Transport Scotland () is the national

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

agency of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It was established by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, and began operating on 1 January 2006 as an

executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or No ...

of the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

. Transport Scotland, an executive agency of the Scottish government, manages transport projects, ScotRail, and all motorways and major A-class roads in Scotland. The agency is organised into eight directorates, including

Aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

, Maritime,

Freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

and Canals; Bus, Accessibility &

Active Travel Active mobility, soft mobility, active travel, active transport or active transportation is the transport of Travel, people or Good (economics), goods, through non-motorized means, based around human physical activity. The best-known forms of ac ...

; and Rail. Transport Scotland also contributes to the Scottish Government's Climate Change plan. Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs) help plan and deliver regional transport developments, with each RTP preparing a regional transport strategy and delivery plan. Some RTPs also provide transport services, like the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport which operates the Glasgow Subway and major bus stations.

Organisation

Transport Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish government that conducts transport projects, manages ScotRail, and also maintains all motorways and major A-class roads in Scotland.

Directorates

The agency is made up of eight directorates: * Aviation, Maritime, Freight and Canals * Bus, Accessibility & Active Travel * Finance and Corporate Services * Low Carbon Economy * Major Projects * Rail * Roads * Strategy & Analysis Transport Scotland has a responsibility to improve the sustainability and accessibility of local transport options including getting people back using bus transport. It has a role in promoting walking, cycling and public transport. Through Scottish Rail Holdings, its

operator of last resort An operator of last resort is a business in the United Kingdom that operates a Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain, railway franchise on behalf of the government when a train operating company (TOC) is no longer able to do so, and it is n ...

, Transport Scotland has taken ScotRail and the Caledonian Sleeper back into public ownership. Transport contributes to the Scottish Government Climate Change plan (updated in December 2020).

Current strategic documents

A second National Transport Strategy for Scotland was published in February 2020. The vision for the next 20 years is underpinned by four priorities: reducing inequalities, taking climate action, helping deliver inclusive economic growth and improving health and well-being. There are three associated outcomes for each priority.

Traffic Scotland

The focus of Traffic Scotland is to minimise the effects of congestion, breakdowns and unforeseen events on the trunk road network. The Traffic Scotland service delivers traveller information for the Scottish Trunk Road network through a process called 'monitor, control and inform'. *Monitor: The Traffic Scotland service monitors the network using CCTV, roadside hardware, communication with the police, weather forecasts and major event management services. *Control: All information collected through the monitoring process is processed within the Traffic Scotland Control Centre. The Traffic Scotland Control Centre operates 24 hours a day to ensure that traffic and travel information disseminated as part of the Traffic Scotland service is accurate. *Inform: Traffic and travel information processed by the Traffic Scotland Control Centre is then disseminated via the Traffic Scotland service, including the Traffic Scotland website, the Traffic Customer Care Line, road side Variable Message Signs (VMS) and via the multiple Traffic Scotland data services available to public, corporate and media users. In November 2016 Traffic Scotland introduced a real-time service to allow drivers to track which roads had been gritted through the 'Trunk Road Gritter Tracker'.

Regional Transport Partnerships

The role of Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs) is to strengthen the planning and delivery of regional transport developments, with the first task of each RTP being to prepare a regional transport strategy. This is supported by a delivery plan where RTPs set out when and how projects and proposals will be delivered. Some RTPs are also responsible for the delivery of transport services. For example, the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport owns and operates the Glasgow subway and major bus stations across the west of Scotland. The seven RTPs are: * Shetland Transport Partnership ( ZetTrans) * Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership ( HITRANS) * North-East of Scotland Transport Partnership ( NESTRANS) * Tayside and Central Scotland Transport Partnership ( Tactran) * South-East of Scotland Transport Partnership ( SESTRAN) * Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) * South-West of Scotland Transport Partnership ( SWESTRANS)

References

External links

*
Traffic Scotland website
{{Transport in Scotland 2006 establishments in Scotland Executive agencies of the Scottish Government Organisations based in Glasgow Road transport in Scotland Transport in Scotland Interested parties in planning in Scotland Road authorities Transport organisations based in the United Kingdom