Well-governed
We want local and national government to play its part in delivering sustainable transport.
The move to sustainable transport requires enlightened government prepared to take on key challenges such as climate change and oil depletion. We need government to base its decision-making and scrutiny in long-term sustainability, and not to serve short-termist demands for ever-more, ever-cheaper transport.
The move to sustainable transport will require:
- All Scottish organisations to put in place travel policies that rule out air travel. We want all Scottish organisations (in the public, private and voluntary sectors) to put in place robust travel policies that rule out air travel, except in exceptional circumstances, to destinations in mainland Britain.
- All public sector organisations to put in place effective Workplace Travel Plans. We want all public sector bodies to: encourage use of the sustainable transport modes, reduce emissions from their vehicle fleets, and rule out the use of domestic air travel (except in exceptional circumstances).
- All Local Authorities to set sustainable transport targets in their Single Outcome Agreements. Local authorities need to set targets for reducing traffic levels, delivering modal shift to sustainable modes, and reducing vehicle emissions.
- The Scottish Parliament to hold the Scottish Government to account against a consistent set of progress indicators and targets. Amongst other things, the Parliament should monitor progress on the climate change emissions from transport, sustainable transport modal shares, road traffic levels in the four main cities, and levels of domestic air traffic.
- The Scottish Government to improve on its existing National Transport Strategy. Amongst other things, we'd like to see the government make traffic reduction as a key aim; it needs to strengthen the road traffic stabilisation target with interim targets and an action plan (as recommended by the Scottish Parliament’s 2005 climate change inquiry).