Scottish Transport Delivery to 2031: What's the plan?
Tuesday 27th October 2026
Transport strength is now a central test of Scotland’s public services, economy, climate ambitions and community resilience. There are many challenges ahead. Delivering national commitments on fares, buses, rail, ferries, active travel, accessibility and emissions. Maintaining roads and bridges and supporting freight and logistics. Connecting rural and island communities. Planning transport around housing and growth. Funding a system that works for passengers, businesses and places. How do we plan, pay for and proceed with all of these demands?
This conference will examine what the latest National Transport Strategy Delivery Plan means in practice. It will consider how Scotland can improve affordable public transport, strengthen local and regional networks, support lifeline connectivity, widen access, and connect transport investment to health, inclusion, economic growth and climate goals.
The fifth National Transport Strategy Delivery Plan was published on 18 March 2026. It records progress over 2025 and planned work for 2026, including action on accessible transport, active travel, low-emission zones, public transport, road safety, smart ticketing, rail, buses and regional/local transport delivery. However, affordability is now politically prominent. The plan notes that over two million people can already travel free by bus through concessionary schemes. Eligible island residents receive ferry vouchers. ScotRail peak fares have been permanently removed and rail fares were frozen for 12 months from 1 April 2026. The SNP election campaign also included a pledge for a £2 cap on single bus fares.
The programme aims to move from national ambition to delivery reality. It examines who pays for the services we want and need and how investment decisions can demonstrate public value.
Bringing together national and local government, operators, regional transport partnerships, passenger bodies, accessibility organisations, active travel specialists, climate voices, economists and delivery experts, the conference will help delegates understand what the Scottish transport delivery plan to 2031 is.
This online conference will focus on three themes:
- Scotland’s Transport System to 2031 - policy, funding and regional delivery
- Moving People - rail, roads and active travel
- Connecting Scotland - infrastructure investment and resilience, lifeline services, and climate reality
Key themes for discussion
- Understanding the transport delivery challenge
- Focussing on Scotland’s National Transport Strategy and what delivery now requires
- Embedding affordable public transport in fares, funding and the £2 bus cap
- Developing buses, local services and regional transport partnerships
- Taking action on access, climate and behaviour change
- Addressing accessible transport incluing disability, age, rurality and equal access
- Discussing active travel, health and local places
- Considering the challenges of climate and accountability
- Targeting outcomes in transport, net zero and low-emission standards
- Planning effective delivery, procurement and accountability for transport investment
Who should attend?
This conference is relevant to:
- transport policy, strategy and delivery leads
- local authority transport, roads and infrastructure teams
- regional transport partnerships
- bus, rail, ferry and community transport operators
- public transport planners and passenger-service managers
- accessibility, equalities and inclusion leads
- climate, net zero and sustainability professionals
- active travel, walking, wheeling and cycling organisations
- public health and place-based planning teams
- economic development and regeneration officers
- procurement, finance and infrastructure investment professionals
- passenger, consumer and community transport bodies
- rural, island and lifeline service representatives
- councillors, board members and senior officers responsible for transport, place, climate or community connectivity
- roads, bridges, traffic and asset management teams
- road safety partnerships and casualty reduction leads
- freight, logistics, ports and supply-chain organisations
- ferry, aviation and regional connectivity stakeholders
- transport consultants, engineers and infrastructure advisers
- fleet, EV charging and low-carbon transport leads
- digital, data, smart ticketing and passenger information specialists
Speakers
Prof. Jillian Anable
Professor of Transport and Energy
Institute for Transport Studies - University of Leeds
Rachael Murphy
Strategy Manager
SEStran
Agenda
Tuesday 27th October 2026
09:05 Chair's opening remarks
Rachael Murphy, Strategy Manager, SEStran
LinkedIn SESTran LinkedIn Rachael Murphy
Session 1: Scotland’s Transport System to 2031 - policy, funding and regional delivery
09:10 Keynote speaker: Scotland’s National Transport Strategy - what delivery now requires
- What the fifth delivery plan means for Scotland’s transport system
- Translating national priorities into practical decisions for operators, councils, RTPs and communities
- The balance between ambition, affordability, service quality and public expectations: where delivery pressure is greatest
09:30 Question and answer session
09:40 Affordable public transport - who pays?
Prof. Jillian Anable, Professor of Transport and Energy, Institute for Transport Studies - University of Leeds
LinkedIn
- The strategic, evidence-led perspective on who pays
- Fares, subsidy, concessionary travel and public investment: shaping access and viability
- Choices for national and local decision-makers as demand, costs and expectations change
09:55 Regional transport delivery
- Regional transport plans: connecting national strategy to local need
- The role of councils, RTPs, operators and communities in shaping practical delivery
- Better transport integration for access to jobs, education, health, services and town centres
10:10 Question and answer session
10:25 Comfort break
Session 2: Moving People - rail, roads and active travel
10:40 Rail in Scotland - reliability, capacity, improvement and future need
- What Scotland needs most from rail now
- Where is improvement is most likely to be focused?
- Rail's role in the wider challenges: transport integration, climate, freight, rural connectivity and national infrastructure priorities
10:55 Roads, streets and safety - maintaining assets while changing how people move
- The growing challenge of maintaining road and local transport assets
- The future role of roads as policy pushes towards mode shift
- Balancing safety, traffic flow, freight, buses, active travel, winter resilience and the needs of local communities
11:10 Active travel, place and changing travel behaviour
- Moving from aspiration to delivery - what is holding progress back
- Balancing safer walking, wheeling and cycling with parking, road space, public transport and local business needs
- Where can active travel investment have the greatest impact next?
11:25 Question and answer session
11:40 Comfort break
Session 3: Connecting Scotland - infrastructure investment and resilience, lifeline services, and climate reality
11:55 Infrastructure, investment and resilience - funding the system Scotland needs
- The investment challenge and unavoidable infrastructure choices
- Prioritising maintenance, renewal, capacity, safety and improvement when public investment is constrained
- Funding infrastructure resilience
12:10 Sustaining lifeline and strategic connectivity
- What reliable connectivity now means for island, rural and remote communities
- How Scotland needs to think about ferries, ports, aviation, freight, rail and roads as part of one strategic connectivity system
- Does current investment and delivery support communities, businesses, tourism, public services and regional economic growth?
12:25 Transport and climate - adaptation, extreme weather and the decisions we take now
- Understanding the ways climate change and extreme weather are altering the risks in transport
- What future transport resilience requires from today’s decisions
- How do we balance emissions reduction with the urgent need to adapt now?
12:40 Question and answer session
12:55 Chair's closing remarks
Rachael Murphy, Strategy Manager, SEStran
LinkedIn SESTran LinkedIn Rachael Murphy
Speakers
Prof. Jillian Anable
Professor of Transport and Energy
Institute for Transport Studies - University of Leeds
Jillian Anable is Professor of Transport and Energy at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds.
Her research addresses the potential for demand-side solutions to reduce carbon, local emissions and energy from transport. She has researched car purchasing behaviour with expert knowledge on the uptake patterns of alternatively fuelled vehicles. She has also applied socio-psychological theories and methods to evaluate policy interventions at local and national scales designed to influence private and business travel behaviour, including ‘Smarter Choices’ interventions.
She has authored or co-authored over 60 academic peer-reviewed journal articles and research reports with projects mainly funded by UK Research Councils (RCUK), the Energy Technologies Institute, the UK Department for Transport, Scottish Government and the European Union.
She has sat on a number of advisory boards and strategy panels for UK Government Departments, National Research Councils and NGOs, including currently acting as Chair to the Research and Evidence Group for the Scottish National Transport Strategy Review. She is a founding editorial board member on the journal Energy Efficiency.
Her key research interests include:
- Transport, energy and climate change policy
- Theories of behaviour change and practice
- Psychology of travel mode choice
- Consumer demand for low-carbon and automated vehicles
- Policy effectiveness, public acceptability and political deliverability
- Qualitative and quantitative survey design
- Understanding spatial variations in mobility behaviour
- Statistical segmentation of mobility patterns, travellers and neighbourhoods
Rachael Murphy
Strategy Manager
SEStran
Rachael Murphy is Strategy Manager at SEStran, leading regional transport strategy across South East Scotland.
She oversees the delivery of the Regional Bus Strategy and Transport to Health programme, working closely with local authorities, the NHS, and partners to deliver inclusive, evidence based transport solutions.
Venue
This conference takes place online.
Fees
How to book
You can book to attend in 3 ways:
- Select book now on the right hand side of this page, fill in the form on that page and click the 'send booking' button
- Call 07377 147271
- Email mail@mackayhannah.com
Conference fees
- Delegate fee (includes video recording of the conference) – £169 +VAT
- Group discount – organisations booking 3 or more delegates will receive every third delegate place at half price (please complete further forms if necessary)
Please note – It is not permissible to share the recording. Please contact us if you wish to share it. See our terms and conditions for further information.
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