202300362238 · FOI · partially withheld
Fare costs for first year of young Scot travel scheme: FOI release
Information requested
What the young Scot travel scheme has cost in fares for the first year? I am interested to know the figures per country total, local council and bus company.
Response
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not record journey reimbursements broken down by local authorities, however we are able to provide:
Bus operator reimbursement claims totalled £79,867,059.71 in the first year (January 2022 - January 2023) for journeys made under the Young Persons' Free Bus Travel Scheme.
While we are able to attach a breakdown of the journey reimbursement costs paid to bus operators in the first year of the scheme (January 2022 - January 2023), an exemption under section 33 (1b) of FOISA applies to this request. We have anonymised and totalled payments under £25,000.00 due to commercial sensitivities and in the interests of not placing smaller operators at a competitive disadvantage.
About FOI
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Detected exemption language
While we are able to attach a breakdown of the journey reimbursement costs paid to bus operators in the first year of the scheme (January 2022 - January 2023), an exemption under section 33 (1b) of FOISA applies to this request.