Productive
We want Scotland to be more efficient and more productive.
We need to recognise the economic benefits of sustainable transport in delivering a sustainable economy.
The move to sustainable transport will require Scotland to:
- Fund sustainable transport. Scrap proposals for traffic-generating new roads (in particular, proposals for the Aberdeen western bypass and a Second Forth Road Bridge). Instead: invest in the active travel modes to bring us up to continental European levels of walking and cycling; invest in Smarter Choices – a range of small-scale, low-cost interventions (e.g. school and workplace travel plans, car clubs, conferencing technology); and invest in the forms of motorised transport that needs less, or no, oil input – e.g. hybrid buses, trams, electrified railways, and the movement of freight by rail or water.
- Make more efficient use of existing infrastructure. All too often we see a focus on building new infrastructure when there is a failure to make the best use of what we’ve already got in place. Transport expenditure should focus on maintaining the current asset base: it's remarkable that consideration is even being given to building a duplicate road bridge over the Forth when Scotland's only metro system, the Glasgow Subway, is in a serious state of disrepair.
- Invest in Smarter Choices. This range of small-scale, low-cost interventions (e.g. school and workplace travel plans, car clubs, travel awareness campaigns) has been shown to be highly cost-effective in reducing traffic levels and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Invest in the Scottish inter-city rail network. A programme of journey times improvements and capacity enhancements (coupled with electrification) to link all Scottish cities by a modern, efficient rail system, in order to significantly improve journey times within the Central Belt, and to Dundee, Aberdeen, Perth & Inverness.
- Invest in Anglo-Scottish rail links. Unlike flying, rail travel can provide a productive working environment. Our research has highlighted the economic value of making Scotland-London trips by rail rather than by plane.
- Apply the ‘polluter pays principle’. Most cars, lorries or air transport currently do not pay for their full external costs – economic (e.g. congestion), environmental (e.g. climate change, noise & air pollution) and social (e.g. road crashes, community severance). The London congestion charge is the outstanding example of how better price signals can improve conditions for everyone.
- Reform transport appraisal. How we allocate transport expenditure needs to change, as health impacts and environmental impacts remain undervalued in transport appraisal, and moving ever-faster over-valued.