Scottish Government

Chapter 6: The Action We Will Take: Best Practice

The consultation stated:

In consultation events, we have heard that there is a desire for examples of local best practice to be explored and promoted by the Executive - such as where there is good practice in terms of provision of transport to health facilities, where land use planning and transport planning is particularly well-integrated, or where real-time public transport information is making a real difference to local people. In some cases we could look to reinforce these examples of good practice by producing best practice guidance and/or, if appropriate, enforcement of the proposed approaches.

Transport Scotland, the new national transport agency, will become a hub of best practice in Scottish transport. The local government Improvement Service is already working with local authorities, providing them with positive assistance to support continuous improvement in service delivery in a manner that responds to the needs of customers, the delivery of excellent services and the promotion of Best Value.

6.1 The consultation asked:

Q3: Are there areas of work in relation to local/regional transport that would merit the national dissemination of best practice examples? If so, what are they and who would be best placed to lead on this?

Overall, 141 (45%) respondents addressed this question. The general message to emerge was that there are many examples of best practice already existing in Scotland which could usefully be shared. Several respondents urged that international best practice should also be considered, for example, examples of integrated transport modes in Switzerland (Bus). However, several consultees cautioned that some examples may not transfer readily to local conditions for example, in more remote areas. One suggestion was for examples to be separated into those adaptable for remote areas, those for other rural areas and those more suitable for urban locations ( LA). Another respondent considered that the term "effective practice" may be more relevant than "best practice" in light of local variations in circumstances (Pub).

Respondents stressed that best practice should be evidence based (Oth PB) and assessed using consistent appraisal methods which did not skew in favour of urban examples ( EC). One view was that best practice had to be assessed in an objective manner:

" and not just be the latest fashion before it has had time to prove its worth" ( EB/ ST).

An interesting idea was to share examples of practice which had not worked out as expected (Rep Org). Another was the recommendation that the Scottish Executive Transport Division set up a website devoted to sharing best practice (Oth PB). One consultee considered that there were so many examples to consider that perhaps it might be best to focus on one particular area of transport first and undertake a UK-wide search for best practice on this before moving to another topic (Pub). Another idea was to promote the development of Centres of Excellence in practice amongst Regional Transport Partnerships and local authorities (Rep Org).

6.1.1 Areas of Work Meriting Dissemination of Best Practice Examples

Many suggestions were made for areas of work which would merit the dissemination of best practice examples. A summary of those most commonly suggested is in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Suggestions for areas of work which would merit dissemination of best practice examples

A few consultees made the same suggestion that best practice examples could be disseminated using a format similar to the current Planning Advice Notes ( LA, LA, RTP). It was considered that these would be particularly suitable for advice on issues such as Travel Plans and parking standards. Another suggestion along similar lines was for something akin to the current Department for Transport's Traffic Advisory Leaflets ( LA).

6.1.2 Specific Examples of Best Practice

Many respondents outlined specific examples of practice which they considered worthy of wider dissemination. A selection of these is listed below:

• Aberdeenshire Council's DRT schemes
• The new, frequent bus link from Inverkeithing Station to Edinburgh Airport
• Integrated community transport provision in Shetland
• In West Lothian - Core Path plan development and Safer Routes to School including the WestDrive (young driver) initiative
• Quality bus/cycle corridor at Leith/Southside in Edinburgh demonstrates very successful bus/cycle integration
• HITRANS work to achieve lower air fares
• SUSTRANS has many examples of best practice in offroad cycling and walking provision
• National galleries of Scotland runs a bus between its 3 galleries in Edinburgh
• Four way Quality Partnership in the North East
• Aberdeen City Council's Dial-a-Bus
• Highland Rail Partnership's achievement of improvements to rail services
• Cowal DESERVE project
• Joint work between First Bus and TGWU to train drivers to deal with violent and threatening behaviour
• Cairngorms Explorer and the Heather Hopper both encourage people to use public transport and explore the national park
• Work of Passengerfocus
• Work of Border Community Transport Together
• Consultation with public through Bus Users Groups in Dumfries and Galloway

6.1.3 Views on Who is Best Placed to Lead the Dissemination of Best Practice

Around 50 respondents provided their view on who would be best placed to lead the dissemination of best practice. Over one-third of these (38%) considered that Transport Scotland would be in the best position working alone, or in partnership with the Scottish Executive, or the Regional Transport Partnerships. Almost one-quarter (22%) of those providing a view recommended that the Regional Transport Partnerships should share the dissemination of best practice. A further 10% of respondents argued that the Scottish Executive was best placed particularly on issues of road safety (Oth PB) or freight transport (Rep Org). The remaining suggestions were for professional associations such as ACTO or SCOTS to disseminate best practice, or for this to be undertaken by bodies such as SUSTRANS, the Community Transport Authority, the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland, the Scottish Executive Health Department and the Local Government Improvement Service with an extended remit to cover this area.