Negative messaging by ScotRail blamed for passengers’ slower return to trains

SCOTLAND’S public transport is recovering from the pandemic at a slower rate than the UK average, research has found.

A study has shown that negative messaging by the Scottish Government and ScotRail about train travel has hampered the sector’s recovery.

Transform Scotland, an alliance for sustainable transport, found that passengers were willing to return to public transport when an attractive level of service was provided, but the opportunities continue to be restricted by capacity.

The paper also found that while car travel has recovered almost entirely to pre-pandemic levels, Scottish bus and rail volumes remain far lower.

Footfall at Glasgow Central station, formerly Scotland’s busiest railway station, in April 2021 was only 30 per cent of typical volumes and was below that at Edinburgh.

Evidence also suggests better outcomes for public transport users when decisions about service levels were made locally rather than by national bodies.

The paper concluded: ‘Pressures to reduce the Scottish Government’s support to public transport by increasing fares or continuing to suppress service frequencies are likely to be counterproductive in terms of the sector’s recovery.

‘Such a policy would inevitably perpetuate unacceptable injustice and transport poverty for a significant proportion of the Scottish population.’

Transport Scotland recently published research from the Poverty Alliance on how transport limitations have affected child poverty.