Key issues and evidence

The section provides a summary of the key transport issues and evidence pertinent to assessing the impacts associated with island communities.

The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 defines an island community as a community which consists of two or more individuals, all of whom permanently inhabit an island (whether or not the same island), and is based on common interest, identity or geography.

Island communities face challenges compared to mainland and urban areas with regards to transport. Engagement undertaken as part of the development of NTS2 identified the following concerns and unique challenges relevant to island communities:

  • centralisation of public transport and limited provision in peripheral areas
  • poor journey connections, lack of seamlessness and lack of ticket integration
  • car dependencies due to poor public transport links
  • insufficient active travel infrastructure on islands
  • limited evening and weekend public transport services, resulting in difficulties accessing services and participating in social/community activities
  • incoherent, inconsistent and confusing public transport timetables across all modes
  • the ability of public transport to meet the needs and expectations of tourists and visitors, especially to Scotland’s islands
  • higher costs of accessibility on islands and in rural areas
  • imbalance of service provision and demand to meet concessionary transport needs, and
  • call for more flexible and pro-active support needed for the berthing of cruise ships at ports

Island communities have similar issues to those living in remote and rural areas, but in many cases the challenges can be greater. Research has shown that the minimum income that households require for an acceptable standard of living in Scotland’s island communities is well above that required in the rest of the UK, and in many cases higher than in other areas of rural Scotland (Highlands and Islands Enterprise, 2013).

Island rurality can exacerbate inequality already experienced by certain groups including those facing socio-economic disadvantage or those with protected characteristics. The ICIA for the NTS identified that factors resulting in additional costs for households in island communities compared to the rest of the UK include:

  • longer commuting distances compounded by higher fuel prices
  • issues around integrated timetabling
  • the additional cost of the need to make occasional trips to the mainland
  • additional ferry/air costs for inter-island travel. Island communities can also face additional freight costs, such as to get goods, including farming and seafood produce, to market or to import energy sources or building materials and labour. Additional charges for deliveries can also be a challenge.

As described in the National Islands Plan, population decline is a threat to the sustainability of many, although not all, of Scotland’s island communities. Over the 10 years to 2016, almost twice as many islands have lost populations as have gained. Future population projections suggest that islands are at further risk of depopulation with Orkney and Shetland both projected to lose 2.2 per cent of their population by 2041 and Na h-Eileanan Siar 14 per cent (National Records of Scotland (2018).

Depopulation can have an adverse effect on communities, reducing confidence and the sustainability of services, increasing the vulnerability of communities already experiencing higher costs of service provision and market access.

Sparsely populated areas are not only experiencing a higher proportion of older people, but a relatively small number of children and young people within the community. This will result in the shrinking of the working-age population in the future, which will in turn have serious implications for the workforce, the economy, and for sustaining the population of island communities. The lack of transport connectivity, and to some extent digital connectivity, to employment opportunities for young people in island communities can be a major factor in out-migration towards the mainland, exacerbating these issues even further.