Millions of people across Glasgow and the west of Scotland can travel by bus for no more than £2 on participating services from today.
The Scottish Government’s £2 bus fare cap has been extended across the Strathclyde region from Monday, 7 September, covering communities from Ayrshire and Lanarkshire to Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and Dunbartonshire.
It means adult and child single fares on eligible journeys operated by participating companies will cost a maximum of £2.
The scheme covers Glasgow City, East and West Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North and South Lanarkshire, North and South Ayrshire, East Ayrshire and the Helensburgh and Lomond area of Argyll and Bute.
Major operators including First Glasgow, McGill’s, Stagecoach, Citylink and West Coast Motors are taking part.
Other participating companies at launch include Avondale Coaches, Garelochhead Coaches, JMB Travel, McColls Travel, Parks of Hamilton, Shuttle Buses, Stuarts Coaches and Whitelaws Coaches.
A total of 25 operators are listed by Transport Scotland as participating from today, with PVT due to join on 14 September and additional operators expected to follow in the coming weeks.
Operators participate voluntarily and the cap only applies to eligible single fares. Passengers changing buses have to pay a separate fare for each service, even if both buses are operated by the same company.
Journeys which travel beyond the Strathclyde area are treated differently.
Someone travelling from Cumbernauld to Falkirk, for example, will pay £2 for the eligible section of the journey within North Lanarkshire and the normal fare for the remainder.
A journey which crosses both the Strathclyde and Highlands and Islands £2 fare-cap areas without entering another regional transport area can cost a maximum of £4 for an eligible single journey.
Premium-fare services including tour buses, night services and private-hire services are excluded from the national scheme rules.
Visitors can use the £2 fares as well as local residents, with no residency requirement. People aged under 22, over 60 and eligible disabled passengers can continue to travel free using their National Entitlement Card rather than paying the £2 fare.
First Bus has confirmed all of its adult single fares in Glasgow and surrounding areas will be capped at £2 from today. Its child single remains capped at £1.75.
The company is also withdrawing return tickets, saying two £2 single journeys will cost less than its previous return fares.
First’s tap-on, tap-off system will continue to provide daily and weekly caps, meaning regular passengers making several journeys may pay less by using those arrangements rather than simply buying individual £2 tickets.
Its City and Local tap-on, tap-off fares will be capped at £6.60 a day and £28 a week, while its wider Network zone will have caps of £8.60 a day and £37.30 a week.
The Strathclyde rollout follows the introduction of the £2 cap across the Highlands and Islands.
Transport Scotland says more than one million journeys have already been made under the scheme there, with passengers saving an average of more than £6 per journey.
The Scottish Government now intends to introduce legislation creating a permanent nationwide £2 bus fare cap before the end of the current Parliament.
First Minister John Swinney said: “The launch of the £2 Bus Fare Cap across Strathclyde means that more people can get where they need to go with more money in their pocket – that is clear action to help people save money during a cost of living crisis.”