Introduction

The Scottish Government's ambition for the shift to active and sustainable travel has never been greater, nor its recognition of the vital role it has to play in improving people’s physical health and wellbeing; with cleaner air and safer streets for everyone, as well as helping tackle the climate emergency. Knowing the social, economic, and environmental dividends that these outcomes produce, investment in active travel infrastructure and behaviour change programmes has ramped up significantly in recent years, reaching record levels.

To ensure this additional funding is invested wisely, Transport Scotland initiated a major change programme for active travel delivery in 2021. This Active Travel Transformation Programme is affecting public sector reform across the entirety of the active travel system, driving improvement across both infrastructure delivery and behaviour change programmes. Transport Scotland has implemented a new model of programme delivery, nationally coordinated but regionally and locally led, designed to take this level of ambition and transform it into the change that people want and expect to see.

The new delivery model

Building upon a rich legacy of Scottish Government supported behaviour change and access to cycles interventions, the ‘People & Place Programme’ established a new funding model from 2024-25. Under this new model, funding that was previously allocated from the centre of government directly to national third sector delivery partners, has instead been allocated to Scotland's seven Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs).

This devolution of responsibility sees RTPs working in partnership with their respective Local Authorities (LAs) as well as other stakeholders and delivery partners to design their own tailored regional programmes of behaviour change initiatives under a refreshed national policy framework. Coupled with our new tiered delivery model for active travel infrastructure, Transport Scotland’s shared vision is for more autonomy at regional and local levels. This underpins a more agile approach to responding to locality and region-specific issues, placing greater emphasis on community planning and empowerment. It also strengthens the vital link between behaviour change and infrastructure in achieving modal shift, in line with the Verity House Agreement and the public sector reform agenda.

This Assessment Report

This in-house Transport Scotland report is both an assessment of the outputs (and to the extent possible the impacts) of the People & Place programme in Year 1, and also an assessment of the programme in terms of process (establishing, developing, and running the new delivery model).

It brings together a selection and analysis of the key results from each of the RTP’s evaluation reports of their first year delivering the programme. It also draws on a range of additional supporting work, including feedback sought from third sector delivery partners involved in project delivery, and research conducted by Transport Scotland’s Research team with RTP staff involved in programme administration (see Annex B – Research Report: RTP Qualitative Interviews).

Owing purely to practicality, this report will not be able to specifically mention each and every project and partner involved in delivering the programme. Readers should not conclude that any omission implies that a particular partner or project’s contribution was insignificant, or that their evaluation work has not formed part of the programme’s ongoing improvement process, only that difficult editorial decisions have been made to keep this report to a reasonable length.

Note: This report refers throughout to ‘Paths for All’, now known as ‘Walking Scotland’, and Sustrans, now known as ‘Walk Wheel Cycle Trust’.

RTP Approaches to Programme Delivery

Each RTP across Scotland was encouraged to define its own approach within the guidelines of the programme to designing and delivering its regional People & Place Programme. All programmes were developed in the context of RTPs Regional Transport Strategies and a wealth of additional regional and local Transport and Active Travel Strategies. Regional Transport Strategies have statutory status under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, which places a duty on constituent Local Authorities, Health Boards, and other public bodies to perform functions related to transport consistently with them (see Annex A – RTP Policy Context).

RTPs also undertook the design and delivery of their programmes with reference to a wealth of local cross-cutting strategies and plans outwith transport. These covered areas including air quality, road safety, outdoor access, tourism, economic development, physical activity, health improvement, place planning, and community planning, highlighting the vast number of co-benefits that derive from promoting active travel. This process of joined-up local prioritisation, alongside the different organisational arrangements of the RTPs, and the different scales and geographies of the RTP regions, generated different delivery approaches across different regions. This has underlined at an early stage of the programme the strength of the model in enabling tailored solutions to unique geographic and demographic challenges. All population figures in this section are from the NRS Mid-2022 Population Estimates national statistics publication, the latest information available at the time the 2024/25 programme was planned and delivered.

ZetTrans

The regional transport partnership for Shetland, a single-authority RTP covering the Shetland Islands Council area. Shetland’s location and geography mean that it forms a completely self-contained geographic entity, with just over 23,000 people, around 0.42% of Scotland’s population, spread over 15 inhabited islands, 100 miles long within a 1,800-mile coastline. Providing and maintaining the necessary air, sea and road transport infrastructure is a complex task and results in high per capita costs.

In this context, ZetTrans adopted a straightforward approach - commissioning three well-established and resourced national third sector delivery partners to deliver four projects tailored to its strategies and using programme funding to start building delivery capacity within the local authority.

HITRANS

The regional transport partnership for a unique and varied area covering Moray, Argyll and Bute, Highland, Western Isles and the Orkney Islands. It is a large region, accounting for around 50% of Scotland’s land mass, and contains a diverse mixture of islands, remote mainland, rural and urban areas, with over 466,000 people, nearly 9% of Scotland’s population.

In this context, HITRANS took an approach centred on developing a comprehensive new behaviour change strategy and continuing to build on projects begun through previous funding such as HI-BIKE and cycle parking provision. Their delivery partners included local authorities, health boards, National Park Authorities, community organisations, and private sector organisations. In their own words:

For HITRANS, it was quite a challenge to pivot from the previous model supported by Transport Scotland’s Regional Active Travel Fund (RATF), to

develop a behaviour change programme within a very short timescale, with limited staff capacity, and while still completing the 2023-24 RATF activity.

The previous model had focused on small scale infrastructure, feasibility and design, and piloting innovative projects like cycle socks on Citylink services, the HI-BIKE e-cycle share scheme, and Quiet Routes. The need to recruit additional team members to deliver the £1.6m People & Place Programme meant that delivery did not begin in earnest until the summer of 2024. As a result several projects were funded late on in the financial year, and reporting on these will be captured as part of the 2025-26 Programme evaluation.

Through the People & Place Programme we were able to continue and build on some of the projects begun through the Regional Active Travel Fund, such as HI-BIKE and cycle parking provision.

HITRANS Evaluation Report

Nestrans

The ‘city and shire’ regional transport partnership for Aberdeenshire Council and Aberdeen City Council in the North East of Scotland. Nestrans accounts for just over 8% of the land mass of Scotland, with nearly 488,000 people, 9% of Scotland’s population, spread across this area. This has significantly contributed to a car dependent region, particularly in Aberdeenshire, which has the second largest car ownership percentage in Scotland.

In this context, Nestrans grounded its programme in its established regional transport strategy vision supported by four key pillars (Equality, Climate, Prosperity, and Wellbeing). They focused on the relationship that the strategy and associated policies and programmes have with local policy instruments, and how People & Place could work to support these policy aspirations, and programmes such as Aberdeenshire Council’s Integrated Travel Towns. In their own words:

The People & Place programme is an important consequence of the Verity House Agreement (VHA) and the approach of local by default, national by agreement. In the first annual stocktake of the VHA it is noted that the Scottish Government needs to better understand the competing demands placed on local government by directorates and public bodies.

This has represented a considerable learning point for Nestrans, in balancing competing interests and priorities, while seeking to fulfil the regional potential of the People & Place programme.

In implementing this local model of delivery, Nestrans has also been aware of the requirement to balance local flexibility with national policies, while focusing on community empowerment.

Nestrans Evaluation Report

Tactran

The regional transport partnership for Tayside and central Scotland. The RTP covers four Local Authority areas: Angus, Dundee City, Perth & Kinross Council, and Stirling. The region has nearly 507,000 people, over 9% of Scotland’s population with a mix of all population types, including urban, city adjacent, rural, and deep rural communities.

In this context, Tactran identified the need for cross-cutting solutions across all population, geography and socio-economic groups, and developed their programme on the basis of focusing activities on core locations, referred to as ‘clusters’, where multiple needs and potential projects could be brought together. In their own words:

The Tactran People & Place programme for 2024--25 set out to provide a wide range of activities focused on need and maximising outcomes. It sought to identify key locations where projects could be concentrated on specific clusters, as areas of multiple need within which interventions may have significant impacts.

A methodology was developed which identified four areas across the Tactran region where there was existing active travel infrastructure (such as: trails, cycleways etc) in existence or under construction. It being felt that behaviour change interventions focused on these clusters would be likely to have a greater impact on use […]

The delivery of the People & Place programme in FY2024-25 has demonstrated significant impacts arising from targeted behaviour change initiatives. Such successes are indicative of the continuing benefit and further potential outcomes where best practices are identified and followed, and where learnings are applied to future application.

Tactran Evaluation Report

SEStran

The regional transport partnership covering eight diverse local authorities in the South East of Scotland: City of Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders, and West Lothian. It covers just over 10% of Scotland’s landmass, and contains over 1.6 million people, nearly 30% of Scotland’s population. The majority of the population is concentrated in the centre of the SEStran area, with a large, sparsely populated rural area to the south, particularly the remote rural areas in the Scottish Borders and East Lothian. The greatest concentration of population is within the City of Edinburgh.

In this context SEStran developed a high-level programme plan, with early engagement with local authorities and delivery partners helping build trust, despite initial concerns about the shift in funding control. They took a collaborative approach with stakeholders, understanding operational realities and constraints. They delivered this through a diverse partnership of local authorities, third sector organisations, community groups, and educational institutions. In their own words:

2024-25 has been a transition year in which responsibility for funding management moved to Regional Transport Partnerships for the first time, so there was a fundamental change in programme governance and delivery mechanisms. This inevitably influenced programme implementation and

outcomes and impacted data consistency as delivery organisations adapted to a new way of working […]

Key findings show that the Programme aligns well with national and regional policy priorities. The funding model also reflects a broader policy shift away from national-level targets, for example, those to reduce car use, toward more flexible, locally tailored approaches. The People & Place Programme is well-positioned to support this evolving landscape.

The first year of delivery demonstrated meaningful progress in promoting active travel and enabling behaviour change.

SEStran Evaluation Report

SPT

The regional transport partnership for the West of Scotland, covering East Dunbartonshire, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and the Helensburgh and Lomond wards of Argyll and Bute. The Strathclyde region has over 2.2 million people, over 40% of Scotland’s population, and covers everything from Scotland’s largest urban area (and the UK’s biggest suburban rail network outside London), with some of the most deprived communities in the country, through to rural, island and coastal communities along the Firth of Clyde.

In this context, for the first year of the programme SPT chose to prioritise projects that provided good value-for-money, had been running continuously in the region for many years, and were aligned to the priorities of the SPT Regional Transport Strategy (RTS). They sought to secure capacity and capability and continuation of delivery through the disruptions of change, while allowing time to engage with stakeholders to gather a better understanding of the landscape during the transition year. As a result, SPT funded a wide variety of project types, across a wide range of partners. In their own words:

SPT issued a request to Local Authorities and other third sector delivery partners for projects for the People & Place Programme (PPP) 2024-2025 and received upwards of 100 applications across 19 delivery partners. In practice, the application process proved very successful resulting in the programme being substantially oversubscribed, however, meaning it was not possible to fund all proposals. Through an evaluation process based on TS’s key themes and priorities, the indicative available budget, the wider policy and operational landscape including the Regional Transport Strategy and emerging SPT Regional Active Travel Strategy, 45 ‘Priority’ Projects were identified for delivery in 2024-2025.

Given the speed at which the PPP was developed, TS has acknowledged that 2024/2025 has been a transition year as the PPP approach is refined. As the funder, SPT has the responsibility for issuing and managing the grant in line with the requirements set out by TS in their Offer of Grant letter, and therefore, a key part of SPT’s work this year has been to undertake a strong and resilient project monitoring, reporting and evaluation programme […]

SPT has developed a Regional Transport Strategy and Regional Active Travel Strategy to support their ambitions for the area. The delivery of the People & Place Programme and associated projects will contribute to the delivery of both strategies, particularly the Active Travel Strategy.

SPT Evaluation Report

SWestrans

The regional transport partnership for the South West of Scotland and has a boundary contiguous with Dumfries and Galloway Council. The SWestrans area covers 8.1% of Scotland’s land mass, and over 145,000 people, 2.7% of Scotland population. The population density of the region is just 23 people per square kilometre compared to the national average of 69 people per square kilometre, with Dumfries being the major centre of population.

In this context, in Year 1 SWestrans took a continuity approach, looking to retain the existing workforce within the region and assess the effectiveness of what was already in place before making major delivery model changes. Alongside working with national providers that had previously been funded by Transport Scotland directly, they also funded two additional national partner organisations to return to the region. In their own words:

This the first year of P&P was seen in part by SWestrans as an assessment of what was already in place as much as a completely new way of working that has allowed us to make more informed decisions for the subsequent year. Given the short notice of the new funding model from Transport Scotland the majority of the bids were from national providers that had previously been funded by Transport Scotland, directly. We therefore looked to retain existing workforce within the region and assess the effectiveness of what was already in place before making any radical changes.

[…] At the inception of this fund SWestrans made the decision to recruit an additional member for staff to manage this programme and as an RTP with an oversight over a single local authority Dumfries and Galloway Council (DGC) the 24-25 SWestrans People & Place Active Travel Behaviour Change programme and Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Local Authority Direct Award (LADA) were pooled to provide a single fund.

[…] [This] fund allowed us to work across the council as a whole to identify opportunities to embed active travel in wider programmes such as the Active Lives Pathway.

SWestrans Evaluation Report

Partner Approaches to Project Delivery

The new delivery model has brought significant change for third sector delivery partners, particularly the larger national charities who are no longer in receipt of direct funding from Transport Scotland. In some instances, these delivery partners encountered new and additional challenges in adapting to the different approaches taken by each of the RTPs. They reported having to realign their work to the programme’s themes and also to the RTP’s different priorities, in many cases having to reduce headcount or bring certain areas of work to an end.

Some delivery partners have seen definite positives in working with RTPs, describing aspects as more transparent, tailored, and strategic. However, others also describe the new landscape as fragmented, creating duplication, and adding a significant volume of bureaucracy. There is truth to both sentiments, and a distinct policy tension exists between localism that seeks to mitigate against ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions, and universalism that seeks to mitigate against ‘postcode lotteries’.

For the larger charities in particular, the loss of ‘national’ programmes was keenly felt, particularly where RTPs made different choices about which services matched best with the strategic transport or community needs of their region. One cause for optimism is that most delivery partners reported having very positive and supportive relationships with RTPs, even as completely new partnerships. The question of whether, over time, the benefits of more localism and new ways or working together will outweigh the disbenefits of differential services and additional bureaucracy, is one for a longer-term programme evaluation.

In terms of mitigating against the additional bureaucracy inherent in the new model, all stakeholders concurred in asking Transport Scotland to attempt to streamline and standardise processes where possible, which is actively being pursued.