We received an email this week from TIL, the organisation behind the NextBuses API that powers ScotTravel. The contract with their current supplier is ending on 30 April 2026. A new supplier is being appointed. The service will continue, and will actually cover more of the UK than it does today. That is good news.
But there is a part of the change that concerns us. The free data allowance that has been subsidised by TIL for over a decade is being cut significantly. At the moment we are able to make a meaningful number of free API calls, which allows ScotTravel to run without any cost to us. Under the new model, the free tier will be reduced to 30 requests per day. That is described as being for sampling or personal use. It is not enough to run a service on.
What ScotTravel Is
ScotTravel is a high-contrast bus departure service built specifically for low vision users in Scotland. It came about because Stephanie, my partner, was filling her phone with photos of the tiny departure board at our local bus stop, zooming in just to see when the bus was due. We built something better: large text, clear contrast, six colour schemes, screen reader support, no ads, no tracking, no account required. It is free to use. It always has been.
ScotTravel is a non-profit service. It earns nothing. We built it because it was needed, not because it made business sense. There is no income to absorb a new per-request API cost. If usage grows, as we hope it will, the costs would grow with it. Right now we do not know what that would look like in practice, because we do not yet know the full pricing of the new supplier.
What We Know So Far
Key Points from the TIL Email
The NextBuses API is moving to a new supplier by 30 April 2026. The API format is not changing, so no technical rebuild is needed on our side - just a new endpoint to call. Usage costs will be no more than £0.96 per 1,000 requests and will only rise with RPI over the life of the agreement. Payment will be handled through a Stripe portal. The free allowance drops to 30 requests per day. TIL will remain responsible for governance and data quality.
We will need to move to the new endpoint before the hard stop on 30 April. That part is straightforward. The harder question is whether we can sustain the service under the new cost model. We do not yet have full details on the new supplier or the exact pricing tiers. TIL has said they will be in touch again soon to introduce the new supplier and begin transition.
Why This Feels Like a Real Threat
We worked hard on ScotTravel. It is one of those projects that felt genuinely useful from the moment it worked. People with low vision trying to catch a bus should not have to zoom into a blurry photo on a windswept pavement. They should be able to open an app, type a postcode, and see their bus. That is all ScotTravel does, and it does it well.
The free allowance that is being removed was never something we took for granted, but it was the foundation the service was built on. Thirty requests per day is not a service. It is a demo. Real use: people checking stops in the morning, refreshing when the bus is running late, looking up a stop they have never used before, adds up quickly. The maths does not work at 30 per day.
We understand that open data costs money to run and that TIL cannot subsidise it indefinitely. We do not begrudge them making a sustainable choice. But for a service built specifically for disabled users, by people who are not funded or paid, that cost has to come from somewhere. Right now, nowhere is where it would come from.
What Happens Next
We are monitoring the situation. When TIL makes contact again with full details of the new supplier and pricing, we will assess what is actually possible. There may be lower pricing tiers for non-commercial or accessibility-focused services. We do not know yet. We are hoping so.
In the meantime, ScotTravel continues to run as normal. Nothing changes for users before 30 April, and we will give plenty of notice if anything is at risk beyond that date.
If you use ScotTravel and it matters to you, it is worth knowing that its future is not entirely in our hands right now. We will do everything we can to keep it running. We built it because it was needed. That has not changed.