Introduction
Background
In 2020, emissions from transport made up more than one quarter of Scotland’s total emissions and road transport accounted for 66.5% of these emissions. The National Transport Strategy, published in February 2020, set out a vision for a transport system that reduces inequalities and increases equality of opportunity and outcome; takes action to minimise the negative impact of transport on the climate; helps to deliver sustainable and inclusive economic growth; and enables a healthy, active and fit Scotland.
The Scottish Government’s strategy to achieve net zero emissions by 2045 comprised a number of different elements. One car-related policy outcome in its Climate Change Plan update, published in December 2020, was to reduce car kilometres by 20% by 2030, against a 2019 baseline, in order to meet Scotland’s statutory obligations for greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2045. A reduction of 20% in car kms would mean a return to car travel at a level last seen in the 1990s.
Since the publication of the first Climate Change Plan in 2011, the distance travelled by car has increased and this trend is predicted to continue, unless measures are introduced to manage demand. While restrictions associated with the COVID pandemic suppressed use of all forms of transport and people were advised not to use public transport unless absolutely necessary, travel by car has been closer to previous levels than any other mode of travel. Research conducted by the RAC, in its Report on Motoring for 2020, looked at the possible impact of COVID on motorists. A key finding was that for the first time since 2002 fewer than half of drivers (43%) said they would use their cars less if public transport was improved. This is considerably lower than the level of 57% seen in 2019. Furthermore, statistics published by the Scottish Government show that the number of motor vehicles registered in Scotland is at an all-time high of about three million.
Overall, reducing the distance travelled by car by 20% by 2030 is a huge challenge and will need a reversal of decades of growth in car usage, as well as in predicted future increases. To help bring about the necessary changes, the Scottish Government has developed a car use reduction route map, that sets out a wide range of actions that will be taken to support people in Scotland to reduce their car use, including long term investment of over £500m in bus priority infrastructure, along with an additional package of over £500m to increase levels of active travel over the next five years.
The consultation
Transport Scotland worked in collaboration with COSLA to develop and publish the document: ‘Reducing car use for a healthier, fairer and greener Scotland: A route map to achieve a 20 per cent reduction in car kilometres by 2030’, which was published in January 2022. This was developed in recognition of the need for joint ambition and action at both a national and local level and included input from a wide range of stakeholders to ensure it reflects the needs and aspirations of people across Scotland.
The route map aims to encourage a reduction in the current overreliance on cars wherever possible, by implementing interventions that will support people to choose from four key behaviours when planning a journey. These were:
- To make use of sustainable online options to reduce the need to travel.
- To choose local destinations or reduce the distance travelled.
- To switch to walking, wheeling, cycling or public transport where possible.
- To combine a trip or share a journey to reduce the number of individual car trips made, if the car remains the only feasible option.
The consultation on the publication contained 16 questions, which offered respondents the opportunity to provide comments on the approach and policies set out in the route map.
Respondent profile
In total, there were 679 responses to the consultation, of which 64 were from organisations and 615 from individuals. A list of all those organisations that submitted a response to the consultation is included in Appendix 1. Respondents were assigned to respondent groupings to enable analysis of any differences or commonalities across or within the various different types of organisations and individuals that responded.
As shown in the following table, the highest number of organisation responses was from local authorities, followed by third sector organisations and regional transport partnerships.
| Respondent group | Number of responses |
|---|---|
| Business | 2 |
| Health / NHS | 3 |
| Local authority | 13 |
| NDPB (Non-departmental public body) | 2 |
| Regional transport partnership | 8 |
| Representative body* | 7 |
| Third sector (other) | 7 |
| Third sector (environmental) | 8 |
| Third sector (sustainability) | 9 |
| Other | 5 |
| Total organisations | 64 |
| Individuals | 615 |
| Total responses | 679 |
*For this analysis, ‘Representative body’ was defined as ‘any organisation representing individuals belonging to a transport user group or professional body
Methodology
Responses to the consultation were submitted using the Scottish Government consultation platform Citizen Space, or by email or hard copy. Three respondents submitted a generalised response which did not answer the specific consultation questions; these responses have been analysed and incorporated into the report at the relevant sections.
Responses were checked for any co-ordinated responses using text comparison tools to ascertain whether any responses were part of a campaign. A total of 73 campaign responses, based on a standard text, were received and issues raised in these have been incorporated into the report where relevant. In some of the campaign responses, additional comments were provided and these have been incorporated where relevant in the report. One third sector organisation also conducted a survey among its members and the results have been included in our analysis.
It should be noted that the number responding at each question is not always the same as the number presented in the respondent group table. This is because not all respondents addressed all questions. This report indicates the number of respondents who commented at each question. While the analysis was qualitative in nature, as the questionnaire only contained a small number of quantifiable questions, as a very general rule of thumb it can be assumed that: ‘a small number’ indicates less than 3% of respondents, ‘a small minority’ indicates between 3% and 10%, ‘a significant minority’ indicates between around 10-24% of respondents; a large minority indicates between 25-49% of respondents; and a majority indicates more than 50% of those who commented at any question.
Some of the consultation questions were composed of closed tick-boxes with specific options to choose from. Where respondents did not follow the questions but mentioned clearly within their text that they supported one of the options, these have been included in the relevant counts.
The researchers examined all comments made by respondents and noted the range of issues mentioned in responses, including reasons for opinions, specific examples or explanations, alternative suggestions or other comments. Grouping these issues together into similar themes allowed the researchers to identify whether any particular theme was specific to any particular respondent group or groups. Where any specific sub-group(s) held a particular viewpoint, this is commented on at each relevant question. In many instances, actions, policies or issues suggested by respondents mirrored those outlined in the route map. This has been referenced where relevant.
When considering group differences however, it must also be recognised that where a specific opinion has been identified in relation to a particular group or groups, this does not indicate that other groups did not share this opinion, but rather that they simply did not comment on that particular point.
While the consultation gave all who wished to comment an opportunity to do so, given the self-selecting nature of this type of exercise, any figures quoted here cannot be extrapolated to a wider population beyond the respondent sample.