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3. Policy Context and Data Review

Introduction

3.1 The aim of the policy, research and data review was to explore key transport policy priorities, cultural policy priorities, and the links between these (if any), at the national level. Other relevant policy areas were reviewed which were felt to influence the areas of transport and culture, such as sustainable development and social inclusion. In addition, relevant research and data sources have been reviewed where they provide information to support this research (for example research that explores the role of transport as a barrier to cultural participation).

Cultural, tourism and outdoor access policy review

3.2 The Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture, Linda Fabiani MSP, made a statement to the Scottish Parliament on 7 November 2007, about her cultural policy. This can be accessed through the Scottish Parliament website ². There will be legislation to establish a body, Creative Scotland, to provide a new catalyst for cultural expression and participation in Scotland. The Scottish Government also has a commitment - "We want to see access to, and participation in, cultural activities being as wide as possible. We will promote this by ensuring that local authorities include cultural activities within the community planning process." Currently, action on that is being taken forward with Scotland's local authority bodies and culture sector, and a Cultural Pathfinder programme is exploring citizens' aspirations for cultural participation, focused on under-represented groups and practical ways to overcome barriers to access.

3.3 Recent tourism policy is presented in Scottish Tourism: The Next Decade - A Tourism Framework for Change (Scottish Executive 2006d, p. 8). It follows Tourism Framework for Action 2002 (Scottish Executive 2002) and the New Strategy for Scottish Tourism (Scottish Executive 2000).

3.4 The 2006 Framework sets the context for tourism in Scotland, highlighting that the largest proportion (60%) of tourist revenue is generated by visitors from the UK, which includes Scotland itself - this compares to 13% of revenues from overseas visitors ³.

3.5 The Framework looks forward to 2015, and suggests that by this time, the vast majority of visitors could live within 3 hours of their destination in Scotland, and good access will be crucial. A key commitment within the Tourism Framework for Change is achieving tourism revenue growth of 50% by 2015.

3.6 Amongst the target sets within the 2006 Framework, target 11, relates to access and transport. The target is:

"The Scottish Executive will publish a National Transport Strategy in 2006 which will consider all modes of travel, and the needs of everyone using transport, including visitors. Consideration of our transport infrastructure needs will be addressed by the Strategic Projects Review which will begin by 2006. The Scottish Executive will undertake specific research into the travel behaviour of visitors to Scotland and will consider any actions arising from this research which will improve the visitor experience".

3.7 A number of measures are listed by which the Government hopes transport accessibility will be improved to tourist activity. However, the Framework acknowledges that most visitors travel to, and around, Scotland by car. At the same time, the document states its desire " to be Europe's most sustainable tourism destination", although it should be noted the Framework's concept of sustainable tourism embraces economic, environmental and social aspects.

Transport and planning policy review

3.8 Scotland's National Transport Strategy (Scottish Executive 2006c) sets out the long term vision for transport, together with the related objectives, priorities and plans. It focuses on 3 strategic outcomes:

• Improve journey times and connections, to tackle congestion and the lack of integration and connections in transport
• Reduce emissions, to tackle the issues of climate change, air quality and health improvement
• Improve quality, accessibility and affordability, to give people a choice of public transport, where availability means better quality transport services and value for money or an alternative to the car

3.9 The National Transport Strategy states that " transport has a key contribution to make to ensure that Scotland becomes an inclusive and just society by providing high quality and affordable public transport which will enable access to key services and leisure and cultural opportunities." The National Transport Strategy also places emphasis on the role of tourism in Scotland's economy, and the need for transport improvements to support this important industry. Strategic ferry, air, road and rail links are cited as particularly important to the tourism industry. Overall, the National Transport Strategy identifies a need to improve the visitor experience, and transport has a role to play in this.

3.10 A case study of the promotion of travel to visitor attractions by public transport is cited in the National Transport Strategy - the Lothian Buses travel information leaflet, "How to get to Edinburgh's Attractions by Bus".

3.11 Scottish Planning Policy Guidance on Planning and Transport ( SPP17) (Scottish Executive 2005d) sets out the formal policies on the interactions between land use planning and transport required to help deliver the national transport delivery agenda. SPP17 sets out a number of key points for policy makers, which are particularly relevant to this research on transport and culture

• Transport and land use planning play key roles in helping the Scottish economy to flourish, and in building strong communities
• There are health benefits from active travel, that is walking and cycling instead of using a car, and sports facilities should be accessed by foot and bicycle - however SPP17 acknowledges that many sporting activities take place in rural areas in Scotland, which may require car access
• As part of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, local authorities have a duty to maintain and promote outdoor access, and to undertake core path planning - the latter has a particular role to play in encouraging people to visit the countryside for tourism and recreation
• Policy and decision makers should pay regard to the recommended priority of personal travel modes, in the following order of priority - walking, cycling, public transport, motorised modes
• Key tools for managing travel demand are maximum car parking standards and Travel Plans
• No specific mention is given to cultural activity, although the role of cycling for tourism is highlighted, and the need to locate leisure services in accessible locations is cited. Specific car parking standards are identified for leisure uses (as well as other uses such as business and retail)

3.12 PAN 75, Planning for Transport (Scottish Executive 2005c) provides advice on the implementation of SPP17, including good practice, and reiterates the key points made in SPP17.

3.13 Regional Transport Strategy Guidance (Scottish Executive, 2006a) was tasked with helping the regional transport partnerships with producing regional transport strategies. A number of guiding principles, based on the national aims and objectives for transport and on the Government's overall policy goals, should underpin the content of the regional transport strategies ( RTS). The RTS guidance does not explicitly focus on transport accessibility to cultural or tourism activity in particular, although it aspires to improving sustainable transport choices for all and to improving accessibility to services generally.

Sustainable development and social inclusion overview

3.14 It could be argued the driving force behind the need to improve accessibility to cultural activity in Scotland by public transport comes from 2 chief sources - to enhance the quality of life of Scottish residents and promote social inclusion, and to further the goals of Scotland's Sustainable Development Strategy. The former is discussed further below, and the latter is discussed here.

3.15 The UK has an international commitment under the Kyoto protocol to promote sustainable development, and Scotland's Choosing our future: Scotland's sustainable development strategy (Scottish Executive 2005a) sets out how Scotland plans to turn the shared priorities set out in the UK Framework for sustainable development into action.

3.16 Scotland's sustainable development strategy states the following as priorities:

• Sustainable consumption and production: achieving more with less. This includes reducing the inefficient use of resources, looking at the impact of products and materials across their whole lifecycle and encouraging people to think about the social and environmental consequences of their purchasing choices
• Climate change and energy: securing a profound change in the way we generate and use energy, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• Natural resource protection and environmental enhancement: protecting our natural resources, building a better understanding of environmental limits, and improving the quality of the environment
• Sustainable communities: creating communities that embody the principles of sustainable development locally

3.17 Amongst the key issues discussed in Scotland's sustainable development Strategy is travel. Whilst it states being able to travel is "vital to our sense of well-being", the Strategy advocates more sustainable travel choices such as walking and cycling.

3.18 The specific roles of businesses are considered in Scotland's sustainable development Strategy, which advocates businesses to consider the following:

• develop a clear environmental policy for the company which is well understood by all employees
• work to identify and reduce their impact on the external environment and, where appropriate adopt good neighbour agreements with their local communities
• help employees to reduce their environmental impact - providing cycling facilities or having their own travel-to-work strategy
• routinely monitor resource use and environmental impact, report publicly on them and invite feedback from stakeholders
• consider how they might work more closely with other local businesses to share experience and reduce collective impact

3.19 Scotland's sustainable development Strategy does not specifically draw businesses attention to the need to promote sustainable access by customers and visitors.

Research and sectoral reports

Investigation of travel behaviour of visitors to Scotland (Scottish Executive 2007)

3.20 This major piece of research for the Scottish Government looked at the travel behaviour of visitors to Scotland (as opposed to residents of Scotland).

3.21 Key points from the findings are as follows:

• the majority of domestic visitors to Scotland from the rest of the UK arrive by car, although the proportion of those travelling by air and, to a lesser extent, by train, increases for those travelling from more remote origins in the UK
• air travel is the predominant mode of travel to the UK for overseas visitors to Scotland
• there is only limited data on mode of travel within Scotland and it is generally assumed that those arriving by car (domestic and overseas) will use their car within Scotland
• the research found the presence of small, but nonetheless significant markets for public transport amongst visitors to Scotland, particularly in urban areas where there is evidence of a substantial degree of use of public transport by visitors. Moreover, there appears to be a small but significant market for rail travel which consists of a relatively high percentage of return visitors who prefer to travel by rail and would not make the journey by another mode
• the research suggests that many of the visitor attractions which are located in more rural areas, in particular the areas of natural beauty administered by Scottish Natural Heritage, but also some of the National Trust for Scotland sites, are accessed almost exclusively by private transport (including private coach)

3.22 The research looked at factors that influence the mode people choose to travel by. "System factors" have been identified as having an important role in modal choice - that is, factors under the control of the operator, such as (in order of importance) cost of the journey, duration of journey, and reliability of services. A set of "external factors" also influence modal choice, such as a flat landscape or dry climate encouraging walking and cycling. In addition, "personal factors" play a role, specific to an individual customer such as disposable income, disability, personality type, even carrying heavy loads (for example luggage and shopping).

3.23 In terms of factors which specifically influence visitors choice of travel mode, the following are significant:

• Visitors place greater emphasis on customer care, as they need more guidance and help on public transport systems as a result of being unfamiliar with the local network
• Leisure travellers may place lesser emphasis on reliability than business travellers, although frequency may be of greater importance due to lack of familiarity with timetables
• Information is perhaps of greatest importance, to local residents but potentially even more so for visitors
• Personal security on board public transport in urban areas may be of concern to visitors
• Visitors may apply higher standards of cleanliness to their destination than their place of residence, which includes public transport
• Ticketing (and information on ticketing) is important to visitors, particularly bespoke tourist tickets, integrated travel and entry tickets, and tickets that cover the whole journey (as opposed to separate tickets for several sections)

European research paper on the "Key factors for successful leisure and tourism public transport operators" (Gronau; Kagermeier 2007, pp. 127-135)

3.24 This research paper looks at evidence for the success of public transport access to leisure and tourism activities, focusing primarily on research and case studies from Germany.

3.25 The article begins by recognising that a high proportion of trips for leisure and tourism are by private car (over half in Germany, with only 5% by public transport, and a third by non-motorised travel). However, it advocates that customer orientation is a crucial aspect when trying to increase transport supply for leisure, and attitudes can be more important to the use of public transport than the public transport supply itself.

3.26 Research into the image of public transport in relation to leisure, reported in this research paper, has shown that people do not commonly associate public transport with leisure travel as much as cycling, boat and airplane. Research has also shown that the factors of "fun" and "function" are the most important in judging transport alternatives for leisure time. From this research, 7, life-style oriented "mobility groups" have been identified. These groups are: Calm Bon Viveurs; Hasty Individualists; Fun-oriented Car Enthusiasts; Outside-oriented "Sportlers"; Price Conscious Dawdlers; Sporty Environmentalists; and Versatile Family Persons.

3.27 These can be reduced to 3 main types. The first type emphasises only the factor "Function" when it comes to choosing a transport alternative in leisure time. The second type more or less balances the two factors out. The third type consists of just one group, clearly prioritising the fun factor.

3.28 The first type (focusing on function) represents the majority in the research sources cited, which is significant as public transport is perceived by most to have a lack of function in relation to the car.

3.29 The paper discusses the concept of an "affinity" by these particular groups to public transport or car. The so-called affinity is based on one hand, on the importance of the factors (fun and function) and, on the other hand, on perceptions of the transport alternatives. The research shows a clear affinity to the use of the private car for all identified groups but, for the majority of the groups, the affinity towards the private car is not overwhelming. This suggests that with an improvement in public transport provision, and a rise in its "function" factor, the affinity could almost be the same towards both car and public transport. Two of the groups, however, show a strong resistance towards public transport use and it is likely that even a highly improved system would not be a real alternative to the private car for these groups.

3.30 The paper discusses necessary conditions on the supply side to encourage use of public transport services. One such condition is high quality of public transport provided on the entire route between the customers' home and the destination, not just on the "last mile" to a destination. Another factor is restricting use of the private car, where opportunities for modal shift exist. A third factor is the role of marketing as a further factor that can help to increase public transport services. Examples are given for each of these factors, which are discussed in the good practice section of this report (see Section 6).

3.31 Under the marketing of public transport services, partnership working is particularly advocated - people within the leisure and tourism market have "a function as multipliers and disseminators of information with regards to public transport service. On the other hand, public transport offers may increase the attractiveness of the leisure and tourism offer and as a result create additional benefit for both sides." An example of this is a combined travel and entry ticket, which gives advantages to the customer and helps to increase the number of public transport users as well as the number of visitors.

3.32 A further consideration for public transport access to leisure and tourism facilities is the time needed for the option to become well-used. This is particularly the case as visitors tend to be only occasional ones, affecting the level of demand for a public transport service, and presenting a challenge for promotional activities. An example from Germany relates to public transport provision for bicycle tourists in two low mountain ranges, the Frankenwald and the Vogelsberg regions. In both cases it took about three to four years to achieve the maximum demand level for the service. The conclusion is that long term effort is required, and care should be taken to temper expectations in the short term with regards results from investment.

Scottish Arts Council review of participation and barriers

3.33 Some research exists to suggest transport is a barrier for groups who do not generally attend cultural activity, and the Scottish Arts Council has reviewed evidence for this from a number of sources in a recent research paper (Scottish Arts Council, date unknown).

3.34 Barriers are discussed further below, but the Scottish Arts Council research also reviewed the socio-economic profile of participants/attendees and non-participants-non-attendees in cultural activity/events. From a 2004 Taking Part survey (Scottish Arts Council, 2006) ⁴, the report concludes that non-attendance at arts and cultural events is more likely among the following groups: those aged 55-64 and 65+, those in the C2DE ⁵ socio-economic groups, those with no educational qualifications or only 'O' grade or standard grade qualifications, residents of deprived areas and disabled people. However, there was relatively little difference in levels of non-attendance between gender groups and urban vs. rural residents.

3.35 In terms of non-participation in arts and cultural activity, this is more likely among those aged 65+, the lower social groups, those with no, or low level, educational qualifications, residents of deprived areas, members of minority ethnic groups, and disabled people. Almost two-fifths of those aged 65+, over two-fifths disabled people, over one-third of C2 socio-economic groupings, almost half of DE socio-economic groupings, and half of those with no educational qualifications had not participated in arts or cultural events in the last 12 months. Levels of non-participation were similar for gender and urban and rural areas.

3.36 In terms of barriers to attendance and participation, some useful evidence exists. An Arts Council England study in 2003 reported a survey of attendance, participation and attitudes among the adult (16+) population, commissioned from the Office of National Statistics. In terms of barriers to attendance the main reasons given were 'lack of time' (48%) and 'cost' (34%). In contrast 'lack of transport' only received 12% suggesting that transport was not a key barrier.

3.37 A similar survey in Northern Ireland in 2005 sought to identify the main financial, social, physical, cultural and practical barriers to accessing publicly funded arts in terms of attendance and participation; and to identify and describe the actual and perceived barriers faced by minority groups.

3.38 From a UK-wide literature review, the study found that only 6% stated 'lack of transport' as a barrier while 27% stated 'it's difficult to find the time', 27% stated 'I'm not really interested' and 20% stated 'it costs too much'.

3.39 Further issues identified from consultation in Northern Ireland identified the following barriers:

• lack of understanding or awareness of the arts - this related mainly to the role of arts in the education system and lack of opportunity for young people to access the arts
• lack of participation - this related to the need to increase participation levels which could assist in increasing attendance levels
• lack of choice - this related to insufficient choice and range of events and the relatively small number of venues able to host events, particularly in Belfast
• poor quality customer service - this related to the need for venues to improve the experience of attending arts events, particularly in terms of customer service

3.40 A 2001 study (Scottish Arts Council, 2003) into increasing access and participation in the arts by Scotland's minority ethnic population found that key barriers were: costs of admission to events; proximity to venue; transport to venues; timing of events and childcare provision.

3.41 A Scottish Government review of the evidence for the social and economic impacts of culture, the arts and sport in 2004, again highlighted the key groups who are under-represented, and barriers to participation. Barriers common to all the under-represented groups (those from lower-socio-economic groups, young people with low educational attainment, people with disabilities and mobility impairments particularly in rural areas, minority ethnic groups, young males post-education) were:

• lack of time
• cost (particularly an issue for families)
• availability and location
• lack of, or inaccessible, public transport (particularly in rural areas)
• lack of information
• lack of understanding
• perception that the activity is "not for them"
• irrelevance to their everyday lives

3.42 This Scottish Government report concludes that the factors most commonly identified as barriers to participation and attendance across the research reviewed are time, cost, lack of interest and family pressure.

3.43 Lack of, or inaccessible public transport is cited as a further general barrier. The review also notes that many barriers are interrelated in themselves - for example, availability and location of an arts or cultural activity is related to lack of public transport.

Other studies related to culture

3.44 The Cultural Commission Final Report (Scottish Executive 2005b) for the Scottish Government identified transport as a barrier to cultural participation, commenting:

"Availability and cost of transport are both common barriers that inhibit and prevent cultural learning beyond the school. The capital cost of purchasing buses, for use by educators, pupils and the community using schools, is one factor; another is mobility costs, and cultural plans need to recognise and cost those services. Our consultation revealed that a significant factor affecting travel to, and demand for, cultural events is the failure to match up public transport timetables with the finishing times of entertainment. (para 5.8.1, educational context)

the cost of transport is a major barrier to schools visiting museums and galleries that can only be addressed by proper planning and funding (para 6.15.2, issues for museums and galleries context)"

3.45 A report by MORI on young people in Scotland has identified transport issues, particularly cost and availability, as obstacles to cultural participation amongst this age group. Being Young in Scotland ( MORI 2005) identified transport issues (costs/availability) as a barrier to increased participation by young people. MORI recently presented findings to Scottish Government Education Department researchers: 39% of the 11-16 year olds and 31% of 17-25 year olds interviewed identified "better transport to/from activity" as a motivating factor to encourage more participation in cultural and arts activities.

Public and sustainable transport barriers

3.46 This research does not seek to re-explore general barriers to the uptake of public and sustainable transport opportunities as a whole, as a large body of research exists on this topic. It is worth however summarising here some of the critical barriers to more people choosing public transport options.

3.47 Scottish Government research on Barriers to Modal Shift (Scottish Executive 2003) explored the actual barriers that prevent car travellers from shifting mode to rail, bus, walk or cycle, or not undertaking the journey at all. These barriers were grouped into "hard" and "soft" factors. Hard factors include the cost, time and reliability of travelling by public transport. Soft factors include information, comfort, security, and a wide range of personal and social needs and attitudes. Complementary or lifestyle factors include non transport costs and taxes, limited travel time budgets, and the need to carry goods.

3.48 Research in 2006 (Department for Transport, 2006) presents an overall summary of the barriers faced by different social groups to mobility as a whole. These are summarised here as follows:

• Children and young people: key barriers to mobility include safety, school policies which undermined opportunities for walking and cycling to school (for example, lack of secure cycle parking), and the availability, reliability and cost of public transport
• Working age adults: key factors influencing the use of public transport include car ownership/availability, include range of services and journey-times, the quality and perceived safety of facilities, and cost
• Adults on low income: typically using public transport more than those in higher income groups, affordability of public transport is a key barrier
• Adults from black and minority ethnic groups: depending more on public transport to travel to work than white adults, barriers to public transport use include bus stops and bus times that relate to out of date shopping and/or work patterns or particular religious holidays which do not reflect the needs of these groups. Racial harassment was also cited as a barrier
• Adults from rural areas: more reliant on private car ownership than those in non-rural areas, lack of availability of public transport is a key barrier
• Gender: Women are more likely to be reliant on public transport, walking, and taxis than men. Barriers for women to public transport include physically accessing services when escorting children, unhelpful attitudes of public transport staff, inadequate services (reliability and routing), lack of information, and concerns over safety. Transport difficulties have also been identified as obstacles for women in accessing social and leisure opportunities for themselves and their children
• Disabled adults: Car access is lower for disabled people, and many are dependent on public transport, therefore transport is a key issue of concern for disabled people. Community transport is a popular form of transport for this group. Key barriers to travel include the cost of public transport and taxis, lack of equality of access to public transport and lack of accessible transport in particular
• Older people: This group travels less by private transport as they age, travelling more as car passengers, by bus and by taxi. Barriers to older people's use of public transport included concerns over personal safety, problems with physical mobility and difficulties carrying shopping or heavy loads, access to private transport and unreliable services, whilst information and language could be a particular barrier to older people from black and minority ethnic groups

Data review

3.49 This section presents data available within the transport and cultural/tourist sectors that can inform the baseline on how people currently travel to cultural activity. It also presents a commentary on key gaps and further data collection needed to inform this topic area. Various bodies involved in cultural and tourist activity gather data on their visitors.

3.50 The National Trust for Scotland ( NTS) gathers information about its visitors. In a survey carried out in 2005, (total sample size of 2610), 41% of visitors to NTS properties were from Scotland, 37% from the rest of the UK and 22% from overseas ⁶ (National Trust for Scotland 2007). When asked about transport used to get to properties, the car (either private or hire) accounted for 80% of those surveyed, with 8% by private coach, 6% on foot, 4% by public bus and 2% by train.

3.51 Historic Scotland produce data on mode of transport used to access their sites by visitors throughout Scotland (excluding Edinburgh Castle). The data was recorded during 2002, in Historic Scotland's 5-yearly visitor survey. Again travelling to the sites by car accounted for some 78% of those surveyed, with private coaches 10%, scheduled buses 5% and all other modes a nominal share.

Data availability

3.52 Overall, there is a lack of data on how people travel to cultural activity, and further data collection by individual sites is required to fully understand how people travel to cultural activity, and why they make the choices they do.

Concluding comments on policy and data review

3.53 From this review, it would appear that a strategic policy framework is in place that promotes accessibility to cultural and tourist activity by public transport.

3.54 Evidence for the role of transport as a barrier to participation in cultural activity exists, but indicates that it may not be amongst the most significant barriers such as time, cost and lack of interest. However, transport as a barrier is linked to other barriers which research has identified, particularly the lack of local cultural activity opportunities and therefore distance to travel, and consequently, potentially time and cost issues.

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