InterchangeSustrans Scotland
executive summary
Our audits of public transport facilities and recommendations for improvements made it easier for people to take their bikes on trains, ferries and buses.
challenge
Sustrans wanted to make it easier for cyclists to use public transport. They felt that too many people were put off using their bikes for longer journeys, because it was too hard to take a bike through a bus, train or ferry terminal.
solution
Through our Interchange project, we audited the ease of combining cycling with public transport across Scotland.
We created a tried and tested Interchange Toolkit, which we then used to audit facilities for cyclists at stations, bus and ferry terminals across the country. We travelled to ten towns and cities across Scotland, from Aberdeen and Inverness to Mallaig and Glasgow.
We made low-cost, practical recommendations for improvements to public transport interchanges which would make it easier for people to cycle. We also made a series of recommendations to the Scottish Government, including the idea of creating a network of active travel hubs.
results
Our work led the way to improve transport connections for people travelling without a car in Scotland.
We argued that with coordination and effort, a basic and consistent level of facilities for cyclists could be maintained. By realising these changes, we showed that the reach and flexibility of the public transport network could be drastically increased, as over 60% of the Scottish population lived within a 15 minute cycle to a bus or rail station or ferry terminal.
Many of our practical recommendations were taken up by transport managers, such as measures to provide secure cycle parking and better signposts on cycle routes.
Our recommendation to create a network of active travel hubs was subsequently taken up by the Scottish Government through their Low Carbon Travel and Transport Fund.
