Concluding remarks

Scotland’s Transport Sector plays a critical role in our everyday lives. Be it through facilitating a journey, or via the network being used to deliver goods and services, almost everyone in Scotland is affected by transport every single day. Indeed, it is almost impossible to imagine a world without a functioning transport network.

Despite this, much of the attention that is paid to transport on a day to day basis focusses on disruptions to our lives. This is understandable in the context of these disruptions causing significant difficulties for us, as we rely on the transport system to go about our lives. This paper is not an effort to diminish or distract from these frustrations. However, while acknowledging these impacts, it is also worth noting the value that the transport system does deliver for the people of Scotland. Indeed in some cases frustration when things do not work well underlines the importance (and even necessity) of what the system delivers. The focus of this paper has therefore been to articulate these benefits.

The intention of the paper has been to discuss this from numerous perspectives:

• A broader conceptual discussion on how transport facilitates much of our economy and day to day lives to better understand the degree to which a well-functioning transport system is an essential foundation of a modern economy.
• A discussion of some specific ways in which the transport system helps deliver economic growth – with a focus on illustrating the considerable footprint of the sector itself, as well as looking at avenues through which a good transport system can deliver economic growth through avenues such as agglomeration and via helping improve our safety, health and wellbeing.
• Understanding the critical role that addressing inequalities face in generating growth, the paper also offered a look at some of the challenges presented in terms of how the transport system can help overcome inequalities, especially with the degree of inter-relatedness between some of these challenges (e.g. income, mobility and employability).
• Considering the role of geography in terms of some of the challenges that Scotland’s geography provides from a transport perspective, but also the immense value that the network delivers as a result.
• Considering the critical role the sector will play in terms of helping Scotland address the climate challenge facing us, and the opportunities offered by decarbonisation both though growing industries and the opportunity to achieve a Just Transition as Scotland attempts to meet Net Zero ambitions.
• Set out some of the challenges facing the sector in terms of financing, but also revenue generation and the sustainability of services going forward.

There has also been an attempt to briefly articulate the Transport Scotland approach to helping shape the transport system in this complex and, at times, challenges set of circumstances:

• Highlighting the role of the National Transport Strategy, and helping articulate the measures that are in place to ensure that our ambitions are met by aligning activities and investments to the outcomes we want to achieve.
• Articulating that transport does not exist in a vacuum in terms of its impact on the economy, people’s lives or the environment and showing how the approach that Transport Scotland is taking (via the NTS) aligns with the wider strategic approach of The Scottish Government.

As such, it is hoped that this paper has helped to provide a degree of oversight as well as some insight into these issues. While much of the consideration we may typically give to transport focuses on its shortcomings (and much media coverage of transport focuses on this), it is important to acknowledge the essential role it plays and how the system contributes to the wider economy. The transport sector itself delivers tremendous value to the Scottish economy. Furthermore, the primary benefits of investing in transport and improving the network are felt in terms of supporting economic activity in other sectors and facilitating our engagement in other aspects of life. It also contributes significantly to how people feel about the state of their lives and their country. This is why the NTS2 vision for a ‘sustainable, inclusive, safe, and accessible transport system helping deliver a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Scotland for communities, businesses and visitors’ is essential for delivering the ambitions and priorities of The Scottish Government for Scotland as a whole.