Current status: Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 20 February 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the recent fares freeze announcement, what measures are being taken by ScotRail to reduce fare evasion.
The recent fares freeze has been implemented to help people with the cost of living while ensuring ScotRail services are sustainable in the longer term and has been supported by Scottish Government funding.
It will be important in going forward that ScotRail budgets align with the overall funding available and therefore improving the effectiveness of securing revenue from tickets will be needed.
ScotRail undertake significant public revenue protection activities, including ticket barriers at the busiest stations and visits to other stations by revenue protection teams. The result of these activities is that 95% of passengers travel with a ticket.
However, fare evasion does remain an issue, and is estimated to cost ScotRail over £11 million per year in lost revenue. It is right that ScotRail take action to ensure that all passengers pay the correct fare - protecting the significant investment being made in Scotland’s Railways to keep rail travel affordable for passengers.
We have therefore accepted ScotRail’s proposal to introduce a minimum fares policy from 1 April 2026 when staff will start informing passengers and educating them but the formal implementation of this will take effect from July 2026
We expect ScotRail to publish more details of this policy imminently.