After the death of a bus driver in Elgin – attacked by a 15-year-old – the only appropriate and respectful response was to re-examine free bus travel for under-22s.

But the Scottish Government this week refused to even say if the boy will have his bus pass revoked when he is released from custody.

Free travel was doomed from the start – an idea that did not do well when it encountered reality.

It was obvious it would be abused.

No one has died in Dundee, but we have ample evidence of the problems free travel causes.

No matter what do-gooders claim, only a small minority used their newfound mobility to broaden their minds.

Many more used it to broaden the range of their feral behaviour.

The under-22s travel experiment needs a rethink

Since starting this column, no subject has been raised with me as often as intimidating and violent behaviour of youths on buses in Dundee.

There are people (several are bus drivers) I apologise to every time I speak to them for not highlighting the problems more often.

The under-22s travel experiment clearly needs a rethink. There are ways to keep the advantages while eliminating many disadvantages – stopping free travel after 6pm, for instance.

To make it suit Dundee’s geography, potential trouble spots and danger times, it needs to be looked at from a Dundee angle.

It is just one experiment that hasn’t worked in the city and now requires a different, Dundee-specific approach.

There is no shame in trying something new. But there is risible stupidity in carrying on with experiments that are clearly not working.

Why can’t we make our own rules?

Matchday parking restrictions around Dens and Tannadice are a waste of time – apart from being a stealth tax.

The low emission zone is another failure.

Given Dundee’s layout, prevailing winds and growth of electric car ownership, it is completely unneeded and is another stealth tax – though no one appears to chase up the payments.

Both of these are the result of councillors being ordered to wage their head office’s war on motorists, whether it works for Dundee or not.

The thought, “What is best for Dundee?” needs to be the first consideration.

We should have strong-minded councillors who will push back and say, “Doesn’t suit Dundee,” when policy is dictated from afar. But we don’t.

Independent councillors might improve city

Tell me which councillor has a history of thinking for themselves and voting or speaking against their party, or doing so even once. There aren’t any.

National party politics in a local setting is a crutch for weak candidates and always results in bad governance.

Dundee’s current set-up is a prime example – too many councillors selected for their attendance record when stuffing leaflets through letterboxes, not their capacity to be an original thinker.

They aren’t capable of, or permitted to, analyse what is happening in Dundee or decide for themselves upon a bespoke solution for this city’s needs.

A local councillor is supposed to take decisions that benefit their constituents, not mindlessly do whatever they are told by party head office.

Please, Dundee, vote for independent councillors next time.

Your vote needn’t affect your opinion on constitutional affairs, or any national issue.

But it might improve the city you live in.

© The Courier