Addressing the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee,
Transport Minister said the £3 million initiative
would go ahead this summer as a thank you to passengers for their
patience during a significant period of upgrading and
improvements to key rail services.
Monthly and annual season ticket holders will benefit from a free
week of travel. The ScotRail Alliance will be announcing
details on how to claim the free week shortly. In addition to the
offer of a free week, there will also be extra incentives for
season ticket holders who switch to smart ticketing. Further
detail on how this process will work will be announced soon,
however the benefits will be:
- Annual season ticket holders on Smartcard - free week for
them or a friend/family member, plus two off-peak return trips
anywhere in Scotland
- Monthly and above season ticket holders on Smartcard - free
week added to next season ticket purchase, plus one off-peak
return trip anywhere in Scotland
- Weekly season ticket holders on Smartcard are also set to
benefit with a complimentary one day return ticket anywhere in
Scotland.
- A further offer for leisure passengers is in the pipeline for
later in the year
Mr Yousaf said:
“I am delighted to confirm further details of this initiative
which aims to recognise that some passengers have had to endure
higher levels of disruption, partly as a result of record
investment in improving our railways, but also because the
service hasn’t been to the standards that I expect.
“Because service improvements and investment also impact on those
across the country who do not use season tickets, ScotRail is
also introducing a series of additional promotions and fare
offers throughout 2017 to ensure they also benefit from this
investment.
“As I told Parliament last Wednesday, I am confirming that this
initiative will be fully funded by the Scottish Government and
ScotRail, as had always been intended from the outset. The SQUIRE
regime is all about improving the passenger experience and using
a proportion of these funds to benefit ScotRail passengers
clearly falls within this remit. The remaining £1.2 million will
come from Transport Scotland.
“As I highlighted to Parliament last week the past few months
have been challenging as the ScotRail Alliance takes forward an
ambitious programme on the live network to deliver newer, longer,
greener trains on our flagship routes between Edinburgh and
Glasgow as well as further afield. Performance is now starting to
improve and thanks to the Improvement Plan we are seeing some
positive trends, as evidenced by the most recent figures, which
compare favourably to the rest of the UK, however I appreciate
there is still some way to go before services are at an
acceptable level.”
Cathy Craig, Commercial Director of the ScotRail
Alliance, said:
"We are pleased to be contributing £1.8m of Squire funds for this
significant benefit for passengers. This is a sincere token of
our appreciation for their patience and understanding as we
progress one of the biggest infrastructure improvements for
Scotland’s Railway since Victorian times. New faster,
longer, greener trains will be here in September bringing extra
seats and a much improved travelling experience.
“We have ambitious plans to roll out our Smartcard offering and
these additional incentives mean now is an ideal time to make the
switch. We are now putting the finishing touches to the process
that will enable our customers to claim their free rail travel
quickly and easily. More details will be on our website
shortly.”
Background
ScotRail will release details on how to claim the free week and
free tickets shortly. The details will be available on this
webpage: www.scotrail.co.uk/fares-thankyou
Some terms and conditions will apply depending on the ticket
held.
