Greens pledge a third off rail fares for all residents
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The Scottish Greens will introduce a new railcard to immediately bring down the cost of rail fares for all Scottish residents.
They claim it will bring mainland travellers "significant savings" for those who do not qualify for available discount railcards.
The Scottish Railcard would be modelled on the existing Network Rail card in the south east of England, designed to encourage people to take the train rather than drive by reducing the cost of off-peak journeys by a third.
The policy was welcomed by Ariane Burgess, the lead candidate for Highland region who said: “The Scottish Greens are committed to making public transport the preferred choice for all our communities, and reduce the reliance on private cars.
“In the last parliamentary session, our Green Party MSPs secured free bus travel for everyone under 22 starting this summer, and we want to build on that by introducing concessionary travel on publicly owned railways too.
“A Scottish railcard would be a quick way to immediately bring down the cost of rail for everyone in Scotland. So many of us make regular journeys or enjoy day trips to places like Inverness, Oban and further afield. This simple move can make a big difference. It is a model which has worked well abroad and in the south east of England, and would help our train services recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“If we are going to tackle transport emissions and ensure a green recovery from the pandemic, we need to be proactive in boosting public transport. Our future depends on it.”
