As the year draws to a close, we’re reflecting on our work and achievements in 2024 – from scrutinising performance on sustainable transport to proposing solutions to budget gaps to encouraging behaviour change.
Our year in numbers
Dirty deals
We started the year with the publication of our ‘Dirty Deals’ report, which revealed that more than 70% of transport infrastructure investment in Scotland’s City Region Deals—equivalent to nearly £1 billion—is funding high-carbon road projects. Our research sparked significant interest and media coverage. Despite this, the Scottish Parliament has failed to provide adequate scrutiny of the Deals, and we are continuing to press them to take action.
Find out more about our work on road-building here.
Fight or flight
In May we launched our research on business travel ‘Fight or Flight’ to persuade the public sector to take meaningful climate action by reducing their use of the most carbon-intensive mode of transport for business travel. The good news: in the past 10 years, rail has overtaken air for public sector travel between the central belt and London. The bad news: only 1 in 5 public bodies have a policy to reduce air travel.
Read more here.
In reverse
As ever, we continued to hold the Government to account by tracking progress on its sustainable transport commitments. We submitted evidence papers to Parliament, briefed politicians and spoke out in the media on issues from electrifying the railways to funding active travel and bus priority. In September we published ‘In Reverse’ which found that the Scottish Government is falling behind on 7 out of 10 of its sustainable transport commitments.
Read the report here.
Ideas for Investment
Amidst repeated cuts to sustainable transport budgets, we’ve stressed the urgent need for new and innovative means of raising funds for investment in the sector. This November, we published ‘Ideas for Investment’, a policy portfolio of options to boost investment in public transport and active travel, including climate bonds, strategic parking charges and land value capture. We launched the report with our Ideas for Investment webinar which saw us discussing tangible next steps with our panel of expert speakers.
Find out more here.
Mind the gap
This year, we’ve been raising awareness about how sustainable transport intersects with social inequalities – from poverty to gender inequality to accessibility. As part of this, we’ve been supporting the Cross Party Group on Sustainable Transport in its new series of work on the topic of tackling transport inequalities. This has included evidence sessions on the experience of transport for young people, women and people living in poverty.
See here for more about this series.
A wee walk
This spring we were delighted to pilot our public-facing ‘A Wee Walk Works Wonders’ campaign to persuade people to switch from driving to walking for local journeys in Moray, Aberdeenshire and Renfrewshire. The evaluation of the campaign found 1 in 3 adults in the target areas were walking more for short journeys, instead of driving. In a second phase of the campaign this autumn we encouraged further behaviour change with a new media campaign: ‘A Wee Walk Works Wonders–Whatever the Weather!’.
Read more about A Wee Walk and watch the campaign video here.
Life in the bus lane
Towards the end of the year we started our Life in the Bus Lane project, highlighting the everyday experiences of bus passengers and promoting the value of bus priority measures along Scotland’s key routes. We aim to demonstrate how faster, more reliable buses can improve economic, social, and environmental outcomes. Public engagement is underway, with over 1,000 people surveyed and bus stops audited nationwide to understand passenger experiences. Findings, to be published in the new year, will identify changes needed to make buses faster, more reliable, and more appealing while highlighting their wider benefits.
Thank you to all those who have supported our work this year.
We look forward to seeing you in 2025!
