Scotland's National Transport Strategy was published in December 2006. The NTS is the product of consensus achieved through wide consultation with key stakeholders (business, transport and wider interests, general public).
The NTS introduces three key strategic outcomes which support the purpose of Government and respond directly to the five strategic objectives:
- Improve journey times and connections between our cities and towns and our global markets to tackle congestion and provide access to key markets - wealthier and fairer, safer and stronger
- Reduce emissions to tackle climate change - safer and stronger, wealthier and fairer
- Improve quality, accessibility and affordability of transport, to give people the choice of public transport and real alternatives to the car. - greener, healthier, smarter
A short summary version of the National Transport Strategy is also available.
The 'reduced emissions' outcome includes a commitment to develop a carbon balance sheet for transport with the expectation that:
"This will present the impact of all Scottish transport policies and projects that are expected to have a significant impact on carbon, whether positive or negative."
This commitment is met by the publication of the Carbon Account for Transport (CAT). The CAT is to be used to monitor and review progress towards achievement of the 'reduced emissions' strategic outcome for transport. In doing this, it will also support the development and implementation of actions to reduce emissions in accordance with the targets in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act.
The National Transport Strategy is supported by a number of other documents:
- Scotland's Railways - sets the vision for rail in Scotland for the next 20 years and beyond. It focuses on making journeys faster, connecting our major towns and city regions and improving the quality of the total journey experience. It identifies the short, medium and long term projects which will meet our vision for a world class railway. It builds on the major investment programme already underway in Scotland and reflects Ministers' commitment to a sustainable and efficient rail network which supports economic growth and protects the environment
- Bus Action Plan - as part of the development of the National Transport Strategy an overview of bus policy in Scotland was carried out. The outcomes from the bus policy overview are contained in the Bus Action Plan which sets out 17 actions to achieve a step change in bus service provision and infrastructure
- Freight Action Plan - The Freight Action Plan sets out our vision for Scotland to be a place where the movement of freight throughout the supply chain is efficient and sustainable - so enabling Scotland's businesses to compete and grow in a global economy. The Action Plan identifies 20 actions aimed at achieving this vision