Transport poverty? On your bike, says minister
THE Transport Minister angered campaigners yesterday for suggesting more Scots should get on their bikes.
His comments came after research revealed more than a million people are at risk of losing work and access to vital services because they lack affordable travel options.
Charity Sustrans Scotland has revealed how a high number of people are living in areas at risk of what it calls ‘transport poverty’.
The Sustrans report used data on household income, car avail ability and access to public networks to allocate risk ratings to every area of Scotland.
Transport poverty describes a situation where people’s access to essential services or work is badly hindered by a lack of affordable transport options.
Speaking on BBC Good Morning Scotland, Humza Yousaf told listeners living in such areas they should use pedal power.
He referred to the finding that among the 1,321 surveyed zones with a high risk, 810 are areas where essential services can be accessed by bike.
‘What I found interesting is that 61 per cent of people live a cycle away from vital services,’ he said.
‘So we’ve got to increase more people in active travel and I’m delighted that in the recent Programme for Government, the First Minister announced a doubling of the active travel budget.
‘So how do we use that to get more people on their bikes?’
The minister also referred to Scottish Government bus travel programmes in his comments.
But age campaigners and opposition politicians have accused him of glossing over the Government’s transport record and neglecting the elderly.
Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Jamie Greene said: ‘Mr Yousaf’s celebration of one statistic is hardly a ringing endorsement for transport.
‘The very many people who can’t cycle, are too afraid to, or simply don’t fancy it for a variety of reasons, won’t be comforted by this.’
Age Scotland director Keith Robson said: ‘It’s worrying that one in five Scots could have difficulty accessing services and playing a full part in their communities. While this can affect people of all ages, older people are more likely to rely on public transport.
‘Without access to affordable transport, people are much more at risk of social isolation, which can have a serious impact on physical and mental health. They can also struggle to access vital services, from doctors’ appointments to banks and post offices.
‘We know that the concessionary transport scheme has been a real lifeline for many older people. However it’s no use if there simply aren’t bus services where people need them.’
Responding to the findings, a Transport Scotland spokesman said: ‘The Scottish Government continues to increase investment in sustainable transport, encouraging modal shift to active and public transport, rail and new technologies such as low carbon vehicles.
‘We have invested over £217million in active travel since the start of the 2011 spending review, including this year, and as announced in the Programme for Government, we have doubled the active travel budget from £40million to £80million a year from 2018-19.’
‘Serious impact on mental health’
RURAL Scotland has many charms, but accessibility is not one of them.
For too many, a chronic lack of decent public transport leads to isolation or forces people into expensive private car ownership.
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf’s ‘on your bike’ message to thousands of Scots is as risible as it is short-sighted. Figures showing many live within a ten-minute bicycle ride of key services are meaningless. What about the weather, rarely conducive to cycling? What about the elderly? What about young families? What about shopping – are we to set off on bikes with baskets to bring home the weekly messages?
Trains, for those who have a station nearby, are expensive and unreliable. Buses are not cheap and their timetables are problematic. No wonder so many of us must take to the roads in cars – where we join the usual miserable jams in all the usual places.
Mr Yousaf shows little sign of grasping the problems Scots face, let alone solving them.
JUST 77 days after taking over Vauxhall in Britain with a pledge not to cut jobs, Peugeot announced 400 redundancies at Ellesmere Port. It’s the latest in a litany of broken promises by foreign firms, who snap up our companies, then strip them. There were signs yesterday that ministers are considering new protections for Britishbased firms. This fiasco proves they can’t come soon enough.