Executive summary

This report outlines and details the findings from the National Transport Strategy (NTS) People’s Panel Pilot, a deliberative study consisting of a series of events with a cross section of the adult population of Scotland. The purpose of this research was to pilot approaches to citizen’s engagement for the purposes of informing the policy delivery of the NTS.

What did we do?

We recruited, managed and supported the People’s Panel which consisted of 19 participants. Four online Spotlight sessions were conducted to focus on each of the priorities and objectives between October 2021 and January 2022.

In these sessions, participants were consulted on the broad issues underlying the four priorities and asked for feedback on several of the core policies in each area. A detailed account of the materials used and the structure of these sessions can be found in the report below.

What did we learn?

This section provides a brief overview of the participant feedback on the four NTS priorities:

• There was broad agreement that public transport should be accessible to all
• Participants were concerned that those with protected characteristics face a range of barriers to achieving equal access to transport.
• Participants agreed that NTS should consider ways transport users with protected characteristics are enabled to access public transport and not be competing for space amongst each other.
• There was broad support for concessionary travel for older and disabled people, with some participants arguing that the scheme should be expanded to people in receipt of social security, such as Universal Credit.
• Participants considered key issues for transport as ‘easy to use’. Consideration of various mobility needs, ease of payment, ease of planning and good waiting facilities were seen as desirable for public sector transport providers. Participants highlighted that for services to be integrated in practice, time between transport modes had to be neither too short, not too long.
• All participants thought that public transport should be affordable as well as safe and reliable. Although panel comments highlighted affordability as a relative concept, participants were concerned about the cost of living and saw the linkages between affordable public transport to economic mobility and reduction in car use. Over and above affordability, value for money was only seen as achieved in cases where public transport proved reliable and safe.

• Participants thought that there were a range of barriers in the way of meeting net zero targets including existing habits of the public, availability of public transport in rural areas and the cost of public transport.
• Participants thought that combatting these barriers will require a range of actions by national and local governments. These included more investment in public transport, incentivising public transport use and more regulations on companies.
• The panel raised the need for awareness raising and initiatives to encourage behaviour change, starting with education for young people.
• In terms of individual behaviour, participants thought that improving the quality and reducing the cost of public transport would make the most difference in reducing car use.
• Participants were broadly against the idea of new parking levies as these were seen as being less effective than other environmentally friendly measures and because it may encourage car use to be regarded as a status symbol in society.
• The idea of 20-minute neighbourhoods was received positively as participants saw potential benefits for towns and suburbs. Participants were especially enthusiastic about the potential of community connection and reducing isolation if neighbourhoods were designed using these principles.  

• Participants were largely unaware of the concept of last mile deliveries before Spotlight 3, but there was broad support for rationalising this between companies for local areas to reduce duplication of journeys and pollution.
• As with the Spotlight on climate action, participants agreed that there needs to be a reduction in car usage. However, it was felt that for groups in society, including large families, cars are more affordable and give more independence and freedom of movement.
• There was also support for wider integrated travel, with participants outlining their experience of travel over multiple modes without the availability of integration.
• In terms of innovation, participants were supportive of zero emission transport innovation and understood the benefits and the reasons behind innovation. There was concern that achievement of these benefits remains a long way off.

• The Road Safety Framework’s Vision Zero target was widely seen as a laudable and positive ambition, but one that was unlikely to be achieved in practice.
• For active travel, people were more likely to see external factors such as road maintenance or cycle lane provision as a major issue. More conscientious and responsible road-use by both cyclists and drivers was desired by different participants.
• Participants thought that awareness and understanding of the Highway Code and other road safety rules were lacking, or that it declined after passing one’s driving test.
• There was broad support for strengthening enforcement of road safety rules and guidelines, with several participants suggesting that there is currently little or inconsistent enforcement.
• There was a broad appetite for strengthening fines and penalties for dangerous driving, with some suggesting that people who do so (or do so repeatedly) should lose their licence. Other proposed solutions to this issue included technological fixes such as using GPS tracking to enforce speed limits.
• Active travel and healthy travel choices were widely seen to be positive, with numerous and clear advantages for physical and mental health.
• However, a small number of participants noted that active travel may be unrealistic or, in fact, undesirable for groups with mobility limitations. Active travel can also become a stressful experience if people do not feel safe and secure.

There was no single standout priority issue for participants in terms of NTS Delivery Areas. Concessionary travel for older people and investment in technology and innovation were seen as the most important issues, whereas parking levies and car sharing were seen as the least important.

Following the completion of the research, recommendations for future people-led research were provided. These are discussed in detail in the full report, but the key findings included:

• Design needs to be flexible and participant focused
• Online participation can be effective
• Attention and time should be given to all individuals on the panel
• Pilot materials should be used as a blueprint to adapt
• The ongoing relationship between panel input and policy awareness needs to be understood
• Identifying parameters, such as budget and timescales, is a vital starting point for future studies

Transport Scotland published the second annual NTS Delivery Plan for 2022-23 in June 2022. The findings from this research were used to inform the development of that plan, and will be used for subsequent Delivery Plans. It will also be used in the development of a structure for ongoing engagement with the public to inform the ongoing implementation of NTS.