Scottish Ministers are to spend £400,000 on a marketing campaign after a “botched rollout” of free bus travel for under 22s.

The scheme opened in January for children and young people between 5 and 21, but low take up rates have been blasted.

It was reported in August that almost six in ten youngsters had not yet taken advantage of the scheme.

Figures obtained by Labour at the time showed South Ayrshire had a 27% sign up rate, while Dumfries and Galloway had 30% and Stirling 31%.

But according to figures released by the Government today, more than half of the 930,000 people who are eligible have now signed up.

They says this equates to around 21 million free bus journeys.

The low rates led to criticisms that the application process was too complex, with people facing too many barriers.

The SNP/Green Government has now confirmed a campaign will be launched to help young people take advantage of their new travel rights.

Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth said: “The Scottish Government will launch a national marketing campaign to promote the new Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel scheme in the coming weeks.

“The Scottish Government has allocated £400,000 to promote this campaign during this financial year.”

But Labour MSP Monica Lennon said the move should not have been necessary:

Want to see more SNP fails? – Health Matters