Recommendations and actions
The review presents immediate to short term, and medium to long-term recommendations and actions. The recommendations and actions do not constitute the full Scottish Government transport investment programme. They will be considered alongside the overall Government spending commitments on transport within Scottish Government budgets and will require demonstration of the benefits and impacts of the proposal through the usual business case and appraisal process required for investment of public funds.
These actions and next steps towards delivering our vision of making public transport more available, accessible and affordable include:
Immediate to Short-term Actions
Action 1 – Bus
We will develop a proposal for a bus flat fares pilot for an area-based scheme to provide flat fares on bus travel, or reduced fares on zonal integrated travel for consideration in future budgets.
We will continue to develop policy to consider the best way to provide free bus travel to people seeking asylum, including delivery of the one year £2 million funding commitment for 2024-25 that was announced in October 2023.
Also, continue on the recommendations made in January 2023 in the Drug Deaths Taskforce Response: Cross Government Approach, to explore the feasibility of expanding concessionary travel to people with substance dependency. We will develop a proposal for a short term pilot of a non-statutory support scheme, with funding provided for distribution by local services, to remove the barrier of transport costs, for people with substance dependency, when accessing treatment.
Action 2 – Concessions on other modes
Within our existing concessionary travel schemes, we will develop the feasibility of a pilot project to extend free travel on rail services for companions accompanying eligible Blind Persons Concessionary Travel cardholders.
We will develop the proposal to provide free foot passenger travel on inter-island ferries for under 22-year-old island residents within the Outer Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland Island groups.
We will develop the proposal to extend the existing National Ferry Concessionary Scheme to under-22-year-old island residents.
Action 3 - Rail
We expect ScotRail to deliver increased sales of intermodal tickets to pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
We will monitor and evaluate the ScotRail Peak Fares Removal Pilot which has been extended until June 2024, to inform medium to longer term rail fares reform.
We expect ScotRail and CalMac to develop a partnership agreement that will deliver a number of benefits for passengers including joint timetable development, and explore a future digital solution for ‘Rail & Sail’ tickets and improved collaborative working especially during disruption.
Action 4 - Ferries
As set out in the Islands Connectivity Plan, we will take forward detailed consideration of proposals to:
- Retain Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) for island residents and consider fares for non-islanders, particularly vehicle fares during the summer timetable period.
- Review and update the RET formulae as a key element of the above work.
Medium to Long-term Recommendations and Actions
Action 5 – Governance
Transport Governance Review to be recommenced with specific action on identifying changes to support improved public transport.
Consider establishing a National Forum on the Future of Public Transport, to co-ordinate improvement of delivery of a quality, accessible, available and affordable integrated public transport system.
Receive advice from National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board on the strategic development of smart ticketing in Scotland, including advice on the national technological standard to improve smart ticketing integration between modes, as well as advising on schemes.
Action 6 – Fares and Ticketing
Consider options and develop the business case for introducing a national and/or regional integrated ticket and fare structure.
Publication of the refreshed Smart & Integrated Ticketing Strategy Delivery Plan in early 2024 and progression of its associated actions and policy deliverables.
Go-Hi app: Increasing affordability and accessibility of multiple modes of transport – Case Study
The free-to-use Go-Hi app, launched in 2021 by the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS) integrates multiple transport and travel options into one platform, providing more reliable journey planning capabilities, easier access to travel information, in-app ticketing and a hassle-free payment system for residents, tourists and business travellers in Scotland`s Highlands and Islands and beyond.
Go-Hi has integrated API data feeds to enable passengers to plan book and pay for travel by air, bus, coach, car club, ferry, folding bike, eBike and train.
The success of the app has been recognised in 2023 with awards for innovation at the Transport Times Scottish Transport Awards, SCDI Business Awards and CiTTi Magazine awards.
SPT Smartcards: Improving affordability and accessibility – Case Study
SPT has benefited from the introduction of interoperable smartcards. Since 2019, people across Scotland can use just one smartcard for most journeys across multiple modes of transport and multiple transport operators; for example, a ScotRail smart ticket can be loaded onto a Stagecoach smartcard. This has reduced the number of paper tickets and plastic smartcards being produced.
On SPT Subway, more than 36,000 new customers have used third party (non-Subway) smartcards for Subway travel, and in 2022/23, more than 780,000 subway journeys were made using third-party smartcards. Further details on smart ticketing can be found on the smarttravel.scot website which promotes the benefits of multi-modal, multi-operator smart ticketing, as well as other forms of smart ticketing and payments.
SPT has also modernised Subway concessionary travel. Concessionary passengers are eligible for a reduced fare and previously were required to purchase a discounted paper ticket.
As a result of the smartcard interoperability programme, Pay As You Go credit can be loaded onto National Entitlement Cards to provide tap in tap out discounted concessionary travel. Around 80% of concession Subway journeys are now made in this way. In 2022/23. more than 598,000 concessionary Subway journeys were made using a smartcard, eliminating the use of an estimated 350,000 disposable tickets.
Action 7 – Rebalancing Cost of Travel
The Scottish Government is committed to finding ways to make sustainable travel modes more attractive, and supporting people to take fewer journeys by car. We recognise that to achieve this, the cost of motoring relative to public transport needs to be addressed. The forthcoming route map to 20% car kilometre reduction will aim to set out our approach to support this recommendation.
Action 8 – Improving Efficiency and Integration
To increase stability in the bus system, Transport Scotland, working with local government, industry and other stakeholders, will develop a bus service improvement plan and delivery framework over the next 18 months to improve future availability of bus services across Scotland.
Rail fare structures are inevitably complex, reflecting the scale and complexity of the passenger network and the different nature of travel patterns and tickets appropriate for those. The ability to change this is further hampered because the structure of rail fares is reserved to the UK Government under current railway legislation. We will continue to press for full devolution of responsibility for rail, including fares, to facilitate changes focused on the requirements of Scottish passengers.
Transport Scotland, working with partners, will develop proposals for a new fare offering aimed to encourage continued increase in rail market share, reflecting changing travel patterns and the needs of different markets for rail including commuting, business, leisure and tourism. This will inform considerations for a wider roll out of integrated ticketing, national/ regional fare structures across all modes in Scotland (see Action 6).
As set out in the Islands Connectivity Plan, we will take forward detailed consideration of proposals to:
- Revisit the Freight Fares Review.
- Consider, based on evidence from the current Deck Space Reservation pilot project, whether a different approach to releasing vehicle space for booking will better facilitate island essential travel. This should allow greater opportunity for island communities and those who require to travel at shorter notice. If the pilot is successful then Transport Scotland and CalMac will discuss rolling this out further with individual communities.
- Undertake work to consider how to utilise dynamic pricing, within agreed parameters, in order to better manage demand and utilise capacity.
Action 9 – Concessionary Travel in Scotland
We will maintain existing eligibility to the National Concessionary Travel Schemes for those groups who currently benefit and the Review recommends that further policy development to consider better targeting of public funds towards supporting access to public transport for those who need it most, including consideration of concessionary travel support for those experiencing financial poverty.
Transport Scotland will consider options for national bus or multimodal travel scheme and fare structure which could encourage more people to use bus and the wider public transport system, particularly when commuting.
Supporting Papers
The Review is supported by four additional papers:
Paper 1: Public Transport System Analysis
This paper provides details of the extent of public transport investment and funding provided by Scottish Ministers that supports the use of public transport in Scotland. This paper also includes some commentary on public transport trends and comparisons for patronage, subsidy and revenue across modes.
Paper 2: Case for Change - Problems, Issues, Opportunities and Constraints
This paper provides an analysis of problems, issues, opportunities, and constraints in relation to public transport and considers the impact of emerging themes including Covid-19, the cost of living crisis, unintended consequences of current fares structures, long term decline in bus patronage and transport planning objectives.
Paper 3: Poverty Alliance Research Report
This paper provides evidence from research that was carried out by the Poverty Alliance Group in early 2023. A panel of citizens from both rural and urban areas, with lived experience of poverty and accessing public transport, were interviewed as part of this report. The paper outlines feedback received including the groups aspirations for public transport relating to various aspects including cost, availability, reliability, safety, public ownership, and concessionary travel schemes.
Paper 4: International Benchmarking
This paper reflects upon the public transport interventions implemented in response to the cost of living crisis and climate change/modal shift objectives. Examples of best practice adopted in other Countries in relation to the delivery, funding and integration of public transport services is provided. The paper also provides international city region and rural community case studies.