JOBSEEKERS in some parts of Scotland are spending 15 per cent of their weekly benefits on a round trip to the job centre, according to a new report highlighting how cuts to rural bus services are hitting the poorest.
Sparse timetables, high fares and long journey times are leaving some of Scots in remote communities struggling to travel to their work, GP, bank, or local hospital.
The Citizens' Advice Scotland report has analysed more than 1,200 bus journeys in 133 locations around country, ranging from cities and small towns to remote rural communities.
It found that jobseekers in the most remote areas are paying an average of £9 for a return trip to their nearest job centre, typically travelling for an hour in each direction.
In the Nairn area bus journeys were identified as costing those on job seekers allowance 15 per cent of their income for one return journey to the nearest job centre, while the longest travel times collated by CAB undertaking the research were seen in the Scottish Borders, with the longest journey identified by the survey was a three-hour 12 minute round trip from Yetholm, near Kelso, to the nearest job centre in Galashiels.
The report also found that 38 per cent of locations surveyed had no Sunday service that connected them with local hospitals, while college students in remote areas faced average journey times of more than an hour each way and typical return fares in excess of £10.
The report expands on findings first highlighted in CAB's 2015 report, 'Remotely Excluded'.
Increasing pressure on operators' budgets has driven a reduction or withdrawal of routes or services in recent years, increasing the need for local authority subsidies to keep vital services running.
Scotland spent £48 million on bus subsidies to operators in 2015/16, equivalent to £10.67 for every adult in Scotland and up by almost £750,000 on the previous year.
Fraser Sutherland said: “For many in Scotland’s cities and large towns bus connections can be frequent and relatively affordable, while in more rural parts of Scotland we have found communities that contend with twice-daily services that can cost a substantial proportion of weekly income to make necessary journeys.
“For example, those in the remote and rural areas we surveyed paid an average price of over £9 for a return journey to the nearest job centre. While some jobseekers and others can receive a discount on tickets this still represents a significant cost for those already struggling to make ends meet on a low income.”
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