ScotRail has agreed to introduce the Jobcentre Plus Travel Discount card onto its network from 1 April 2012.
Eligible Jobcentre Plus claimants will be able to obtain a 50% discount on rail travel on ScotRail services within Scotland – excluding the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper.
Claimants in Scotland will be able to access discounts after three months unemployment and will be able to retain the card when participating in the Work Programme.
Claimants in England and Wales will have to wait six months before becoming eligible.
The formal Memorandum of Understanding between ScotRail and Jobcentre Plus was signed at Dundee railway station, prior to the National Convention on Youth Employment in Dundee today.
Jobcentre Plus provides the administration and funding of the cards and application forms. The card is issued to claimants at advisers’ discretion to support return to work, job interviews and training.
Steve Montgomery, managing director of ScotRail, said:
“We are happy to support this initiative because it reduces the financial burden on people who are looking for work.”
Based on the wording of this article, the equivalent scheme in England seems to be much more generous. In Scotland it is for “support return to work, job interviews and training” we are told. In England (which has had the scheme for years, btw) it can cover anything, and can continue 3 months into employment (so a jobseeker just finding work could buy a half-price 3-month travel card for that job as long as they do it before they sign off).