Rural Scotland People, Prosperity and Partnership
TRAVEL IN RURAL AREASLiving and working in rural areas poses obvious challenges, created by distances from the main centres of the population and, within rural areas, between settlements. Distance raises the costs of travel and the time spent travelling. Lower density of population will also affect possibilities for the provision of public transport services, potentially restricting the scope and choice of services available. Our aim must be, wherever possible, to reduce and minimise the difficulties these circumstances pose. Improving access and lowering its cost also aids local economic development and contributes to the policy goal of preventing depopulation in certain rural areas. In partnership with the private sector, central and local government can contribute to improvements in a number of ways. These range from the provision of improved trunk and local roads, support for socially necessary bus services, support for innovative forms of transport, provision and subsidy to Island ferry services and support to airports and lifeline air services. Developments in telecommunications can also reduce the need for travel and can have the effect of shrinking distance. In rural areas, accessibility must, for many, imply use of the car. Car ownership is crucial to mobility in rural areas as the facts show. In 1991, 7 out of every 10 rural households had access to a car, compared with less than half of urban households. The proportion of households with more than one car is also much higher in many rural areas. This reflects the greater need for a car in the absence of alternatives. There are, though, significant groups of people - particularly the young, women and others with low incomes - who do not own cars and can face particular difficulties in rural areas. Action to maintain and, where possible, improve public transport will continue to be necessary.
Transport and the Rural EconomyThe quality of rural transport services will also affect the rural economy. Better links to wider markets improve export opportunities and widen the diversity of the local economy. Consumers benefit from a wider choice of cheaper goods, in the shops. In particular, good transport access for tourists enhances the ability of Scotland's tourist attractions to be enjoyed by a wide range of domestic and foreign tourists who contribute enormously in terms of local incomes and jobs. Tourists have particular travel needs and the provision of services must adapt to these to enhance business prospects. As 80% of visitors travel by road, good route signing is particularly important. In co-operation with the Scottish Tourist Board, Area Tourist Boards, local authorities and attraction operators the Government have facilitated the introduction of 10 National Tourist Routes to encourage tourists to visit areas off the main through routes, which might otherwise be passed. Research shows these routes are successful and they will be more widely promoted. Recently the Government have taken an initiative to bring together the Scottish Tourist Board, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Caledonian MacBrayne and Scotrail to discuss ways of improving linkages between transport and tourism in the Highlands. This forum will be expanded to include Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd and the Highlands Area Tourist Board. Road SafetyThe high quality of scenery and environment in Scotland's rural areas attracts many tourists. This has implications for road safety as visitors may be unfamiliar with the routes or in a hurry to reach the next attraction. Measures have been introduced to treat a significant number of sites where serious road accidents have taken place in the past. On the A9 Perth to Inverness route, where several accidents have involved foreign drivers, a publicity leaflet has been made available in several languages giving advice about good driving practice. Together with police speed limit enforcement, initiatives such as the "Speedwatch" campaigns and the installation of speed cameras also contribute towards the achievement of the Government's target of reducing road accident casualties by a third compared with the 1981-85 average by the year 2000. There is scope for some growth in road traffic in rural areas without severe environmental, health or congestion problems. Nevertheless, some rural communities already suffer from adverse traffic impacts. These are being addressed through improved road design, sign-posting and the routing of lorry traffic to avoid sensitive areas. Traffic calming of trunk roads through rural towns and villages helps preserve their quality of life and their attractiveness to visitors and is one of the issues addressed in The Scottish Office Route Action Plans. The purpose of such measures is to slow down through traffic thus providing a safer environment for those who live in rural areas. Many of these towns and villages have a remarkable degree of local character and regional identity. It is important that traffic calming schemes are designed with special care as it is easy to mar unintentionally the quality of this distinction.
Public TransportBuses are, and are likely to remain, the most widely used form of public transport in the countryside. Almost all bus services are provided by private operators. The role of local authorities is to subsidise routes where they consider this to be socially desirable. Information about time-tabling of routes and the connections between different forms of transport such as buses, trains and ferries is crucial in rural Scotland. The provision of better travel information is an area where new technology can and does make a real difference. Highland Regional Council, supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Tourist Board are planning to develop and produce maps and a series of timetable books which together will provide a comprehensive guide to transport in the Highlands & Islands Enterprise area. The provision of better information will help tourists and locals alike in maximising the use of existing services. Assistance has also been provided through the Rural Transport Innovation Grant Scheme which was set up to encourage innovative approaches for the provision of public transport services to benefit those living or working in rural areas. Post buses in Scotland play a key role in providing vital transport links in the most isolated rural areas. Since the service was launched in 1968 the network has grown to over 140 routes. Grant assistance is available from The Scottish Office which has, in particular, aided the acquisition of post bus vehicles in Highland Region, where many services also double as school buses for local children. Rail travel is important in some areas of rural Scotland, and ferries and air services are the lifeblood of the island communities. In addition to regional travel they facilitate direct access to Scotland's major cities and beyond. Many rural transport services will never be commercially viable. That is why subsidy will continue to be available for socially necessary services. In addition - under the franchising arrangements - users of rural rail services will for the first time have the benefit of contractually binding guarantees for levels of service. The guarantees will safeguard services on every line and to every station in the country. Moreover, our commitment to regulating rail fares will mean that key rail fares will increase by no more than inflation for the next 3 years and will decrease in real terms for 4 years thereafter. Privatisation and franchising offer new opportunities to enhance the use of lines and stations. Private sector operators will have incentives to provide innovative services to encourage the use of rural lines and flexibility to increase service provision where they judge it to be in their interests to do so. There will also be opportunities for partnerships between the private sector and local government to develop new schemes to enhance or to reopen lines and stations.
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