Transport User Voice – November 2022 – Wales and Scotland

26 October 2022

What’s been happening?

Wales

National Transport Delivery Plan

Transport Focus has responded to the Welsh Government’s consultation on its National Transport Delivery Plan which sets out how the transport plans for the next 5 years will be delivered.

Our response sets out key passenger priorities and barriers to address. We recognise that the delivery plan will have a positive impact upon the Welsh Government targets for encouraging a shift to more sustainable forms of transport. However, the execution of the plan is key which will require rigorous monitoring to ensure things stay on track.

The closer that the national strategy is aligned with passenger priorities the better it will be for them. With the continuing focus on the cost of transport projects and and efficiency it will be essential that precious funds are spent on the things that we know rail and bus users value and want to see improved.

Bus and rail transport in Wales – Senedd Committee report

Senior manager Wales, David Beer, gave evidence to the Senedd Climate Change, Environment and Infrastructure Committee earlier this year. This was part of its inquiry into bus and rail transport in Wales.

The committee’s report has now been published. It makes a range of recommendations to Welsh Government and Transport for Wales on transport policy. There is also a call for clear plans of action to support transport recovery and encouraging public transport use.

 

Scotland

Scottish National Party conference

We took part in a fringe event at the recent SNP Conference in Aberdeen, to discuss how the railway can meet decarbonisation targets. We talked about electrification of the rail infrastructure and moving to electric, battery or hydrogen-powered trains.

We emphasised the shift that is required to support the rail decarbonisation action plan. We also looked at how decarbonisation could help the reliability and capacity of Scotland’s railway which would go a long way to improving the passenger experience.

Serco Caledonian Sleeper

Serco Caledonian Sleeper’s rail services have been found by the Scottish Government to not represent value for money. This has led to ministers rejecting its proposal for a franchise agreement beyond 25 June 2023.

Work is now underway to determine arrangements for the continued provision of Caledonian Sleeper rail services beyond that date. We will be using the results of our guest satisfaction survey to provide information on the passenger experience of sleeper services.

ScotRail

The RMT has banned overtime and rest day working as a result of a pay dispute with ScotRail. This is action just short of a strike. We are talking to ScotRail on the passenger impact that this action is having on passengers and making sure that information is being provided about services, tickets and refunds.

 

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