The Scottish Bus Open Data Consultation

Overview

In 2019 the Scottish Government brought in new primary legislation for transport (the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019), which included new provisions to better define bus open data, and to require it be shared for the new purpose of directly informing passengers (or potential passengers) about services. We believe that bus open data is essential to make travel on public transport more accessible, and to increase patronage of public transport in Scotland.

We intend to introduce new supporting legislation, known as Regulations (or ‘Secondary Legislation’) which define what specific information is required to be published, when, and in what format. This will allow for consistency across Scotland and will help us align with changes already underway in the wider UK.

This will directly affect bus operators in Scotland, as well as bus passengers and potential bus passengers, and may also be of interest to other groups whose members have an interest in bus operations in Scotland.

In order to progress this legislation, we are seeking views from all interested parties on the timescale for implementation, the detail of the prescribed information to be provided, any guidance or support needs the sector may have, the data format and schedule of the information and the types of services these requirements will apply to. We are keen to hear both technical views on the data format, and passenger (user) views on which information should be included.

You can access this consultation as a PDF document and find out how to respond via post at Scottish bus open data | Transport Scotland

Please note that the consultation information document was updated with minor corrections (formatting, clarity, one missing coma) on 07/04/2025. This makes no signifcant changes to the information provided, but does provide more clarity - for example, "Community Bus (Section 22)" now reads "Community Bus (Section 22 of the Transport Act 1984) in order to be explicitly clear which Act created this power.

Why your views matter

Bus open data (or “BOD”) means information about buses and bus routes which is published, free of charge and electronically, by bus operators. Information such as the fare for a specific journey, real time information about where the bus currently is, the route, the timetable and on board information (such as the availability of accessible spaces) are all examples of BOD.

We believe that by making this kind of information ‘open’, people will be better able to make informed decisions about using public transport, for example, by being able to compare fares between two different operators, or to know exactly where on a route their bus currently is.

In order to ensure that these new requirements have the best possible impact on passengers, potential passengers and the sector overall, we are seeking your views to help shape the specific requirements and standards that will be required.