Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) has announced funding for a number of regional projects designed to help low-income parents overcome transport barriers to employment.
Transport to Employment is a Scottish Government initiative developed through Bringing Hope, Building Futures: The Third Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026-2031 which recognises that the availability of affordable and accessible transport is a key driver of child poverty.
SPT has been allocated more than £3.7million to support and deliver systemic level Transport to Employment initiatives to support the ambitions of the recent Child Poverty Delivery Plan. These initiatives will connect low-income parents to work, education, training, and volunteering opportunities, maximising household income across the SPT region.
SPT Chair, Stephen Dornan said:
“Reliable, accessible transport has a vital role to play in connecting people with employment opportunities and helping local businesses access the workforce. By breaking down transport barriers and improving families access to transport, we can support more people into work and increase access to opportunities that can maximise household income, reduce living costs, and improve overall quality of life for many households.
“Investing in better transport is not just about getting people from A to B, it is also an investment in jobs and working to improve our local economy.
“SPT is proud to support these national ambitions to help tackle child poverty and help to establish better outcomes for families and young people across our region.”
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport Stephen Flynn said:
“I am proud that £3.7 million from the Scottish Government will break down barriers to employment, making it easier to explore job opportunities and put more money in people’s pockets.
“Eradicating child poverty is this government’s defining mission, and access to good jobs is one of the best ways for families to improve their financial situation.
“I thank SPT for their partnership in supporting families who need it most and helping to ensure that transport is not a barrier to getting into work.”
Funded projects will improve household access to all kinds of transport related support from active travel to increased service provision, and ticketing support. It will enable more households to access training, workplace, and education prospects previously inaccessible to them, expanding opportunities to reduce child poverty across the SPT region.
Projects already identified and underway include:
Bike for Good has been awarded funding to deliver their Better by Bike project. This is an active travel for employability pilot aiming to support 50 low-income households to overcome transport barriers and access employment, education, and other essential services through a comprehensive active travel support package, whereby access to a bike for long term transport means is provided at the end of the support period. The project aims to enable engaged individuals with the confidence, information, skills and resources to cycle to work, therefore reducing wider transport barriers to employment by ensuring access to an affordable and reliable means of transport.
SPT is also working with Bike for Good and Voi to give eligible families between one and three months of free access to Voi’s shared bike scheme in Glasgow, supported by hands-on engagement from Bike for Good. The aim is helping people overcome practical barriers such as cost, confidence, language, digital access and unfamiliarity with how bike share works, unlocking a potential commuting option previously deemed unfeasible for those who owning a bike is not practical or possible.
In addition, working with local authorities and Local Employability Partnerships, a travel planning pilot in partnership with Travelknowhow Scotland and CalCommuter is underway.
The pilot introduces the CalCommuter platform for Local Employability Partnerships (LEPs) key workers to use with clients exploring employment, training or volunteering opportunities. It provides practical, data‑driven insight into whether opportunities are realistically accessible and affordable and highlights any transport support that may be required. The pilot moves beyond traditional travel planning and offers a more targeted solution for clients, intending to strengthen existing adviser–client conversations by directly assessing transport availability and cost as barriers to work and household income.
Working with Glasgow Council for Voluntary Sector (GCVS), SPT is also identifying third‑sector organisations in the most deprived communities across the Glasgow City Region to deliver a free ZoneCard initiative. This will offer free travel to families alongside wider holistic family support, and existing Scottish Government Tackling Child Poverty funding. This initiative ensures travel assistance is provided as part of a broader package of help rather than in isolation. Delivery will be led by third‑sector partners already supporting families - such as financial inclusion, family support and employability organisations - who will identify eligible clients and issue ZoneCards, with SPT providing operational and technical support.
A series of temporary enhancements to local bus services will also be delivered through SPT’s Transport to Employment programme, informed by discussions with Local Employability Partnerships and SPT’s internal analysis of service options. Procurement of these services is currently underway. In parallel, several community transport proposals are being developed to help families and households overcome transport‑related barriers at a local level.