Anti-social behaviour on Edinburgh’s buses has increased further, according to figures released via a Freedom of Information request. As reported by The Scotsman newspaper, the figures showed a resurgence in nuisance behaviour with more than 1,150 incidents recorded by Lothian Buses in the first six months of the year, equating to around six per day. The figures represent a slight increase from the same period in 2024, but an increase of around a third compared to the period before free under-22s bus travel was introduced in 2022, the newspaper highlights, with some 574 of this year’s incidents attributed to young people and at least 472 to adults. There were also 72 broken windows and 38 driver assaults recorded, whilst a peak was seen in April, coinciding with the Easter school holidays.
Whilst Westminster’s Transport Committee is proposing a unified free travel scheme for under-22s in England, north of the border Ministers are considering whether to revoke free travel privileges from those responsible for anti-social behaviour. The Scottish Government says its has prioritised consideration of suspending use of concessionary travel cards on a temporary and potentially permanent basis as a result of anti-social behaviour when using the card, and that it is undertaking detailed work on the timescale and mechanism for achieving that goal.
Although Scottish Conservatives transport spokesperson Sue Webber called the figures shocking and said that they show that anti-social behaviour on the city’s bus services has spiralled out of control, a spokesperson for the Edinburgh Bus Users Group said the figures should be kept in perspective, and that whilst it condemned anti-social behaviour, the number of incidents is low compared to the around 60 million journeys made on Lothian buses during the same period. “There’s many reasons to criticise the SNP Government’s track record on buses, but implying the figures show anti-social behaviour on Edinburgh’s bus services is out of control is wide of the mark,” the organisation said.
Sarah Boyd, Managing Director at Lothian Buses, which says it takes a zero-tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour, said: “It is important to remember that we are talking about a minority of young people, and that the under-22s scheme is absolutely incredible and has enabled some superb travel patterns to be taken up by our young people. However, if you are the person involved in an incident on the bus – the driver, the victim or another passenger – the experience can be horrendous.”
