To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase bus patronage in South Lanarkshire. (S6O-04306)

Our commitment to bus travel includes the investment of almost £465 million to support concessionary bus travel and to help to ensure that bus operators can continue to provide access to affordable transport through the network support grant in the deregulated market right across Scotland.

The concessionary travel scheme is instilling the habit of choosing the bus as a principal form of transport among young people, helping to sustain services while supporting our net zero ambitions. In December alone, 140,000 card holders from South Lanarkshire made more than 600,000 journeys under the national concessionary travel scheme.

I know that members will have welcomed the recent announcement from the Scottish Government that, as part of the budget, a £2 bus fare cap pilot will be introduced in one regional transport area. At the moment, more than 2.3 million people—everyone under the age of 22 or over 65, and disabled people and carers—benefit from free bus travel, and the £2 cap could build on that good work.

As the scheme is set to be introduced from January 2026, will the minister outline the criteria on how the pilot will be measured? I take this opportunity to encourage the minister to consider introducing the pilot across South Lanarkshire and Glasgow, to benefit my Rutherglen constituents.

I congratulate Clare Haughey on that straightforward pitch to the minister. She is absolutely right to highlight how many people are benefiting from free travel, thanks to the Government, and I very much welcome her interest in the £2 flat fare.

Although we are at the early stages of the fare cap pilot development, we are committed to delivering it on time and ensuring that travelling by bus is as attractive and affordable as possible. The work on the proposals will continue this year and will include continued dialogue with stakeholders, including local transport authorities and bus operators. As part of that process, we will determine suitable criteria for the pilot location.

The minister knows that I think that the £2 bus fare should be a national thing and that there is no need for a pilot. However, if we are to have one, clearly the best place for it is where most people live—the Strathclyde region. That is where it should be. What does the minister need to have happen? Does he need to have a formal bid from Strathclyde Partnership for Transport in order for Strathclyde to win that pilot?

I say well done to Graham Simpson for making his pitch for the pilot scheme. I am delighted that the scheme is getting so much coverage from members. However, I repeat that we are going through the process of working out what the pilot needs to do and what the criteria will be, and that we will announce that in due course.

One aspect of increasing bus patronage is ensuring that buses and bus stations are places where people, including the staff, feel safe. Following the cross-party meeting and the Labour debate on antisocial behaviour on buses, how is the minister progressing work to improve safety on buses for passengers and drivers?

The member is absolutely right to bring up that on-going issue. We are continuing to consider it. We are still looking at the things that we need to do in order to progress some of the issues that we talked about in the past, and I will update the chamber and the member as we come to some conclusions.

Question 2 has been withdrawn.