in the medium priority this is to indicate projects that will take longer to develop although they may be high priority. 27.
QUESTION 20: Do the recommendations under this theme address the transport needs of your local or regional area or the people your organisation represents?
27.1. Yes ☐ 28.
No ☐ Don’t Know / No Opinion ☐
QUESTION 21: Please provide any additional comments you have on the theme Enhancing Access to Affordable Public Transport and the recommendations within it.
28.1. The supply chain stands ready to deliver investments in public transport which can enhance the experience of users. Alongside enhancing the user experience, such investments deliver a wide range of benefits. They contribute to decarbonisation targets, with rail being a very lowcarbon public transport option. In 2019, transport (including international aviation and shipping) accounted for 14 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in Scotland. Out of this, the contribution from rail was only 1.1%.7 28.2. Rail investments also deliver economic growth, both local and national, by providing business opportunities, connectivity, and a boost in skills. As laid out above, Oxford Economics found that the rail sector contributes £3.2bn of economic growth to Scotland per year and 56 100 jobs, which are both more productive and higher paid than the Scotland average. 28.3. In addition to the jobs and skills it creates, rail creates social value through several routes, including stations, as a way to uplift local communities. RIA Scotland welcomes ScotRail’s work on stations in Scotland and the investments that have gone into community-led projects. Examples include Stow, Saltcoats and Kilmarnock8 stations which have been excellent examples of collaboration between local groups, local governments, and the rail industry. 28.4. As covered in the draft Summary Report, Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and smart technology can be used to provide improved public transport connectivity. Rail has the potential to be at the core of making MaaS a success. Rail suppliers, working together with Train Operating Companies, can work together to ensure the rail industry is ready to join MaaS platforms as a fully integrated and viable partner. 28.5. There already exists extensive data which could allow rail suppliers to build comprehensive rail and multimodal journey planning and booking tools. The biggest barrier to this is access to data. The Scottish Government should therefore use its regulatory and contractual powers to support open access to data. It should expedite work on rail data standards and align such standards with the wider transport open data agenda. Open access rail data initiatives can be expanded to include ticketing and fares; on-board assets, facilities, and services; and wayfinding to, from, and through stations.
7
https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/51299/summary-chapter-scottish-transport-statistics-2021.pdf https://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/articles/station-regeneration-scotland-publicspaces?utm_source=Rail%20Technology%20Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=13114793_RTM %20Newsletter%20April%204th%202022&dm_i=IJS,7T3FT,8SVZ8M,VUVC0,1 8
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