Fewer than 1% of rail tickets were eligible for a half-price discount scheme to encourage people to use the trains more, according to Labour.

Details obtained by the Labour Party under Freedom of Information found that 0.88% of all tickets sold during the period were discounted.

The scheme was in place for three weeks during May.

Transport Scotland said it was a short-term measure and thousands of journeys were made by train that wouldn’t have been.

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There were 13,639 tickets bought under the half-price discount.

The information supplied also showed there were 1,550,773 tickets sold in total.

Labour said there were too many restrictions on the discount tickets with peak trains and weekend services not eligible.

Tickets bought at trains stations were also not eligible for the discount, the party said.

Rhoda Grant, Scottish Labour chief whip, said: “This farcical scheme lays bare the gulf between SNP spin and reality.

“People desperately needed a lifeline during the cost-of-living crisis, but this pitiful response is the best the SNP could muster.

 “This was a pathetic attempt to chase a headline on the cheap – not a serious attempt to tackle rip-off fares and support our railways.

“This is a damning symbol of the SNP’s lack of ambition for our publicly-owned railways, which have fallen into chaos as a result of the SNP’s relentless incompetence.” 

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “As we stated at the time, this promotion was an early measure ScotRail were implementing to reduce the cost of rail travel on a promotional, short-term basis.

"As a result, around 8000 journeys were made that would not have been made otherwise.

“This is one of many such offers that we can expect to see under a publicly owned and operated ScotRail.

"We are committed to ensuring that rail fares are affordable for passengers and taxpayers across Scotland and are progressing our Fair Fares review to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares.”