A flagship £150,000 free travel scheme to help Angus folk through the cost-of-living crisis has seen just £50 spent since its December launch.
Angus Council’s SNP administration said the bus pass project would be a lifeline for struggling local families and a Scottish first when they brought the scheme forward last year.
It was part of a £1.6 million package of measures using Scottish Government Covid recovery cash.
But it’s come under fire after council chiefs revealed just 58 passes have been issued in three months.
And they admitted the project hasn’t been promoted because they didn’t want it to become too popular.
It has led to one active travel advocate branding the authority a “hard to reach council”.
Who is the travel scheme aimed at?
Angus Council received £1.667m of Local Authority Covid-19 Economic Recovery (LACER) funding in 2021/22.
Six-figure sums have been allocated to tackling child poverty, fuel poverty and supporting Angus town centres.
The bus scheme was designed to provide free passes for jobseekers, foodbank users and folk travelling to benefits appointments.
Council director Alison Smith said uptake had been lower than hoped for.
She said that was down to a range of factors including:
- Allocations limited to existing referral pathways
- Not publicly promoted due to concerns of over subscription
- Reduced travel during festive period
It has helped people travelling to hospital visits and young families in difficult situations including separation and domestic abuse.
But the council is now slashing the available cash by redirecting £100k to a fuel poverty programme.
“The pilot has told us that while the numbers are not high compared to some of the other projects, this is making a significant difference to people who have been issued a pass,” said the director.
“Low uptake is a result of our approach to target eligible people through existing referral pathways, balancing risk
“We anticipate by opening up new referral routes through Angus Council vibrant communities teams and (social enterprise) Scarf, we will see an increase in bus passes issued.”
Councillors’ concern over low figures
Councillors at a full meeting of the authority were shocked by the low uptake and lack of promotion.
Brechin Independent Jill Scott said: “I’m concerned by these figures.
“I directed a constituent towards this through family support and they weren’t even aware of it.
“They then got a bus pass and the bus driver had no idea what it was.”
Arbroath member Lois Speed, a keen advocate of active travel, questioned the cautious approach to highlighting the scheme.
“This is the first of its kind in Scotland,” she said.
“I would have thought it would have been aspirational to want it to be oversubscribed.
“We really should be shouting about this from the rooftops.
“It speaks about trying to support hard to reach people.
“I think we’re in danger of being a hard to reach council.”
Forfar Conservative councillor Ross Greig said the cash could be more effectively spent through the Heat Well fuel poverty project
“It’s well known pubic transport in Angus is a sore point for many,” he said.
“The people in rural areas don’t have a great public transport service so this isn’t going to be much use to them.”
‘Picking up pace’
Council leader Beth Whiteside said: “This was a brand new initiative and pilot projects do take a while to bed in.”
She said the scheme had already attracted interest from support organisations such as the Poverty Alliance.
“I think it’s picking up pace and we’ll see it expanding as time goes on.”
Conversation