National Transport Strategy

Our Vision

Our National Transport Strategy, published in February 2020, sets out our vision for Scotland’s transport system for the following 20 years. The vision is underpinned by four interconnected priorities: Reduces Inequalities, Takes Climate Action, Helps Deliver Inclusive Economic Growth and Improves our Health and Wellbeing.

The Strategy signals the future direction of transport and provides the context within which decisions, in and beyond government, continue to be made. The Strategy does not identify or present specific projects, schemes, initiatives or interventions, but sets out the strategic framework within which future decisions on investment will be made.

This Strategy is for all of Scotland, recognising the different needs of our cities, towns, remote and rural areas and islands. It considers why we travel and how those trips are made, by walking, wheeling, cycling, and travelling by bus, train, ferry, car, lorry and aeroplane.

We all need to work together across boundaries to add value and ensure its success, involving all people in our society in decision making and empowering businesses and communities to play a vital part in the delivery process. We all also need to take responsibility for our actions, ensuring that our travel choices make a positive contribution to delivering the Strategy.

At the heart of the Strategy is the recognition that we need to make a step-change in behaviour and provide attractive, affordable, accessible and sustainable travel options.

Fifth Delivery Plan: 2025 to 2026 

The fifth NTS Delivery Plan, published on 18 March 2026, sets out a range of actions taken by the Scottish Government over 2025 and planned activities for 2026.  The Plan also refers to the work of Regional Transport Partnerships and Local Authorities, highlighting activities they are undertaking to help deliver our shared vision for Scotland’s transport system. 

Evaluating our Progress

The key to understanding and evaluating the progress of the NTS over the short, medium and long term is to routinely monitor and report on progress towards its outcomes.

To support this outcome, we published our detailed strategy for Monitoring and Evaluating the impacts of the NTS in August 2021. We continue to monitor and evaluate a number of indicators that span the four priority areas of the Strategy.

The indicators range from transport emissions to the proportion of short journeys made by active travel to transport related casualties, among many others. Where possible, these indicators are broken down and analysed by demographic, geographic and socioeconomic variables to demonstrate how experiences of transport vary across society and to ensure that interventions are measured in terms of their impact on all people in Scotland. 

A Monitoring and Evaluation Baseline report was published on 8 June 2022. This collates and summarises the data underpinning the primary and secondary indicators (where data is available) to establish a baseline against which progress can be monitored. In most cases, this involves an analysis of data from 2019 to provide a suitable ‘pre-pandemic’ baseline. A subsequent Monitoring and Evaluation report was published on 19 December 2024. This provides an update on the baseline position. 

Engagement and Consultation

Successful delivery of our vision cannot be achieved through Government alone. The NTS and its Delivery Plans draw on the latest evidence and were developed using a collaborative approach involving a wide range of partners.

NTS Board

Board Member Organisations

• Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport (Co-Chair)
• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) (Co-Chair)
• Regional Transport Partnerships (Lead Officer Member): SPT
• Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE)
• Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS)
• Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers (ATCO)

NTS Business Group

• Airport Operators Association (AOA) 
• British Ports Association 
• Chambers of Commerce 
• Confederation of British Industry (CBI) 
• Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) 
• Consumer Scotland 
• Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport 
• Logistics UK 
• Prosper 
• Rail Freight Group 
• Road Haulage Association 
• Scottish Engineering 
• Scottish Enterprise 
• Technology Scotland 
• VisitScotland 
• Transport Scotland 

Transport Equality Group

The Transport Equality Group provides advice to Transport Scotland officials and Ministers on equality and diversity-related issues relating to transport, including those faced by specific communities and/or equalities groups. 

The Group supports the organisation in embedding equality and achieving the vision set out in the Strategy of an accessible, affordable and available transport system.

The group consists of representatives from organisations that focus on ensuring the needs of people with protected characteristics are met and raise awareness of the challenges faced by these communities. This includes:

• Age Scotland
• Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure in Scotland (BEMIS)
• Carers Scotland
• Disability Equality Scotland
• Dyslexia Scotland
• Engender
• Equality Network
• Families Outside
• Mobility Access Committee for Scotland
• Parenting Across Scotland
• Parents for Future Scotland
• Poverty Alliance
• Poverty and Inequality Commission
• Scottish Refugee Council
• Scottish Youth Parliament
• Young Scot