SPT is reaffirming its commitment to reducing the environmental impact of staff travel and supporting Scotland's wider climate ambitions with its Commuting & Business Travel Plan 2026-2030.

The Plan sets out how SPT will reduce carbon emissions associated with travel to and from its workplaces, as well as emissions generated through business travel, helping to contribute to a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable transport network across the west of Scotland.

Understanding how we travel

In October 2025, SPT carried out a staff commuting survey to better understand how colleagues travel to work.

The findings provided valuable insight into commuting habits across the organisation and enabled SPT to calculate its Scope 3 emissions from staff commuting. The survey estimated that staff commuting generated approximately 279 tonnes of CO₂e in 2025, establishing a baseline against which future progress can be measured.

Ambitious targets for change

To help reduce travel-related emissions over the coming years, SPT has set a number of ambitious targets to be achieved by 2030:

• Increase active travel commuting to 15% of staff
• Increase public transport commuting to 47% of staff
• Increase car sharing to 13% of staff
• Reduce business travel emissions by 50%, with an initial reduction target of 10% by 2026

These targets will help guide future initiatives designed to encourage and support more sustainable travel choices among employees.

Building a clearer picture of commuting patterns

The survey also enabled SPT to develop a series of commuting profiles that provide a more detailed understanding of how employees travel.

These include:

• Walk & Wheel Warriors – colleagues who walk, wheel or cycle as their primary mode of travel.
• Bus & Rail Boosters – colleagues who primarily travel by public transport and actively connect their journeys using walking or cycling.
• Last-Mile Drivers – colleagues who use public transport for most of their journey but rely on a car for a short section.
• Short-Distance Drivers – colleagues whose main mode of travel is driving for shorter journeys.
• Long-Distance Drivers – colleagues who travel longer distances by car, either exclusively or alongside public transport.

Understanding these commuter groups will help SPT develop targeted measures to make sustainable travel options more convenient, practical and accessible for staff.

Positive progress towards sustainable travel

A comparison of survey results from 2023 and 2025 indicates encouraging signs of change, with a growing proportion of staff choosing active travel, public transport and car sharing for their commute.

Every journey matters

By reducing reliance on single-occupancy car journeys, SPT can help lower emissions, improve air quality and support a transition to a cleaner, greener transport network.

The Commuting & Business Travel Plan 2026-2030 provides a clear roadmap for achieving these goals, ensuring SPT continues to lead by example in promoting more sustainable travel across the west of Scotland.