// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Swinney's £2 cap on bus fares kicks in - but some call it 'half a solution'
Glasgow is one of the areas where the £2 bus fare cap comes into force
The Scottish government's policy to cap bus fares in the west of Scotland at £2 has taken effect.
First Minister John Swinney announced the move as part of his programme for government last week.
From Monday, the £2 trips are being offered in Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire and Inverclyde - part of a promise to cap fares across the whole of Scotland by the end of the parliamentary term.
A pilot of the scheme has already been rolled out in the Highlands and islands, but Swinney has not said when it would be extended to the rest of the country.
The Scottish government has invested £10m in the pilot, which has been tested in the Highlands, Western and Northern Isles, Moray, and Argyll and Bute for the past year.
As it extends to the west of the country, participating bus operators will be reimbursed by public body Transport Scotland.
Swinney said bus travel was the most widely used form of public transport in Scotland and the government was working to make it "as affordable, accessible and attractive as possible".
He said: "This is vital to grow the economy, travel sustainably and protect the planet."
First Bus, one of the bigger bus companies operating across Glasgow, Dumbarton, Kirkintilloch and Lanarkshire, said it would continue to work with the government to ensure the cap was a success.