The dates peak fares will be removed across the Scotrail network have been revealed by the Scottish Government.
Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop has said that the Peak Fares Removal pilot scheme will begin on 2 October 2023 and end on 29 March 2024.
During the pilot, all off-peak fares and products that are set and controlled by ScotRail will be valid for travel all day.
During the pilot, all off-peak fares and products that are set and controlled by ScotRail will be valid for travel all day.
READ MORE: SNP urged to freeze rail fares as inflation soars
Ms Hyslop said: “The Programme for Government makes clear our commitment to encourage a shift towards sustainable transport. We know that there is much to be done in encouraging people back to rail if we are to achieve our net zero targets.
“This peak fare removal pilot is aimed at achieving this by making ticketing simpler with off-peak fares valid all day. This is an exciting and unique opportunity to encourage more people to choose a safe, reliable, and greener form of public transport.”
Alex Hynes, Scotland’s Railway Managing Director, said the pilot was an “exciting opportunity” to encourage more people across the country to choose rail travel instead of using the car.
READ MORE: Ross Greer 'very confident' peak time rail fares will end permanently
He said: “Everyone at ScotRail is working hard to make sure that this six-month trial will be a success, and we will be monitoring our services and stations daily to see where we have any significant increases in customer journeys.
“We know that cost and simplicity is a critical factor for people when they choose how to travel, and we are looking forward to delivering this fantastic fare reduction for our customers.”
The Scottish Government said it will carefully consider the impact of the pilot and the long-term sustainability of removing peak fares.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here