The Scottish Authorities's transport minister has dismissed considerations from MSPs that the introduction of free bus journey for under-22s might see fares improve for different passengers.
Graeme Dey insisted he had been "alive to the chance" of such unintended penalties when creating the scheme.
He spoke out as MSPs on Holyrood's Transport Committee gave their backing to the coverage - which builds on current free bus journey for these aged beneath 19.
The transport minister advised the committee that extending this to all these aged beneath 22 had "huge potential" and was a "incredible alternative".
That was regardless of telling MSPs that the Scottish-Authorities presently has solely "guesstimates" on what number of younger individuals will reap the benefits of the coverage when it comes into impact from January 31, 2022.
Dey mentioned: "We can't initially see the form of ranges of utilization that we in the end are going to see. There can be a delicate interval the place we are going to undoubtedly see an uptake in utilization, and we should construct upon that.
"So we now have estimates, however they're guesstimates, frankly, about levels of usage.
"However we're assured that is going to be a significant success as a coverage."
Whereas bus operators can be reimbursed for all travellers who profit from free tickets, the committee heard the funds for this may be lower than the total value of an grownup fare.
And Tory MSP Liam Kerr raised considerations that that would imply prices for different passengers must rise.
The Conservative advised Dey that the cash bus operators would obtain could be "considerably much less" than a full grownup fare, demanding to know if there was "any danger that grownup fares could have to extend at any level to compensate for misplaced income"
However the minister advised him: "We do not imagine that to be a danger as a result of we're working very intently with the operators, the bus operators on this scheme.
"The degrees of reimbursement have been formed very a lot on that dialogue and we're dedicated to return to those numbers sooner or later if something emerges that implies that the degrees of reimbursement will not be acceptable.
"So we do not anticipate a problem of the kind you're flagging."
Dey advised the committee: "Free bus journey for individuals beneath 22 will assist strengthen our response to the local weather emergency, and assist our inexperienced restoration by embedding sustainable journey habits in younger individuals."
The coverage is being introduced in as a part of a finances deal between the Scottish Authorities and the Greens.
And Inexperienced MSP, Mark Ruskell, mentioned: "That is going to be a superb coverage. I feel it will be transformational for younger individuals. So many younger individuals, significantly in rural areas, are excluded by the value of bus journey."