Additional comments and campaign responses

A number of respondents provided additional comments, some of which reiterated points made at earlier questions. Additionally, a total of 73 respondents – almost all individuals – responded to a campaign; some of these respondents referred to their personal experience of using bus services to illustrate the issues they raised.

Some of the respondents welcomed the opportunity to respond to the consultation and provided background information on their organisation to provide context for their response. Some also noted their keenness to be involved in further discussions in this area and work with Transport Scotland.

A few comments were made regarding the needs of disabled people. These included a need for adaptive vehicles and concerns over the affordability and accessibility of public transport (such as dropped kerbs at bus stops or places for wheelchairs). Rail travel was perceived to be better for disabled people than buses.

An organisation involved in the provision of mobility solutions noted that, while it will not be possible to remove the need for cars entirely, car club and rental vehicles can offer a solution, particularly as they are cleaner and newer than many private vehicles. They also suggested that Transport Scotland should work with shared mobility providers who have demonstrated expertise in delivering shared mobility solutions. This organisation also referred to mobility credits which help to ensure that people from disadvantaged backgrounds are not unfairly impacted by any of the proposed interventions. These schemes allow consumers to trade in their old cars in return for credits which can be used on a variety of locally available sustainable transport modes.

The campaign responses focused on a number of specific key issues. These were:

• Agreement that the route map for achieving 20% traffic reduction is right to focus on behaviour change, although there is a need for significant improvements to the infrastructure for non-car road users.
• The National Planning Framework should give councils the powers to reject unsustainable planning developments such as out of town retail parks and drive-through coffee shops. Out of town developments that require extensive car use should be constrained. This would also help to rejuvenate town centres.
• The Scottish bus service should be nationalised as per the rail network, with councils allowed to start publicly-owned bus companies to provide essential routes.
• Services should be moved closer to where people live as part of creating 20 minute neighbourhoods.
• The Scottish Government should work with the UK Government to address the costs of public transport which are more expensive, relative to inflation, than the costs of motoring. Consideration should be given to the introduction of road user charging.