Elected Member Briefing Note 2025, No. 151
About this Briefing Note
Report by: Elaine Ritchie, Strategic Lead, Housing and Communities
EMBN Number: 151-25
Date: 20 November 2025
Subject: Free Bus Saturdays
Details
Purpose
To provide elected members with an update on the number of passengers using local buses on our Free Bus Saturdays..
Briefing Information
Since June 2024, Perth and Kinross Council has worked with local bus companies, to offer passengers free bus travel on the first Saturday of each month. This initiative was funded by a budget motion of £120k in financial year 2024/25 and a budget motion of £168k in financial year 2025/26.
Buses operated by Stagecoach South Scotland, Docherty's Midland Coaches, Elizabeth Yule Transport, Glenfarg Community Transport Group and Sweeney's Garage all offer the free fares.
The initiative is designed to encourage people to use sustainable methods of travel more often.
Latest passenger numbers
Below you can see the monthly totals for the free Saturday in financial year 2025/26 in comparison to 2024/25.
Month | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | Increase | Comments |
June | 4,722 | 3,721 | -1,001 | In 2024 this date was the start of Perth Cocktail week, the Classic Car Extravaganza and Arngask Farm Market, which may explain the higher figure. |
July | 3,533 | 3,784 | +251 |
|
August | 4,306 | 4,829 | +523 |
|
September | 4,140 | 4,338 | +198 |
|
October | 3,595 | 3,041 | -554 | Storm Amy hit on the first Saturday of October '25 which will have impacted passenger numbers |
Stagecoach has advised that they experienced a rise in concessionary travel on the free Saturdays in 2025, so a comparison was carried out between the first free Saturday of the month and the second free Saturday of the month from June 2025 - November 2025 for all Stagecoach ticket types including concessionary bus passes. It showed the following:
- June 2025: 31.36% more passenger journeys were undertaken on free first Saturday of the month compared with second Saturday of the month
- July 2025: 10.49% more passenger journeys on free first Saturday of the month compared with second
- August 2025: 15.91% more passenger journeys undertaken on free first Saturday of the month compared with second
- September 2025: 15.82% more passenger journeys undertaken on free first Saturday of the month compared with second
- October 2025: 11.93% less passenger journeys undertaken on free first Saturday of the month compared with the second (this was the day of Storm Amy).
- November 2025: 4.45% more passenger journeys on the free first Saturday of the month compared with the second
Overall, Stagecoach South Scotland's passenger journeys across Perth and Kinross in the period 4 May 2025 - 17 October 2025, were 8,879 more than in the previous year. This is a combination of both fare paying passengers and concessionary bus pass holders. The concessionary passenger journeys continue to increase, although have still not reached pre-covid levels.
A full report on the Free Bus Saturday initiative will be produced at the end of this financial year and will be presented to elected members and the Council's senior management team.
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