

18 March 2024

We’re calling for the Scottish Government to scrap peak rail fares permanently when the current pilot ends this spring. We’ve joined rail unions and environmental groups to urge the Scottish…

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Unlimited public transport for a flat fare: What can Scotland learn from Germany’s €49 Ticket?

7 February 2024

As part of our ‘Just the Ticket’ series which look at international ticketing practices for public transport, Policy advisor Nigel Bagshaw reports on Germany’s D-Ticket: the country’s latest sustainable transport…

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Fair Fares? An opportunity for innovative policymaking

12 September 2023

Transform policy advisor Tom Flanagan reports on the Government’s progress in delivering its commitments to improve the affordability and accessibility of public transport through fares.

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Government delays on fair fares threaten Scotland’s most vulnerable passengers

31 August 2023

Our latest report ‘Off Track’ finds that Scotland’s most vulnerable transport users are being neglected by Government delays. The Scottish Government had promised to report on its Fair Fares Review…

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Free Fares in the Balearics | Just the Ticket

4 April 2023

In light of Mallorca’s decision to make public transport free to all residents in 2023, Transform’s Policy Advisor Paul Tetlaw reports on his observations following a recent visit. This is…

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‘Fair Fares’ needed to transform the fortunes of Scotland’s public transport

8 December 2022

New report calls for Scotland to deploy a multi-modal, multi-operator ticketing system to make public transport simple, accessible and affordable. A new report published today calls for decisive action to…

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Cuts to bus and rail fares needed to meet government’s traffic reduction plans

1 November 2022

Scottish Parliament cross-party group publishes new report responding to Scottish Government’s plan to cut road traffic levels by 20% by 2030 The Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Sustainable Transport…

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© 2025 Transform Scotland is a registered Scottish charity (SC041516)