THE third-of-a-million pounds in pay'n'perks for First ScotRail boss Steve Montgomery (Patrick Harvie: Now is the time to crack down on public 'fat cats' (Wednesday) is matched only by the eye-wateringly high fares charged by First ScotRail and the lowest of low standard of customer care.

If you want to sample the evidence, you need only try being a regular passenger on the simply dreadful First ScotRail Glasgow-Aberdeen services.

Gordon Casely

Kincardineshire

CAN anyone explain bus concession tickets to me?

Today, for instance, I boarded a No 61 bus at The Forge, going to Sandyhills. The ticket issued to me stated my journey started from Renfield Street.

The tickets always seem to show that the journey originated much earlier than it actually did.

SS

Sandyhills

MY wife and I attended the Mavericks' Celtic Connections concert this week. They were excellent .

Well done Celtic Connections.

Ronnie and Mary Archbold Busby

THE release of official figures showing the youth unemployment rate in Scotland has seen its largest annual decrease since 2006, falling by 23,000 over the last year, is most welcome.

These numbers highlight the fact that the national effort to reduce youth unemployment is working.

However, we cannot get complacent. There is much more to be done.

The launch of the Commission for Developing Scotland's Young Workforce, which aims to improve the readiness of young people for work, is another step forward.

In the past year, The Prince's Trust Scotland worked with 5500 young people from our most disadvantaged communities and encouragingly, nearly 80% moved into education, training, employment, volunteering or self-employment.

Heather Gray, director

The Prince's Trust Scotland

Glasgow