National Transport Strategy

The National Transport Strategy (NTS) sets the long term vision for our transport policies. It was published in 2006 after the Scottish Government consulted the public, interested individuals and a wide range of organisations on their views for the future of transport in Scotland.

Why do we need a National Transport Strategy?

Under the Government Economic Strategy, the Scottish Government's overall purpose is to increase sustainable economic growth. Our transport system contributes to this aim by:

• connecting people to jobs, education, services and recreation
• connecting businesses with customers and suppliers

This improves the health and wellbeing of individuals and helps businesses to operate successfully in local, national and international markets. The National Transport Strategy provides a clear focus on the main transport challenges that Scotland faces, as well as high-level direction for the wide range of work needed to meet these challenges.

What does the National Transport Strategy do?

The NTS introduced three Key Strategic Outcomes, which are to:

• Improve journey times and connections between our cities and towns and our global markets to tackle congestion and provide access to key markets
• Reduce emissions to tackle climate change
• Improve quality, accessibility and affordability of transport, to give people the choice of public transport and real alternatives to the car

These outcomes feed directly into the five Strategic Objectives, providing a basis on which to develop policies, decide how to invest resources to maximum effect, and measure the effect of our work.

For more detailed information, please see the published National Transport Strategy. A short summary version of the National Transport Strategy is also available.