Introduction

Introduction

Performance Report Chief Executive's Foreword

Alison Irvine Interim Chief Executive Transport Scotland

I am pleased to present Transport Scotland's Annual Report and Accounts for 2022-23, having taken up post as Interim Chief Executive in March 2023. I was delighted to return to the organisation, having previously been the Director of Transport Strategy and Analysis until December 2021.

Our annual report and accounts set out our structure, how we work, our financial performance and how we have performed against our organisation's objectives during the 2022/23 financial year. Transport Scotland's objectives reflect the key contribution we make to delivering a safe, efficient, and sustainable transport system for the people of Scotland, in line with the Scottish Government's strategic objectives.

I am proud of the continued dedication of our people who work hard to deliver a sustainable, inclusive, safe, and accessible transport system. By working collaboratively, not only with each other, but with stakeholders and partners across Scotland, we are supporting a healthier, fairer, and more prosperous Scotland for communities, businesses, and visitors. Against the backdrop of the cost crisis and our recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, this delivery and collaboration have never been so challenging.

Over the past year, ScotRail has been brought into public ownership, we continued to deliver the Young Persons' Free Bus Travel Scheme and we have committed record investment to Active Travel.

Work continued to introduce and implement Low Emission Zones (LEZs) across Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, and Aberdeen, with enforcement of Glasgow's LEZ from 1 June 2023. LEZs are a huge public health moment for Scotland and for improving air quality by preventing entry of the highest polluting vehicles into our city centres. Alongside this, we continued our investment in our low carbon transport infrastructure, working hard to achieve Mission Zero for transport. We provided funding to support the decarbonisation of the bus industry in Scotland through the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) and low carbon programmes such as the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund and Switched on Fleets to further our progress towards the decarbonisation of public sector transport.

We continued to ensure analysis and use of evidence are at the heart of what we do. We published our 20-year transport infrastructure investment plan, the second Strategic Transport Projects Review, in December, which will guide our transport investments, protecting the climate and improving lives. We published research into Women and Girls Safety on Public Transport, and we undertook specific public attitude surveys post Covid-19 and in light of cost-of-living challenges, in addition to our regular statistical publications.

In addition, a number of transport projects were completed, including the A92/A96Haudagain improvement project in Aberdeen, which officially opened on 16 May 2022. New railway stations were opened at Inverness Airport and Reston, improving the connectivity of our transport network. We continue to progress the A9 dualling programme between Perth and Inverness, and also to invest in road safety measures on this route and the wider trunk road network. We have also progressed vital works on the A83 Rest and Be Thankful.

This year also saw the eyes of the world on Scotland with the passing of Her Majesty the Queen. The Transport Scotland Resilience Room at South Queensferry was active, managing the 176-mile cortège route from Balmoral to Edinburgh, as well as supporting the travel of the thousands of people who were in Edinburgh.

All of this took place alongside our ongoing management of the transport network. Despite the challenges we all face in light of the cost crisis, and the impact this has on the resilience of our network, we sought to keep Scotland moving, active and green.

We will continue this work as we move forward on the Scottish Government missions of equality, opportunity, and community by supporting the transition to net zero, maintaining the transport network and focusing on delivery of more accessible and affordable public transport.