10 December 2003

Public want regional transport says poll

Transport should be planned on a regional travel-to-work basis according to a Scotland-wide survey of more than 1000 people commissioned by Strathclyde Passenger Transport. The findings of the poll were published the day before the SPTA agrees on its response to the Scottish Executive's transport consultation.

A special meeting of the SPT Authority will be held tomorrow (Thursday 11 December) to agree SPT's formal response to the Scottish Executive's consultation on proposals for a new approach to transport in Scotland.

Only 26 per cent of people in Scotland think that transport should be planned on a centralised national basis as could be the case if local transport powers are taken away by the proposed Scottish transport agency. People in the north of Scotland were most vociferous about this with 64 per cent saying that transport should be planned regionally.

Support for the work that SPT does is very high across Scotland with only 10 per cent of people saying that public transport would be better if SPT was abolished. People in the east of Scotland seem most keen to see the continuance of SPT with only 4 per cent wanting to see SPT abolished.

The issue that attracted the most attention was over the quality of bus services, timetables, information and fares. 75 per cent of all Scots think that there should be tighter control over bus networks.

The survey showed that SPT had a high recognition with 40 per cent across Scotland being aware of SPT and its services, with that figure rising to 68 per cent in the west of Scotland; in 2002 only 58 per cent of people in the west of Scotland had heard of SPT. 68 per cent think that SPT does a good job of delivering public transport.

Commenting on the survey results Councillor Alistair Watson, Chair of SPT, said:

"Across Scotland it is clear that public opinion is in favour of a regional approach to planning and delivering public transport. For over 30 years SPT has delivered the most integrated public transport network in Scotland and this is recognised in the support for the organisation.

"These results will bolster the response of SPT to the Scottish Executive's transport consultation. Like the Executive we are keen to see better integration of transport, our response will help them do that by building on the strengths of SPT and ensuring it has the necessary powers and funding to deliver.

"It is no surprise that the issue that attracted the most public attention was the quality of bus services, timetables, information and fares with 75 per cent of all Scots saying that there should be tighter control over bus networks. We want to work with the Scottish Executive to see how that might best be delivered."

The survey of 1018 adults was carried out by MRUK Research during the week ending 9 October.

A media briefing on SPT's response to the consultation will be held at Consort House, 12 West George Street, Glasgow, at 10.30am sharp on Thursday 11 December.

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