To qualify for one of these types of NEC you must live in Scotland and be disabled or aged 60 or over. For more detailed information on who qualifies for concessionary travel read Transport Scotland’s guide.

Applications can be made up to two weeks before your 60^th birthday.

You can apply online at getyournec.scot  if you have a smartphone, tablet or computer with a camera or webcam.

To complete the process online you will require digital copies (photo or scan) of the following documents:

• Proof of identity (such as a Yoti account, valid photo driving licence or current passport)
• Proof of current address (such as council tax bill, utility bill, bank statement)
• A “passport-like” photograph of yourself for the card

Frequently asked questions are available if you need support to apply online.

If you are unable to apply online then applications can be made in person at your local Post Office. Services may vary at Post Office Local branches – please check directly with the Post Office.

To complete the process in person you will require the following documents:

• Proof of identity
• Proof of current address
• A recent passport size photograph

For a full list of acceptable proof documents for identity, address and photographs please see Proofs | National Entitlement Card.

You can apply online at getyournec.scot  if you have a smartphone, tablet or computer with a camera or webcam.

To complete the process online you will require digital copies (photo or scan) of the following documents:

• Proof of identity (such as a Yoti account, valid photo driving licence or current passport)
• Proof of current address (such as council tax bill, utility bill, bank statement)
• Proof of eligibility (please visit the Transport Scotland website for full details of the eligibility criteria and acceptable proof documents required)
• A “passport-like” photograph of yourself for the card

Frequently asked questions are available if you need support to apply online.

For a full list of acceptable proof documents for identity, address and photographs please see Proofs | National Entitlement Card.

For more information on the qualifying criteria and acceptable proof of eligibility documents for a disabled with companion NEC please see the Transport Scotland website.

Alternatively, if you are unable to complete your application using getyournec.scot, as you do not have a valid photo driving licence or current passport, SPT will accept your application by email or post (due to demand it may take up to four weeks for your application to be processed).

Please complete and send an application form, along with photographed/ scanned copies of your supporting documents (proof of identity, address, eligibility and passport style photograph) to:

Email: freebus@spt.co.uk

Post: Concessionary Travel, 10 Killermont Street, Buchanan Bus Station, Glasgow, G2 3NW

Applicants who are providing non photographic identification (such as a birth certificate) to support their application must also ensure the photo referee declaration section of the application form is completed by an approved referee, please see the National Entitlement Card (NEC) website for the NEC photo referee guide.

Proof of eligibility is required to issue a new disabled NEC. For more information on the qualifying criteria and acceptable proof of eligibility documents for a disabled NEC please see the Transport Scotland website.

You can renew your disabled NEC online at getyournec.scot  if you have a smartphone, tablet or computer with a camera or webcam.

Alternatively, if you are unable to complete the renewal process online using getyournec.scot, SPT will accept a photographed/ scanned copy of your proof of eligibility document by email or post to the details below:

Email: freebus@spt.co.uk

Post: Concessionary Travel, 10 Killermont Street, Buchanan Bus Station, Glasgow, G2 3NW

Please quote the cardholders name, disabled NEC card number, date of birth and full address on the correspondence.

Please note: SPT no longer sends renewal forms to card holders. Please provide an acceptable proof of eligibility document at least five weeks before the card expires to allow for processing and a new card to be issued. SPT cannot be held liable for gaps in entitlement.

E-mail: freebus@spt.co.uk
Address: Buchanan Bus Station, 10 Killermont Street, Glasgow, G2 3NW.
Telephone: 0141 333 3211

NB: When corresponding with us, please quote your date of birth, address, postcode, and current/most recently issued card number.

Opening times: Monday to Friday - 09.00 to 13.00.

The Concessionary Travel Card Unit is closed on public holidays.

National Entitlement Card holders can travel on all local bus and scheduled long distance coach services throughout Scotland for free at any time of day and for any number of journeys.

Restrictions:
Concessionary travel is not available for tours, excursions, night services or other special services where a premium rate is charged.

If you live in Scotland and are aged 5-21 years old you are eligible for free bus travel with a valid NEC or Young Scot NEC. For more information and how to apply please visit freebus.scot.

If you are under 22 and disabled you can choose between the Disabled Persons’ scheme or the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel scheme. Disabled cardholders who reside within the Strathclyde area will receive will the benefit of the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme, which provides local discounted travel on trains and Subway with a valid Disabled NEC.

Please note: If you have a Disabled Companion NEC, which lets someone travel for free with you, then you should not change to the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel scheme as it doesn’t allow anyone to travel with you for free.

Rules and Restrictions:
To qualify for the concessionary fare, all concessionary rail journeys have to start and end at a station inside the Strathclyde Scheme's boundaries.

A valid ticket must be purchased which covers the entire journey length for the trip which is being made i.e. origin station to final destination station.

There is no peak time restriction for Ferry Travel Card holders connecting via rail with a specified ferry.

Rail journeys which start and end at a designated rural station within one of the three of the designated rural zones are subject to a maximum fare price cap of £2.50 single and £4.00 return (see further below for eligible rural stations).

Holders of National Entitlement Cards for persons aged 60 or over cannot take advantage of concessionary fares on rail services between 06.00 - 09.00hrs and between 16.30 - 18.00hrs, weekdays (see exemptions below). Time restrictions relate to the scheduled departure time.

There is no peak time restriction if the cardholder is travelling to a hospital appointment for which they can only get to by travelling between 06.00 - 09.00hrs or between 16.30 - 18.00hrs. Written proof in the form of an appointment card or other clear written evidence regarding the time and date of an appointment at a Health Board hospital must be produced on request. This will include at time of ticket purchase and on mode of travel where ticket inspections are undertaken.

There is no peak time restriction at weekends or on national public holidays.

There is no peak time restriction for people holding a National Entitlement Card for people with disabilities.

There is no evening-peak time restriction if the cardholder is travelling by rail to/from Maybole, Girvan and Barrhill on direct services. (This is due to the limited number of trains serving these stations at off-peak times).

There is no peak time restriction for Ferry Travel Card holders connecting via rail with a specified ferry.

Concession travel on Subway now uses Pay As You Go (PAYG) credit on your National Entitlement Card.
You can load PAYG credit at the Subway ticket office or Subway ticket vending machine. When using your NEC for Subway travel, you can travel all day for the price of a return ticket. If you are using Subway Park and Ride please ask at the ticket office.

Restrictions:
Holders of National Entitlement Cards for persons aged 60 or over cannot take advantage of the scheme on Subway services before 09:00 on weekdays (see exemptions below).

There is no evening-peak travel restriction on Subway.

Exemptions:
There is no peak time restriction if the cardholder is travelling to a hospital appointment which they can only get to by travelling between 06:00 and 09:00. Written proof, in the form of an appointment card or other clear written evidence regarding the time and date of an appointment at a Health Board hospital, must be produced on request. This will include at time of ticket purchase and on mode of travel where ticket inspections are undertaken.

How to Apply for a Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Ferry Card:
People aged 60 and over who live on an island or peninsula within Strathclyde apply at their local Post Office. Proof of age and of address (as per https://www.nec.scot/proofs ) and a colour passport-style photo are required.

Eligible disabled applicants are automatically issued with ferry travel cards by SPT when their National Entitlement Card applications are processed.

Restrictions:
To qualify for concessionary Ferry fares*, you must reside permanently on one of the islands covered by the scheme or reside on the Cowal or Rosneath Peninsulas.

Exemptions:
No peak time restrictions apply

People in possession of a National Entitlement Card with both the ‘S’ symbol and the ‘+ 1’ symbol are entitled to have a companion travel with them on the same journey.

Companion travel is charged at half the standard* single or return fare, except in cases where the concession fare is greater than half the standard fare, then the concession fare is charged to the companion also.

The travelling companion must commence and terminate their journey at the same locations as the cardholder.

For companion travel on Subway, only single or return tickets can be purchased.

* A standard fare is the full fare charged by the operator for any single or return journey.  Standard fares exclude any discounted tickets such as off-peak tickets, multi-journey tickets, smartcard discounted tickets, books of tickets, travel cards or season tickets.

• Scheme Area Map.

Example Rail Journeys:

Journey 1

Journey 2

Example Ferry Journeys:

Journey 1

Journey 2

From 1 September 2025, Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme rail users will receive 1/3 off the new off-peak return and single fares.  This replaces the 50% discount on the more expensive Anytime rail fares. Capped rail fares however remain unchanged.

No. The 50% concessionary discount introduced on 1 April 2025 for ferry and Subway travel remains unchanged.

The revised Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme fare structure will apply from 1 September 2025.

Following Scottish Minister’s decision to reduce the cost of peak time rail travel by removing peak fares permanently from 1 September 2025, the SCTS Joint Committee has had to consider the consequences for the SCTS objectives and its financial stability, and the current reimbursement arrangements to ScotRail.

The Joint Committee, made up of representatives from all 12 local authorities who fund the scheme, has approved plans to adjust concession fares to discount rail fares by one-third off the new off-peak return tickets and single rail fares.   

Without this change, the removal of peak fares on train journeys would see an additional annual cost to the SCTS of approximately £1 million under the existing reimbursement model.

No.  The travel time restrictions and exemptions currently in place under the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme will remain.   As the Scheme is not designed to support commuting travel, current restrictions on when the discounted tickets can be used will still apply i.e. only available for use after 0900 and not between 1630 and 1800. See information under each travel modes at www.spt.co.uk/tickets/concessions/.

Fares apply to all Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme journeys on rail, Subway and ferry services that start and end within the Strathclyde area.

As the majority of rail concession tickets sold are on a return basis, the revised return concession fares should remain similar than the previous fare which offered 50% off an Anytime Return and in many cases will result in a price reduction for passengers.

For those purchasing single tickets, the new single concession fare will increase. 

Concessionary fares on Ferry and Subway will remain unchanged.

In most cases, Strathclyde concessionary fares will continue to offer the best value ticket for standard single and return journeys in Strathclyde across all eligible modes.  Concession customers are however always advised to check with the operator.  It is the responsibility of the transport operator to offer the best value product.

The change to one-third off all rail tickets brings the SCTS into line with other discounted rail tickets including the Over 60s Senior Railcard and the Disabled Persons Railcard. These cards also require an annual upfront payment of £35 and £20 which the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme does not.

Certain concession fares are capped at £2.50 single and £4.00 return. This means that customers will pay no more than these fares, irrespective of an operator’s standard fare.  Capped fares apply on all ferry routes operating within the Strathclyde area and on certain rural rail journeys that start and end between stations listed below within a designated rural zone as follows*:

• Zone a) Oban; Connel Ferry; Taynuilt; Falls of Cruachan; Loch Awe; Dalmally; Bridge of Orchy; Ardlui; Arrochar & Tarbet; Garelochhead; Helensburgh Stations
• Zone b) Ayr; Maybole; Barrhill; Girvan
• Zone c) Kilmarnock; Auchinleck; New Cumnock

 *rail journeys must start and end at stations within one of the three of the designated rural zones above to qualify for a rural capped concessionary fare.

Ahead of changes to Strathclyde Concessionary fares introduced on 1^st April 2025,  it was found that the proposed fare structure could disproportionately impact people living in some of our most remote and isolated areas, including people living on islands/peninsulas who are more likely to need to travel further distances and pay significantly higher fares in order to access the same essential services and facilities as those living in mainland urban areas. Having capped fares helps reduce the impact of fare increases for people in these more remote areas.

No. Bus travel will remain free for National Entitlement Card holders.  Although both concession Schemes do require presenting the same card to prove travel entitlement, the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme is separate from the free national bus Scheme which is funded and administered separately by Transport Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

No. It has not been possible to include discounted travel for under-22s due to the funding pressures that the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme continues to experience.  Adding additional users to the Scheme would be unaffordable under current budgets.