The report, ‘SPT: Delivering for Renfrewshire’, shows almost £3 million of capital funding was awarded to support a range of sustainable transport projects in the area between 2017 and 2021.

Nearly £900,000 of additional money was also awarded to Renfrewshire Council in 2021/22 to support their delivery.

A number of projects across the area have benefited as a result of the funding.

Almost £1.4 million has been invested in the area’s ageing bus infrastructure, including improvements to bus stops and shelters in Paisley.

Other improvements have also taken place in Johnstone, Renfrew, Bridge of Weir, Houston, Linwood and Hillington.

Traffic management investment has exceeded £1.6 million since 2018, including the introduction of modern traffic control systems which improve safety and efficiency.

Pedestrian crossings, especially those near schools and play parks, have received £330,000 in funding for improvement.

Active travel initiatives which encourage walking and cycling have benefited from £220,000, supporting connections between Paisley and Renfrew.

On average, SPT helps take 3,700 children to and from school each day, and the report showed that 38,000 trips on the MyBus service have been scheduled since 2019.

Renfrewshire is one of is one of 12 council areas to benefit from funding provided by SPT, which also covers East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Inverclyde, South Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire and the Helensburgh and Lomond area of Argyll and Bute. 

The transport body pointed out that the cross-council boundary nature of transport and travel means investment in one area will benefit all residents who travel for work or leisure. 

Across the west of Scotland, SPT has supported 6.1 million bus station departures across Buchanan, Hamilton, East Kilbride, Greenock, Braehead and Silverburn in recent years. 

It has sold 515,000 ZoneCard tickets since 2017/18 across the Subway and participating rail and bus operators, and 43.7 million Subway journeys have been taken since 2017. 

It has supported 200 bus services run by around 20 operators on behalf of SPT, and has 33 MyBus services operating in the west of Scotland. 

SPT has also invested in several regional projects in recent years, including the Subway Modernisation Project, its ongoing bus stop and shelter upgrade programme and its Real Time Passenger Information roll out.

Valerie Davidson, chief executive of SPT, said: 

“We continue to deliver a range of services in Renfrewshire and across the region either directly or on behalf of councils. As this report shows, we have invested more than £3.8 million over the last five years in sustainable transport projects in the area.

“SPT’s activities support the west of Scotland’s regional transport network to the benefit of all residents who travel across the area. While the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in significant impacts on our operational activities due to reduced travel demand, the majority of services were maintained to ensure transport remained in place for key workers and those making essential trips.”