PEAK fares will be scrapped in Scotland later this year as cut-price rail travel trial, the First Minister has announced.
In a speech to the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, Humza Yousaf said ScotRail would not have peak fares between October 2023 and March 2024.
He said the move would make public transport “more accessible, available and affordable”.
Yousaf added: “As an important part of that, I can confirm today that the six-month pilot to remove peak-time fares from Scotrail services will start in October of this year.
“The evidence from this pilot – and our wider Fair Fares review – will allow us to bring forward further targeted measures, from next year onwards, to ensure that the costs of transport are more fairly shared.”
The policy was originally announced by then-finance secretary John Swinney at the end of last year.
He said the trial would cost £15 million and came after a letter from the train drivers' union Aslef.
The union claimed victory in the announcement, saying it demonstrated the "benefit of public ownership".
Kevin Lindsay, an organiser with Aslef Scotland, said: “This announcement is a direct result of rail workers demanding this action be taken when we launched our vision for Scotland’s railways.
“With the cost of living crisis hitting Scots hard, we urge the Government to explore every opportunity to accelerate the scrapping of peak fares and make the policy permanent.
“With ScotRail back in public hands it’s only right that passengers and rail workers see the benefit of public ownership as quickly as possible.”
In a speech outlining his government's priorities, Yousaf said he wanted see an increase in the number of journeys made on foot and on bicycles.
He added: "As part of our commitment to Active Travel, we will also increase our investment to deliver more places where people can walk, wheel and cycle safely for day-to-day journeys.
"We will double the charge point network for electric vehicles to at least 6,000, and increase the number of zero-emission buses on Scotland’s roads. And we will deliver six new major vessels to serve Scotland’s ferry network."
