SCOTTISH Tory leader Douglas Ross is set to use the General Election campaign to call on the Scottish Government to cap bus fare journeys at £2.
The scheme is currently in effect for single journeys south of the Border, excluding London, and is expected to run until the end of 2024.
Transport is a devolved matter and Ross (below) will urge the SNP-led Scottish Government to “get on board” with the plans currently in place in England.
During a visit to a bus depot in Glasgow ahead of tonight’s debate on STV, Ross said his party will demand the SNP focus on the priorities of Scotland, including “improving public transport”.
He said: “Our manifesto will include proposals to save people money and improve Scotland’s public transport network.
“We would cap bus fares at £2 for a single fare so people can get to work or visit family more affordably.
“Reducing bus fares in the rest of the UK is helping save passengers money and encouraging more people to travel by bus.
“The SNP must get on board with reducing the cost of travel for Scottish people struggling financially after the global cost-of-living crisis.”
The National has approached the SNP for comment.
The move comes ahead of a fresh week of campaigning with Ross last week suggesting he would “show the SNP the red card” as he urged people to vote for his party at the upcoming election.
Responding to the call, Gavin Newlands, the SNP candidate for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, said: "Douglas Ross has some brass neck to highlight people struggling through a cost-of-living crisis which his own party created with its disastrous mismanagement of the economy.
"The SNP stands on our proud a track record of making public transport affordable for all - whether it be through the funding of free bus travel for under-22 and over 60s or the pilot to scrap peak rail fares on publicly-owned Scotrail services.
"The SNP will take no lectures from the Tories- and we will always put the interests of Scotland first."
