How is a £2 cap on bus fares working in the Highlands and islands?

Bus passengers in the west of Scotland can look forward to a £2 cap on their fares from Monday, but public transport users in the Highlands and islands have been enjoying similar cut-price travel for several months.

The price cap is already in place in six local authority areas under a year-long trial.

Councils involved say it has been a success, but campaigners argue the real problem is not cost but a lack of bus services.

The Scottish government has pledged to cut the cost of bus travel to £2 per single fare for every journey in the country by the end of this parliamentary term.

First Minister John Swinney announced that it would be extended to Glasgow and the west of Scotland from Monday as he outlined his programme for government.

The pilot scheme was introduced in phases between January and March across Shetland, Western Isles, Orkney, Highland, Moray and Argyll and Bute.

It caps a maximum adult single fare at £2, with participating bus operators reimbursed by public body Transport Scotland.

The Scottish government has invested £10m in the pilot.

The cap covers everything from a 15 minute trip into Inverness city centre to an hours long journey to the north Caithness coast.

Before the cap, Stagecoach's one-way, 21-mile trip from Elgin to Portknockie would have cost £12.50.

A single fare for Inverness to Scrabster - a 111-mile, three hours and 33-minute journey - would have been £31.

The cap also applies to long-distance CityLink and Ember services, but only on the sections within the boundaries of the pilot scheme.

Regional transport partnership Hitrans said more than 800,000 journeys have been made in the pilot area since going live in Shetland in January.

It said electric bus firm Ember had reported a 10-15% rise in passenger numbers across the Highlands and Argyll and Bute.

Hitrans director Ranald Tobertson said: "The bus fare cap pilot has been a great success in the Highlands and islands.

"It makes bus travel cheaper and more accessible, particularly for lower-income families.

"It also encourages greater use of public transport and strengthens the sustainability of local bus services, particularly in rural areas."

Highland Council's in-house bus service has seen a month-on-month rise in passengers since the cap's introduction in March.

Its latest figures, which cover 20 July to 16 August, suggest 7,387 passengers were carried, 83% more than the average monthly total before the cap.

Vice convener Ken Gowans said: "Highland covers a vast geographical area, almost the size of Belgium, and many residents face long journeys that can be costly, often exceeding £30 for a single bus fare.

"The introduction of the £2 fare has made public transport far more affordable and accessible for people across our communities."

Moray Council and Orkney Islands Council also reported a rise in passengers.

Capping fares has been welcomed, but bus user groups have raised some concerns around services.

Some parts of Inverness do not have bus into the city centre after 18:40 and no service at all on Sundays.

In Dumfries and Galloway, timetables for the region had to be changed after Stagecoach shut depots in Dumfries and Stranraer.

Transform Scotland, which campaigns for a "cleaner, fairer and more efficient" transport system said: "We shouldn't confuse affordability with availability.

"In many rural communities the problem isn't that the bus is too expensive: it's that there isn't a bus when people need one."

A spokesperson added: "Before committing large sums to a national fare cap, the government should establish what the Highlands and islands pilot is actually achieving and ask whether the same money could deliver more frequent, more reliable and faster bus services."

Greig MacKay, director for Scotland at Bus Users, said the £2 fare had shown that when buses were "affordable, simple, and accessible" people would use them.

"The challenge now is to build on that success, learn from the pilot and make sure that affordable fares are matched by reliable, frequent, and accessible services," he said.

"Passengers need a bus network that works for them every day, not just during a pilot."