Focus of work
The aim of Transform Scotland’s project is to build support for car traffic demand management in Scotland.
Scotland has strong climate targets, a world-leading traffic reduction target (20% by 2030), and an emerging commitment to traffic demand management measures such as road pricing or parking levies. The Scottish Government is also committed to comprehensive public transport fares reform. However, in the context of the cost-of-living crisis, progress will be stymied unless, firstly, the equalities case can be made for demand management, and, secondly, revenue can be generated to finance affordable public transport fares.
To tackle this, Transform Scotland’s project will build support from equalities, poverty and public health interests towards demand management and linked fares reform, to give the Scottish Government the political space to pursue these policies.
Impact
The project will:
- Assess the equity and access implications of demand management measures such as road pricing, congestion charging and workplace parking levies
- Assess the revenue-raising potential of city-based charging interventions, and articulate how such revenue could be used to support the 30% of Scottish households with no car access and those on low incomes
- Build shared policy positions with equalities, poverty and public health groups on demand management and linked public transport fares reform in Scotland
- Strengthen the equalities and fairness arguments in favour of demand management, to counter opposition from political opponents on the Left and Right
- Build support for the opportunity to create a progressive, equitable system of road and transport pricing, that will benefit households without car access, lower income households and people at risk of transport poverty (particularly in rural Scotland, given the travel distances involved)
- Highlight the opportunity for Scotland to show leadership on road traffic demand management and push the UK Government into ambitious action.