Chamber and committees

STPR2 follows the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG). STAG is based on HM Treasury’s Green Book “5 Case Model” for business cases, developed for use in Scotland. A transport appraisal using STAG generally considers the strategic and socio-economic cases to assess whether potential options for programmes/projects are likely to meet intended objectives and deliver intended benefits, such as environmental, economic, social impacts relative to anticipated cost.

The evidence from STPR2 demonstrates the Strategic Business Case for the recommendations. Improving health and wellbeing, taking climate action and supporting sustainable economic development are three of the five STPR2 objectives against which all recommendations are appraised. The outcome of these can be found in the appraisal summary tables for each recommendation Final technical report - December 2022 - STPR2 | Transport Scotland .

STPR2 is a national level appraisal and the benefits were identified through a mix of qualitative assessment and quantitative results from transport modelling, suitable for the strategic case of investment decision making. The cost estimates are also in line with the strategic nature of the appraisal. More detailed appraisal and cost benefit analysis for each transport intervention will be undertaken as part of Outline and Final Business Case work.

The increased scale and pace of Transport Scotland’s ambition in active travel is bringing wholesale reform of the delivery model for both active travel infrastructure - through the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund (ATIF) - and for behaviour change - through the creation of the Regional Transport Partnership (RTP) led Active Travel People and Place Programme (ATPP). With public funds facing unprecedented levels of pressure, it is vitally important that active travel investment is targeted where it can make most impact.

Support for grass-roots community groups and charity-led projects is also being decentralised, with acknowledgement from everyone involved in active travel that decisions about how to support grass roots behaviour change work needed to be taken closer to communities, and in a way that’s more joined up with local and regional transport strategies. As part of this process, it was decided we would not be continuing with direct support for a number of programmes, including the ebike loan fund.

In response to the UK Climate Change Committee’s recommendation, by the end of 2024 we will publish an Implementation Plan identifying the key actions to be taken to deliver our Vision for public EV charging. The key findings of the study will be published as part of the Implementation Plan.

STPR2 is a national appraisal and identifies recommendations to be delivered over the long term. The delivery of the recommendations is subject to the funding allocations agreed by Parliament each year through the annual budget process.

In the case of Recommendation 3, which focuses on village-town active travel connections, investment will likely be phased over numerous years. Currently, projects are identified by local authorities and regional partners who then apply for funding through the Sustrans Places for Everyone programme, the new Active Travel Infrastructure fund, and directly through the Cycling Walking Safer Routes (CWSR) grant.

In the case of the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund, we accept proposals for funding the construction of various types of active travel interventions, which can include village-town active travel connections.

The assessment and prioritisation of projects considers a multi- criteria approach and includes two main factors: the impact they achieve and the deliverability of the project. Some of the factors considered in the prioritisation of projects are: potential for mode shift; the quality of proposed infrastructure; safety and security; integration with existing active travel infrastructure and/or public transport; impact on the most deprived 20% of communities; impact on community severance; access to schools; access to employment; access to other locations and value for money.

The Scottish Government still intends to publish its Aviation Statement shortly and we will confirm details as soon as possible.

We do not currently record data across our behaviour change programme in a way that would allow us to establish how many different schools or what proportion of schools have participated in projects.

This is possible, however, on an individual project basis. For example, in the academic year 2022-23, Bikeability Scotland training was delivered in 66.7% of schools covering over 60,000 pupils across 30/32 local authorities. Living Streets’ Walk to School / WOW programme has run for over 25 years and was introduced in Scotland in 2014. A total of 463 primary schools, 23% of the total number of primary schools in Scotland, have had active participation in WOW at some point between 2012 and 2022. 160 schools participated in WOW in 2022-23.

A new model for delivery of active travel behaviour change interventions has been introduced for 2024-25. The People and Place programme will be delivered by Scotland’s seven Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs). To support this new model we are developing a monitoring and evaluation framework which will improve our understanding of the performance of the projects that we fund and enable us to make better informed funding decisions across the active travel behaviour change programme.

As part of the policy development for the Active Travel People and Place programme 2024-25, evidence was considered from a range of sources, including the recommendations from the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

The policy is underpinned by a behaviour change approach that seeks to ensure that interventions tackle the individual, social, and material (ISM) factors that influence people’s travel choices. We developed four evidence-based themes that sit across the programme that address long-term social trends, target our largest trip generators, help secure a Just Transition, and systemically strengthen delivery, as well as providing structure for our overarching monitoring and evaluation framework.

Following engagement with delivery partners, RTPs, and representatives from Local Authorities, key deliverables (e.g. cycle training in schools; support for disadvantaged/vulnerable communities) were identified as priorities for continue support. Taking these into account, criteria were developed by Transport Scotland policy officials and discussed with the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights in December 2023 and January 2024. These themes are: Schools and Young People, Workplaces, Accessibility and Inclusion, and Capacity and Capability Building.

‘Schools and Young People’ covers interventions in and around schools that deliver holistic solutions for creating an environment where active travel choices are not only an option, but the most desirable way to travel for young people and families. The theme is key both in terms of ‘place’, with schools collectively being one of the largest trip generators in Scotland (there were over 705,000 children attending school in Scotland in 2023 with about 50% of their journeys being made actively), and also ‘people’, with strong evidence showing that social norms play a crucial role in behaviour change, and that helping children establish healthy travel behaviours should be a core activity of programmes seeking sustainable travel behaviours.

‘Workplaces’ covers interventions that focus on places of work (including further and higher education), that make active travel choices a realistic solution for commuting. This theme is key as places of work are significant trip generators, with the latest statistics showing ‘Commuting’ as the second most frequent reason for personal travel, at 21%.

‘Accessibility and Inclusion’ covers interventions that create opportunities for everyone to make the choice to travel actively. Evidence shows that there is a large number of underrepresented groups in Scotland who do not participate in active travel. Barriers include cost, social perception, culture, health, ability, and geographical location. Though this theme we will ensure people with different abilities, or people without the knowledge or skills, are not left out of our drive to promote walking, wheeling and cycling for everyday journeys.

‘Capacity and Capability Building’ covers interventions that build the delivery capacity and capability of the sector. Transport was part of Scotland’s Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP), which highlighted that the transition to net zero will require behaviour change by both employers and individuals. The CESAP stressed the need for skills investment planning in this area and to support stakeholders to take action to drive behaviour change and develop the leadership and management skills that will be required for a net zero future.

We are keeping these themes under review, and our ongoing monitoring and evaluation framework will draw on data included the Walking and Cycling Index and the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) which has data on the purpose of short journeys.

The Active Travel Budget is an annually set allocation from the overall Scottish Transport Budget. The Active Travel Programme contains a blend of Grants awarded in accordance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual, contracts drawn down from Scottish Government procurement frameworks, and budget transfers to support investments managed in other areas of the portfolio. A breakdown of years 2012-13 to 2023-23 is set out below, our figures for 2023-24 are also shown with the caveat that these should be considered as indicative of the year end process completing;

The Scottish Government funding for active travel projects is not allocated based on STPR2 recommendation delivered. We fund a range of projects throughout Scotland that deliver on recommendation 3 of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) to connect villages to towns by active travel. This includes funding for the National Cycle Network programme, investment in active travel infrastructure on the trunk road network, and funding provided to local authorities via the Sustrans Places for Everyone programme and the new Active Travel Infrastructure fund, and directly through the Cycling Walking Safer Routes (CWSR) grant.

The North East Bus Alliance has spent £9.94 million from the Bus Partnership Fund. This includes funding for the business case for Aberdeen Rapid Transit (ART) and bus priority on its associated corridors. This also includes £0.33 million for the development and delivery of bus gates in Aberdeen City Centre, which opened in August 2023, and supporting works of £7.98 million on South College Street, which enabled the bus gates. The North East Bus Alliance have reported that bus gates in Aberdeen City Centre have reduced journey times for passengers by up to 25%, benefitting over 600,000 passengers each month.

Future work on ART, led by Nestrans and its partners Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and the North East Bus Alliance, will be funded through the Aberdeen City Region Deal.