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5. Mapping of Cultural Sites and Case Study Research

5.1 Introduction

5.1.1 Mapping of public transport accessibility to cultural activity was undertaken in 2 stages in this research. The first stage provided an overview of the public transport accessibility of a selection of key sites throughout Scotland. This first stage mapping was not intended to be exhaustive, and used only a sample of sites which have emerged from our policy and data review, and interviews with stakeholders. The second stage entailed a more detailed public transport accessibility analysis of the 8 sites ²⁵ to be used as case studies for further investigation.

Approach to mapping

5.1.2 A list of potential cultural sites and events to map was generated from the policy and data review work, and interviews with key stakeholders. The sites were from all areas of Scotland, including the islands. A table listing all sites are presented in a table in Appendix C.

5.1.3 These key sites were located using a combination of address matching and internet search engines. It should be noted that some events shown are multi-venue, and where this is the case, a central location has been chosen for mapping purposes unless a specific base has been established for the event in question.

5.1.4 The next step was to relate these sites to the locations of rail stations and bus stops. To do this rail station location data from the Ordnance Survey and bus stop location data from the National Public Transport Access Nodes database (NaPTAN) was used. For this first stage analysis a 1 mile 'buffer' catchment of each site was used to identify the stations and stops that immediately serve the site.

5.1.5 The maps in Appendix C show the cultural sites in relation to bus and rail stops. The sites of interest are represented with red points, bus by blue points and a 1 mile radius buffer for each as a green circle.

5.1.6 Many of the sites, particularly as might be expected in the urban central belt, are very well served in terms of proximity to public transport, whilst others in rural areas are less well served.

5.1.7 The initial overview mapping was discussed at the interim progress meeting for this research, and the list of sites mapped reviewed. It was generally agreed that the distribution of sites gave a good overview of various types of cultural activity and levels of accessibility. The overview of cultural sites helped to inform the selection of 8 case studies for more detailed analysis of accessibility (see below).

Case study selection

5.1.8 The case study research comprised 3 key elements. The first stage was public transport accessibility analysis, beginning with an overview analysis to assist with selection of case studies, and then more detailed analysis within each of the 8 case studies. The second stage was assessing barriers to public transport access (with a focus on marketing and information provision) in poor accessibility instances, and success factors in good practice cases. Finally, recommendations were drafted on how to improve accessibility by public and sustainable transport, using good practice examples as lessons that could be applied to other sites.

5.1.9 The aims of the case study work were twofold. Firstly, to learn from good practice by studying examples where good accessibility by public transport and sustainable transport modes in general has been achieved, exploring the context for this success. Secondly, to make recommendations on how to improve accessibility for some representative sites with poor sustainable access, by studying examples of poor accessibility by public transport, with closer examination of why this is and what could be improved.

5.1.10 A shortlist of case studies was developed using the initial mapping list of cultural events and sites which was generated through the literature review and stakeholder interviews. The shortlist was informed by discussion with the research advisory group and consideration by the research team.

5.1.11 In selecting case studies for this research, a set of desirable characteristics were established:

• theoretically would be expected to have good or poor public transport accessibility
• have some real data to help compare the theoretical public transport accessibility with actual accessibility outcomes (for example sites or events which have collected data on how people travel there, why people have travelled this way, barriers encountered etc.)
• located in rural, remote rural, and urban contexts (the latter to include examples which are in central, accessible locations, as well as sites which are in relatively inaccessible locations, such as edge of town or off main public transport routes)
• from across the spectrum of arts, culture and sport, for example, museums and galleries, historic buildings, large sporting events
• include regular, permanent fixtures (such as museums, theatres, historic sites, football stadia) to one-off or annual events (such as T in the Park)
• have different audiences (national or international versus local)

5.1.12 The selected case studies were believed to represent a good mix of the characteristics described above. Furthermore, effort was made to ensure the final selection was not overly dominated by examples which could be perceived to be oriented towards tourism, as opposed to cultural activity, such as art galleries, museums, theatres and modern performance arts. The need to avoid focusing on good practice was also identified, and efforts were made to include examples with potentially poor accessibility, where the case study work could explore mechanisms for improving public and sustainable transport accessibility. The table in Appendix C sets out the initial list of potential case study sites and events, with commentary on which of the above suggested characteristics they met.

5.1.13 Eight case studies were selected (which are reported on individually, below):

• Mull Theatre, Mull
• Kilmartin House Museum, Argyll
• Burrell Collection, Glasgow
• Culzean Castle and Country Park, Ayrshire
• Scottish Seabird Centre, North Berwick
• Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife
• Lyth Arts Centre, near Wick
• Eden Court Theatre, Inverness

5.1.14 More detailed accessibility analysis was carried out on each case study. This exercise helped to provide further detail on how to reach the site by public and sustainable transport in general; specifically by bus, rail, and community or demand responsive transport, and walking and cycling. It was felt important to consider other issues which may affect the accessibility of a site by public transport, as any public transport journey inevitably includes a walking (and potentially cycling) "leg". Furthermore, the ease by which a site can be reached by non-sustainable modes (i.e. private car), can be a factor in the extent to which individuals consider using public transport, which in turn affects the demand for improvements to public transport accessibility. The analysis was undertaken by desktop and site visit study, and included the following:

• public transport services available (network coverage) and frequency of services, drawing on Transport Direct as the chief source of journey planning information
• distance of closest stop/interchange, including any physical barriers to walking/cycling the final "leg"
• cost of travel
• any other key issues affecting physical accessibility, for example parking

5.1.15 Catchment maps were prepared for each case study, which demonstrates the areas within 1 hour's travel time by public transport from each case study location

5.2 Mull Theatre

Nature of research carried out in this case study

5.2.1 To support information gathering on this case study, a number of people were contacted, including staff at Mull Theatre and Argyll and Bute Council The following websites and documents assisted with the information gathering process:

• The official Mull Theatre website ²⁶
• Bowmans Coaches (Mull) Ltd bus operator ²⁷
• Mull Theatre, Options and Investment Appraisal, September 2003
• Mull and Iona - Area Transport Guide - Summer Edition 2007

Description of the cultural activity / event / site

5.2.2 Mull Theatre was founded in 1966. It is a professional theatre company that produces several new plays and revivals every year. In the autumn, winter and spring, it runs a variety of community and schools drama workshops on and off Mull. Educational and outreach activities are largely limited by financial considerations rather than either having reached saturation point for demand for its work or its capacity to deliver. It is popularly known as Scotland's smallest (and remotest) professional theatre (it is 100 miles from the nearest theatre). The company provides theatre of the highest artistic and professional standards to the communities of the Highlands and Islands.

5.2.3 With the previous theatre site at Dervaig closing in 2006, the company is currently in the process of building a new theatre and production centre at Druimfin, which lies within Aros Park, on the main Tobermory to Salen road. Listed below are a few of the constraints of the previous site as detailed in the Options and Investment Feasibility Study reported in 2003:

• It is impossible to get a bus up the drive of the theatre and even if one were to park outside and walk, the auditorium is too small to take a full busload (43 theatre seats as opposed to 52 for the standard bus size - this effectively rules out tapping into the package/coach tour tourist market which could lure people from Craignure as part of their package holiday)
• There is no public transport access to the theatre and no buses run to Dervaig in the evening
• Parking is very limited and awkward
• 21-year lease expired on 1 ^st January 2007

5.2.4 The feasibility report stated that any new proposed site should include the core infrastructure of bus services, private transport facilities (car parking) and ferries. In order to meet the above criteria, the Mull Theatre selected a site at Druimfin as their new home.

Information on the audience and audience development

5.2.5 Information gathered on the audience at the Theatre is limited; however statistics do show a clear 75% of visitors are tourists visiting the island. At present the Theatre does not have any specific targets to monitor or increase public transport access to the new site. However with the increase in seating and limited parking at the new Theatre, sustainable access may become more of an issue in the future.

Description of transport links to the site and accessibility analysis

5.2.6 With the previous site at Dervaig closing in 2006, the company is currently in the process of building a new theatre and production centre at Druimfin on the main Tobermory to Salen road.

5.2.7 The following figure demonstrates accessibility of the site by public transport.

Figure 5-1 Accessibility map

Car and Coach Provision

5.2.8 The new Theatre is designed to include free parking for around 27 cars with a further area for a maximum of 2 coaches.

Public Transport

5.2.9 There are no bus stop facilities provided on the main Tobermory to Salen road (A848), adjacent to the Theatre entrance. Bus services across the island operate on a hail and ride approach where passengers can be dropped off and picked up by the roadside.

5.2.10 Bowmans Coaches operate the 495 service between Craignure, Salen and Tobermory. This service consists of around 7 services during weekdays with a reduced service on Saturday and Sunday. It should be noted that the last service on weekdays reaches Tobermory by 1930 hrs or Craignure by 1830 hrs. Again this last service is further reduced on Saturday and Sunday.

5.2.11 In previous years the Theatre has organised buses to shuttle people from Tobermory to the venue and back again, this proved very successful and plans are already underway to introduce a similar service in an ad-hoc manner at the new site in the future.

5.2.12 It was noted that integrated ticketing with bus operators and demand responsive transport would be considered in the future. However, concerns were raised about the assurances required to allow joint-ticketing with the ferry operator.

Walking and Cycling

5.2.13 An upgraded pathway runs past the main entrance to the new site, providing a network for cyclists and pedestrians to access the site from Tobermory and beyond.

Key stakeholders involved in the case study

5.2.14 The new Theatre and Production Centre are located within Aros Park which is owned and run by the Forestry Commission. The Theatre has a good working relationship with the Commission and is keen to develop additional access links to the site from within the Park grounds.

5.2.15 The Theatre Company receives funding from a number of sources, including: Scottish Arts Council; Argyll and the Islands Enterprise; Argyll and Bute Council; HiArts and various trust funds.

Marketing, press, publicity, promotion

5.2.16 With current productions 'on the road' due to the new Theatre not being operational, transport information provided within literature is limited and varied.

5.2.17 On the Mull Theatre website, information is given on travel to the venue. Information is at a strategic level, describing the ferry service, and the nature of bus services locally - however, no specific information on bus services (times, frequencies and service numbers) is given, and no link to Traveline is provided. The website advises contacting the Tourist Office for timetable information.

Success factors

5.2.18 Due to the restricted vehicular access to the previous site and the low visitor numbers (theatre had a capacity of 43), the Theatre operated an unofficial car sharing scheme within the local area along with hiring mini-buses where required to transfer people to and from the venue.

5.2.19 One significant motivation for moving to the new site was to increase the opportunities for public transport and sustainable access to the Theatre. Clearly this is the first step to success, but further opportunities need to be undertaken.

Barriers and problems, challenges

5.2.20 On Mull the bus service available is relatively infrequent with no evening services provided. This is a particular issue with the Theatre running a significant proportion of shows in the evening. In addition bus stop infrastructure throughout the island is minimal and in most rural locations non existent.

5.2.21 The low population on the island is an issue with respect to generating additional demand to support an extended public transport service. In addition the new theatre is designed to accommodate 120 people, where the previous theatre held only 43. Therefore a significant transport related challenge exists with the Theatre seeking to dramatically increase it's visitor numbers.

Recommendations

5.2.22 Further improvements are required to the pathway network within the region of the site to ensure pedestrians and cyclists are well catered for. This improvement must include provisions for on-going maintenance to ensure the network is kept at an acceptable level of quality.

5.2.23 Due to the population of Mull and the relative frequency of theatre shows, introducing a significant number of new bus services would not be considered economically viable. As a result a more appropriate measure may be the introduction and support of demand responsive transport services along with community transport services. Demand responsive transport is the responsibility of HITRANS (Highland and Islands Transport Partnership) with community transport being supported by Argyll and Bute Council. Thus there is a need for the venue to liaise with both organisations if they wish to explore this solution further.

5.2.24 To support all forms of bus based transport, appropriate improvements should be made to provide bus stop facilities adjacent to the entrance to the Theatre on the A848.

5.2.25 As a final recommendation, integrating the Lift-Share website ²⁸ facility within the, to-be-updated, official Mull Theatre website could help to formalise the potential for car-sharing on the island. Linking with Traveline Scotland website ²⁹ would also provide additional public transport information.

Kilmartin Glen

Introduction

5.2.26 To support information gathering on this case study a number of people were contacted, including staff from Kilmartin House Museum and Argyll and Bute Council. The following websites were used to assist with the information gathering process:

• The official Kilmartin House Museum website ³⁰
• West Coast Motors bus operator ³¹

Description of the cultural activity / event / site

5.2.27 There are more than 350 ancient monuments within a 6-mile radius of the conservation village of Kilmartin, Argyll: 150 of the monuments are prehistoric. This area is one of Scotland's richest prehistoric landscapes. Kilmartin House Museum is an award winning world-class centre for archaeology and landscape interpretation established to protect, investigate and interpret this internationally important archaeological landscape and the artefacts that have been found there. The museum celebrated its 10 ^th anniversary in 2007.

Information on the audience and audience development

5.2.28 Visitor numbers to the site are in the region of 20,000 people per year with around 13,000 paying the admission price to enter the Museum. Residents living within a 5-mile radius of Kilmartin village enjoy free access to the Museum all year round.

5.2.29 From the limited visitor surveys undertaken it is believed that visitors to the site tend to fit the 'ABC1' social grouping ³² as highlighted in many of the other case studies undertaken as part of this research. No specific transport questions are included within the surveys undertaken to date, though it is again understood that the vast majority of visitors to the site travel by private car.

5.2.30 Overall, monitoring of visitors to the site is very limited and as a result monitoring of measures introduced could prove difficult to implement. At present the Museum does not have any public transport targets to meet and as a result transport monitoring and evaluation is not considered a priority.

Description of transport links to the site and accessibility analysis

5.2.31 Kilmartin House Museum is a major visitor attraction in Argyll, situated 8 miles North of Lochgilphead. There are 4 bus stops and no rail stations within 1 mile of the site, as shown in the following figure.

Figure 5-2 Accessibility map

Car and Coach Provision

5.2.32 The Museum site has free parking provision for around 30 cars. Due to the limited parking area available, coaches are required to drop passengers off at the entrance to the site and then park in the village public car park a short walk from the museum entrance.

Public Transport

5.2.33 Oban rail station is over 30 miles from Kilmartin and is the closest rail station to the Museum. The town of Lochgilphead, 8 miles south of the village is served by the Citylink bus service from Glasgow to Campbeltown. This service operates 3 services per day. West Coast Motors operate a local bus service (Number 423) between Oban and Lochgilphead, passing by the entrance to the Museum. The service is limited to 4 services per day during school days and 2 services per day on non school days.

5.2.34 Bus stop provision within Kilmartin is limited to 2 bus stops positioned close to the Museum entrance. The southbound bus stop consists of a shelter with seating and is well positioned 50 metres from the Museum entrance. However no timetabling or operator information is provided at the stop. Bus stop provision for northbound travel is limited to a bus stop stand, however timetabling information is displayed. Of particular concern with this stop is the positioning of the stop stand with unofficial car parking in operation between the stop and the road thus severely limiting access and sight lines.

Walking

5.2.35 Due to the compact size of the Museum site, pedestrian access and navigation is not an issue. Pedestrian provision within the village of Kilmartin is also of a good level with segregated pathways linking the site entrance to the National Cycle Route described below.

Cycling

5.2.36 National Cycle Route 78 passes by the village of Kilmartin and recent upgrading of this route under the 'Safer Routes to School' initiative has opened up opportunities for accessing the museum by bicycle and on foot from the surrounding region and beyond. However accessing the route from the village does require a short on-road section. In the past the Museum has offered reduced admission to visitors accessing the village by bicycle, however funding pressures prompted the removal of this service.

Key stakeholders involved in the case study

5.2.37 Kilmartin House Museum is an independent charity that receives funding from a number of sources including: the Scottish Government; Historic Scotland; Argyll and Bute Council; The Forestry Commission; Scottish Natural Heritage and various other charitable trusts. The Museum has achieved Gold status under the Green Tourism Award; however there are no transport targets associated with this achievement.

5.2.38 The Museum plays host to a number of school and other organisation visits throughout the year. In all cases the visiting party are responsible for and provide transport provision to access the site.

Marketing, press, publicity, promotion

5.2.39 Information on how to get to Kilmartin House Museum is shown on their website, on a webpage entitled "Directions". The first sentence on this page states " Kilmartin is about 100 miles northwest of Glasgow. The easiest way to visit is by road, most commonly by the scenic coastal route."

5.2.40 Information on how to access the site by car or bike is given first, followed by information on how to access it by public transport. Public transport information is broken down by train, by bus/coach and by ferry. By bus or coach, the website states the site can be accessed by three coaches daily from Glasgow (Buchanan St Bus Station) to Lochgilphead, journey time two and a half hours. Weblinks are provided to Citylink's website, Scotrail's website and Caledonian Macbrayne. Links go to the general homepage of each of these sites, as opposed to specific pages detailing services to Kilmartin. No reference is made to Traveline Scotland on this Directions webpage.

Success factors

5.2.41 Clearly the recent upgrading of the NCR (National Cycle Route) 78 running past Kilmartin village may help to increase cyclist numbers visiting the Museum. This upgrading is being funded by the 'Safer Routes to School' initiative, and will provide infrastructure and a safe environment for accessing the village from the surrounding region.

5.2.42 Over the 10 year period the Museum has been open, employees have operated an unofficial taxi service for visitors hoping to visit the site. Arrangements to pickup people from Lochgilphead and transfer to the site have occurred, though it should be noted that the numbers involved tend to be very low.

Barriers and problems, challenges

5.2.43 It is the view of the museum staff, that 'transport in general is not considered a barrier to accessing the museum' This is due to the vast majority of visitors having access to a private car, with free parking within the museum grounds sufficient for current demand.

5.2.44 Kilmartin village is served by a limited and infrequent bus service. In addition the bus stop facilities adjacent to the Museum entrance lack consistent timetabling information and suffer from access issues.

5.2.45 With over 350 ancient monuments located within a 6-mile radius of the museum, no public transport is provided to cover the various sites. The private car, along with cycling and walking to a lesser degree are the only viable transport options available at present.

5.2.46 The Museum website does provide transport information under the link 'Directions'. This page does provide details for accessing the site by car or bicycle, though no mention is made of the National Cycle Route 78 running adjacent to the museum. Weblinks are provided to train, bus and ferry operators within the region but the links direct the user to the main 'home page' for each operator, where perhaps Kilmartin specific information would be more appropriate. In addition there is no mention of Traveline Scotland or similar within the website.

Recommendations

5.2.47 With visitor numbers at present levels, introducing a significant number of new bus services would not be considered economically viable. As a result a more appropriate measure may be the introduction and support of demand responsive transport services along with community transport services. Demand responsive transport is the responsibility of HITRANS (Highland and Islands Transport Partnership) with community transport being supported by Argyll and Bute Council. Therefore there is a requirement for the venue to liaise with both organisations if they wish to explore this solution further.

5.2.48 To support all forms of bus based transport, appropriate improvements should be made to the bus stop facilities within the village to address the issues raised earlier in this report.

5.2.49 Reintroducing a discount scheme for cyclists wishing to visit the Museum could be considered. This scheme could be linked to potential cycle hire in the surrounding area, with an integrated ticketing option available.

5.2.50 As a final recommendation the integration of the Lift-Share website ³³ facility within the official Kilmartin House Museum website could help to formalise the potential for car-sharing within the region. This could also help to reduce the need for Museum employees to operate an unofficial taxi service between the Museum and Lochgilphead and the surrounding villages.

5.3 Burrell Collection

Nature of research carried out in this case study

5.3.1 To support information gathering on this case study a number of people were contacted, including staff of the Burrell Collection Museum and Glasgow City Council Land Services department. The following websites were used to assist with the information gathering process:

• The official Burrell Collection Museum website ³⁴
• The First ScotRail website ³⁵

Description of the cultural activity / event / site

5.3.2 The Burrell Collection consists of over 9000 items, mainly covering Medieval European art, Oriental ceramics and bronzes and European painting. The pieces are displayed in a purpose built building within the grounds of Pollok Country Park in Glasgow. The purpose built museum was opened in October 1983, and is one of 12 museums and galleries run by Culture and Sport Glasgow on behalf of Glasgow City Council. Pollok Park was chosen as the location for the museum as it met with the wish of Sir William Burrell to "house the collection away from the highly polluted [Glasgow] City centre".

Information on the audience and audience development

5.3.3 A series of surveys have been undertaken since 1983 to gather information on visitors to the museum. Figure 5-3 below presents the annual visitor numbers:

Figure 5-3 Annual visitor numbers

5.3.4 Following significant visitor numbers in the first few years of operating, over the last 10 years visitor numbers have levelled off around the 300,000 visitors per year.

5.3.5 Table 5.1 below contains data gathered by Glasgow City Council in 1999. It shows that the private car is the most common mode of transport for visiting the site. Note that the mode share for car travel to the Burrell Collection is higher than each of the other Glasgow Museums surveyed.

Table 5.1 Mode of arrival at glasgow museums 1999 (Scottish Executive 2007)

5.3.6 A recent survey was undertaken by City Marketing Bureau in December 2006 during a period when a jewellery exhibition was displaying within the museum building. Of the 400 plus responses gathered, over 50% of respondents lived within the Glasgow area, over 70% of respondents had visited the Park before and over 70% of respondents travelled to the Park by private car. Figure 5-4 below presents the full results by method of transport to the Park.

Figure 5-4 Method of transport to park

5.3.7 An earlier survey in September 2004 highlighted a significant number of visitors to the museum from the Glasgow area (43% of respondents). 60% of the respondents fell into the 45 years or older age group, and around 60% of respondents had previously visited the museum. Unfortunately no transport related question was included within this survey.

5.3.8 Both surveys tend to support the claim that more than half of visitors to the museum live within the Glasgow area and have visited the site previously. What transport data is available does support the observed view that the vast majority of visitors travel to the Park by private car.

5.3.9 The major social class visiting the museum can be categorised as 'ABC1' social grouping ³⁶. As such these people generally have access to a private car, above average leisure time and above average disposable income.

5.3.10 This grouping fits with the age range highlighted within previous surveys as shown in the following figure:

Figure 5-5 Age of visitors

5.3.11 The museum does not have a specific target audience. Different projects are targeted at different audiences, both to provide services to local people and support tourism within Glasgow. It is also the aim of the Museum to ensure that all future surveys undertaken include a transport mode related question.

Description of transport links to the site and accessibility analysis

5.3.12 The Burrell Collection is located in Pollok Country Park in southern Glasgow. It is in a relatively accessible location, with 118 bus stops and 4 railway stations within 1 mile of the museum, as shown in the following figure.

Figure 5-6 Accessibility map

Car and Coach Parking Provision

5.3.13 The museum has parking provision for 200 cars and 10 coaches. Pay and display is in operation (£1 per day for a car and £2 per day for a coach) within the designated parking area.

Public Transport Provision

5.3.14 Pollokshaws West railway station is a short 5 minute walk from the Park entrance. This station provides regular rail services to Glasgow Central and beyond. The trains serving the line have been recently upgraded and provide onboard real time information displays of the next scheduled stop and service. The station itself is well maintained with real time information displays, CCTV, seating and limited shelter provision. Timetabling information is also readily available and a tourist map displaying 'things to do' in the immediate area is also prominently displayed.

5.3.15 Specific signage for the Burrell Collection museum is also prominently positioned on the platform and at the exit of Pollokshaws West rail station.

5.3.16 A number of bus services serve Pollokshaws Road (specifically First Bus service 45, 47, 48 and 57) and as such pass by the main entrance to the Park. All buses are of a modern design with low floor access. Bus stops are positioned a short distance from the Park's main entrance, close to the Pollokshaws West railway station. These well maintained stops include shelter, lighting, seating, timetabling information and real time information displays.

5.3.17 Within the Park grounds a free shuttle bus service is advertised as providing travel between the Park main entrance, Pollok House and the Burrell Collection building. This wheel chair accessible service is advertised on the official Burrell Collection website with a stated frequency of 30 minutes between 0700hrs and 1800hrs, 365 days of the year. The bus stops within the Park do not provide shelter, seating, lighting or timetabling information. However a tourist map is displayed detailing 'You are here' and the various attractions within the Park including the Burrell Collection museum. Unfortunately at the time of writing the shuttle bus was not in operation due to operational issues.

5.3.18 A Dial-a-bus service does operate within Glasgow, but there is no evidence to date to suggest that this service is being used by visitors to access Pollock Park and the Burrell Collection museum in particular.

Walking Provision

5.3.19 Within the Park grounds, walking pathways with excellent surfacing are provided adjacent to the road and also off-road where appropriate. Good quality signage is also provided for pedestrians, including expected walking time in minutes to the museum from various points along the path network. Due to the nature of the Park, no path or road lighting is provided. This does present some problems for pedestrians accessing the museum in the hours of darkness. With the museum's opening hours generally being 1000hrs to 1700hrs this issue is only appropriate in the winter months. This lack of street lighting does however influence access to the museum by employees who are required to be on site for a longer period of the day.

5.3.20 Traffic calming measures are in place on the road network within the Park to ensure traffic speeds are maintained at an acceptable level.

Cycling Provision

5.3.21 Pollock Park accommodates two National Cycle Routes, namely Route 7 and Route 75. As a result both routes pass close by the museum building. This infrastructure provides the opportunity for cyclists to visit the Park and the museum specifically.

5.3.22 Cycle stands are provided close to the museum entrance; however the stands are not covered and no lockers are available.

General Transport

5.3.23 Entry to the museum is free and as a result integrated ticketing with a transport operator is not applicable for this particular venue.

5.3.24 Three major events occur in the Park per year, these have no direct link with the Burrell Collection museum and the specially arranged transport provision is funded by the event organiser which is usually Glasgow City Council.

5.3.25 Initial discussion with the Burrell Collection representative highlighted a number of issues or barriers with regards public transport and sustainable access to the museum as detailed below:

• On-going problems with the frequency and availability of the shuttle bus within the park. No timetable information for the shuttle bus is displayed within the Park grounds. The opinion of the museum representative is that the shuttle bus is valuable for the museum but expensive for Land Services to operate. The service has been in place for around 15 years and currently operates with around £30,000 funding from Glasgow City Council per year. Passenger numbers on the service are very low and a small proportion of these passengers have raised complaints with the museum with regard to the lack of service affecting their onward travel arrangements. This shuttle bus service is unique to this site in Glasgow
• Associated with the shuttle bus issues and a lack of lighting within the Park, employees of the Museum are less inclined to use more sustainable forms of transport for the commute to / from work. Clearly this issue is out with the scope of this research but it is felt worth noting here
• At present there is no local bus service linking the museums in the surrounding area; this significantly reduces the opportunity for visitors to visit multiple sites in the same day by public transport. A First Bus service operating between Drumbreck Road and Bellahouston Park was discontinued in 2002. This service allowed direct access by bus to and from the Moss Park area of the city to visit the Burrell Collection, Bellahouston Park and the House for Art Lover.

Key stakeholders involved in the case study

5.3.26 The Museum operates under the charitable arm of Culture and Sport Glasgow. As such Glasgow City Council provides the majority of funding for the venue.

Marketing, press, publicity, promotion

5.3.27 Spending large sums of money on marketing has in the past resulted in relatively small returns in terms of additional visitors to the museum. Visitor numbers have remained relatively stable over recent years with if anything a slight reduction in visitors being shown.

5.3.28 The Glasgow Museums website provides information on all its Museums, including the Burrell Collection. Within the Burrell pages, there is no dedicated page on "how to get to..", and travel information is provided in 2 locations: on a general page with "Visiting us" information, where bus and rail information is given in a more low-key manner; and on a general page entitled "Access", which indicates car and coach parking is available, as well as a description of the location of the site:

5.3.29 "The Burrell Collection is in Pollok Country Park. The nearest main road to the park is Pollokshaws Road. It takes about ten to fifteen minutes to walk to the Burrell Collection from the entrance to the park, and there are a number of sign posts along the way. A courtesy bus runs half-hourly from a bus stop just inside the entrance to the park and takes you to both the Burrell Collection and Pollok House. The bus is run by Glasgow City Council and is wheelchair accessible."

Success factors

5.3.30 Excellent working relationship with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport ( SPT) has resulted in prominent signs being installed at Pollokshaws West rail station. Positive feedback has been received from museum visitors accessing the local area by train.

5.3.31 Walking and cycling signs within the Park itself have shown best practice in operation. Again promoting access to the site in a sustainable form.

5.3.32 The main Burrell Collection website ³⁷ does provide transport information under the 'Visiting Us' link. This page details the rail and bus services and stops available within the area and also provides links to Transport Direct, Traveline Scotland and Traffic Scotland. A map of the country park has recently been added to the website.

Barriers and problems, challenges

5.3.33 Transport in general is not considered a barrier to accessing the museum as the vast majority of visitors have access to a private car and parking within the park is sufficient for current demand.

5.3.34 The issue of sustainable access is different however in that although public transport access to the edge of the Park grounds is very good; the public transport (in the form of the free shuttle bus) within the Park itself is unreliable and infrequent.

5.3.35 Although the Park accommodates two national cycle routes, the number of visitors accessing the Museum by bicycle is very low.

Recommendations

5.3.36 Resolving the on-going availability/reliability issues with the shuttle bus and reintroducing the service with a published timetable and reliable and frequent service. Responsibility for this improvement lies with Land Services within Glasgow City Council working closely with Burrell Collection staff to ensure an appropriate solution is reached.

5.3.37 Extending the shuttle bus service to include some outreach work in the local community; this could involve running the shuttle bus directly into deprived areas of the city in an attempt to encourage residents to visit the Park and the Burrell Collection in particular. Appropriate advertising could be displayed on the shuttle bus to further highlight the available service. In previous years the shuttle bus service has been sponsored and funded with appropriate advertising space provided.

5.3.38 Raising awareness of public transport alternatives to access the Park through advertising on bus services passing the Park entrance. This recommendation would be the responsibility of the Burrell working in partnership with the local bus operator. There are cost implications associated with this. In addition the Burrell could enter into dialogue with local bus operators to promote the Burrell Collection on timetables and information leaflets.

5.3.39 Reintroducing bus service to link various attractions within the surrounding Glasgow area. This service would allow direct access by bus to from the Moss Park area of the city to visit the Burrell Collection, Bellahouston Park and the House for Art Lover.

5.3.40 An opportunity exists for a cycle hire service to be introduced within the area (Pollokshaws West railway station for example has retail space available) to allow access and use of the two National Cycle Routes (7 and 78) and also to allow easy access to the museum and other sites within Pollok Park.

5.4 Culzean Castle and Country Park

Nature of the research carried out for this case study

5.4.1 To support information gathering on this case study a number of people were contacted, including staff from the National Trust for Scotland and Culzean Castle and Country Park The following list details the websites used to assist with the information gathering process:

• The official National Trust for Scotland ( NTS) website ³⁸
• The Culzean website ³⁹
• The Stagecoach website ⁴⁰

Description of the cultural activity / event / site

5.4.2 Culzean Country Park is managed by the National Trust for Scotland ( NTS) on behalf of a joint committee representing South Ayrshire Council and the NTS and is supported by grants from Scottish Natural Heritage. Culzean Country Park was handed over to the NTS in 1945. It was declared as the Scotland's first Country Park in 1969.

5.4.3 The Park consists of approximately 600 acres of woodland, formal gardens, 3 miles of varied coastline and as a centre piece the 18 ^th century Culzean Castle. In support of the castle there is a visitor centre, restaurant, café and shop. Numerous family events occur throughout the year, with daily guided castle tours and ranger-led walks available.

Information on the audience and audience development

5.4.4 Information gathered on visitors to the Park at present is limited to visitor numbers with no on-going monitoring of travel mode. Table 5.2 below shows the split between visitors to the Park and visitors accessing the Castle as well as the Park.

Table 5.2 Annual visitor numbers

5.4.5 Culzean is the most visited attraction within the NTS portfolio and as such attracts visitors from many areas of the country and social backgrounds. The majority of visitors to the Park however can be classified as fitting the 'ABC1' social grouping ⁴¹. This is a point that has been raised at other case studies during this research.

5.4.6 The data presented in the Table 5.3 below identifies mode of transport used by visitors from Scotland to visit Culzean Castle and Country Park. Data is taken from the National Trust for Scotland Visitor Survey 2005 undertaken by Lynn Jones Research Ltd. Due to the small sample size used the data presented here should be viewed as being indicative only, though it does support the general view stated by NTS representatives.

Table 5.3 Visitors to Culzean by mode 2005 (Scottish Executive 2007)

5.4.7 It is worth noting the summary provided within this report:

"Attractions such as …Culzean…, which are well beyond walking distance from a [bus or train] station, are not perceived as accessible by public transport, despite the fact that the National Trust for Scotland displays public transport information [for Culzean] on its website. Such attractions appear to benefit from private coach tours. In a sense, the private coach is undoubtedly filling a perceived gap in transport provision."

Description of transport links to the site and accessibility analysis

5.4.8 Culzean Castle is set in a 600 acre estate managed by the National Trust for Scotland in Ayrshire. There are 2 bus stops and no rail stations or National Cycle Routes within 1 mile of the park. The site is therefore relatively poorly accessible by public transport and other sustainable modes. The following map illustrates this.

Figure 5-7 Accessibility map

Car and Coach Provision

5.4.9 The Park has parking provision for around 380 cars and 15 coaches. No charging is currently in place within the park. An additional 3000 parking spaces are available in an overflow car park. This area is dependent on the weather conditions as it is unsurfaced. Within the Park grounds a one-way traffic system operates for vehicles with appropriate signage provided throughout the estate. All roads are of a good standard and no turning/access issues were highlighted.

Public Transport

5.4.10 Ayr railway station is situated 12 miles from the Park with Maybole railway station 4 miles from the Park. Both stations provide direct links to Glasgow and the South West of Scotland. In addition both stations are served by the Stagecoach West 60 and 360 bus services. These services operate with modern low-floor accessible vehicles and run to a relatively infrequent timetable ⁴². The typical journey time from Ayr to the Park entrance is 30 minutes.

5.4.11 A 'Day Tripper' ticket can be purchased for use on any Stagecoach service within a single day. This 'Day Tripper' ticket covers 2 adults and up to 4 children and costs £15. This ticket would be sufficient for a typical family to travel to Culzean Castle by bus from anywhere in the region. Alternatively an adult single from Ayr to Culzean return is £5.40 (Source: Ayr Bus Station: 01292 613500).

5.4.12 Bus stops are provided adjacent to the main Park entrance. The northbound and southbound stops both provide raised kerbs, shelters with seating and timetabling information. Due to the rural setting of the area in general, both stops are isolated and also suffer from poor lighting and graffiti. Both stops are positioned directly onto the fast flowing A719 and as a result care must be taken at all times, especially if children are present.

Walking

5.4.13 Within the Park grounds, walking pathways of varying levels of quality are provided adjacent to the road and also off-road where appropriate. Good quality signage is provided for pedestrians, including expected walking time in minutes to various attractions within the grounds. However, these signs are designed with the car driver / passenger / coach traveller in mind and as such are positioned close to the allocated parking areas. Visitors to the Park by public bus service are faced with poor pedestrian signage at the main entrance gates. Indeed, the initial entrance to the park requires pedestrians to walk along the road as no pedestrian pathway is provided. Directional signs are poorly positioned and some confusion may occur for pedestrians with the vehicle one-way system signposted. The main pathway linking the Park entrance with the Castle and Visitor Centre is totally overgrown in places and does require some upgrading and ongoing maintenance

5.4.14 Due to the nature of the Park, no path or road lighting is provided. This does present some problems for pedestrians accessing the Castle in the hours of darkness. With the Castle's opening hours generally being 1030hrs to 1730hrs this issue is only present in the winter months. This lack of street lighting does however influence access to the Park by employees who are required to be on site for a longer period of the day. Traffic calming measures are in place on the road network within the Park to ensure traffic speeds are maintained at an acceptable level.

Cycling

5.4.15 There are no National Cycle Routes within the vicinity of the Park. Cycling within the Park is intended to be undertaken on the road network with cyclist warning posters positioned throughout the Park requesting cyclists to give way to pedestrians where appropriate.

5.4.16 At the time of writing this report, NTS in partnership with First ScotRail is introducing a '2 for 1' integrated ticketing offer, where visitors to the Park presenting their valid rail ticket are offered 2 visitor passes for the price of 1. This offer follows on from an established joint ticketing scheme in Arran where Brodick Castle has teamed up with Rail, Ferry and Bus operators to offer a fully integrated ticket.

Key stakeholders involved in the case study

5.4.17 The Park is a registered charity. Funding is provided from NTS along with funding from South Ayrshire Council. Funding is also provided from a number of other sources depending on the work being undertaken.

Marketing, press, publicity, promotion

5.4.18 Marketing of the Park and Castle is provided through the NTS and Culzean specific websites. Leaflets are also produced annually providing information on available activities and planned events for the forthcoming year.

5.4.19 The website for Culzean ⁴³ provides no information at all on how to travel to the site, nor a location map. However, the National Trust for Scotland webpage ⁴⁴ on the property is much more comprehensive. The "getting there" section of the property page provides information on public transport, including the number of the local Stagecoach service, and warns there is a 1 mile walk (downhill) from the bus stop.

5.4.20 Also within the website is a 'Route Planner' facility which prompts for a user's home postcode and returns a step by step list of directions to travel by car to the site. This facility could be enhanced to provide public transport alternatives to undertake the same journey, by for example linking into the Scottish Government's Transport Direct website ⁴⁵, or Traveline Scotland website ⁴⁶ where the journey planning software could be pre-populated with Culzean as the destination and prompt the user for their origin. Transport Direct would supply both car and public transport journeys for comparison.

Benefits and outputs to date

5.4.21 A shuttle service has been introduced within the Park grounds to discourage visitors and employees from driving between attractions within the Park. Using golf buggy type vehicles this free service has proved successful and a reduction in internal vehicle movements has been achieved.

Success factors

5.4.22 Walking and cycling signs within the Park as previously described provide best practice in operation, though the signs provided at the main entrance to the Park from the road are of a poorer quality. Expected journey times are displayed along with clear and concise attractions. Good quality pathways are also provided between the Park's major attractions, though again the pathway from the main park entrance to the heart of the park is poorly maintained.

Barriers and problems, challenges

5.4.23 At present, transport is not considered a major barrier for the vast majority of visitors to the Park as they tend to be classified as 'AB1' social grouping with high car availability and hence travel by private car to the Park.

5.4.24 Public transport access to the Park is limited with Maybole Railway station located 4 miles from the Park. The main road passing the entrance to the Park is served by two Stagecoach West services with a 30 minute frequency during peak travel times. An adult return ticket from Ayr to Culzean is £5.40 which may be considered above the average cost for the length of journey. In addition there is no public transport provision within the Park grounds (any buses currently entering the Park are required to travel round the one-way system prior to exiting again, a 10 to 15 minute journey) and visitors to the Park by public bus face crossing a main road with fast flowing traffic then undertaking a mile long walk along poorly maintained pathways, with poorly positioned signs, from the Park entrance to the Castle and supporting facilities.

5.4.25 In summary, the rural location of the Park is well away from the major transport routes within South Ayrshire. As a result the Park is very much 'out on a limb' in transport terms.

Recommendations

5.4.26 In order to enhance the pedestrian (and bus passenger) experience on reaching the Park entrance, improved signs could be introduced at the main entrance to the park. Bringing the quality of sign (in terms of information, and positioning) up to the level as provided elsewhere in the Park would significantly improve the pedestrian setting. Responsibility for this recommendation lies solely with the National Trust for Scotland.

5.4.27 To further support public transport options to access the Park, the route planner facility on the National Trust for Scotland website could be extended to include additional public transport information. Again, responsibility for this recommendation lies solely with the National Trust for Scotland. (The Transport Direct website provides an easy to follow guide on integrating the journey planer within third party websites).

5.4.28 At the time of writing this report, National Trust for Scotland in partnership with First ScotRail is introducing a '2 for 1' integrated ticketing offer. With this offer, visitors to the Park presenting their valid rail ticket are offered 2 visitor passes for the price of 1. The barrier still exists however with regard to the final leg of their journey where they must catch a bus (or taxi/Demand Responsive Transport/Community Transport) from Maybole or Ayr rail stations. Further integration would be helpful here. Responsibility for this recommendation lies with a number of parties, including National Trust for Scotland, First ScotRail, Stagecoach and local Demand Responsive Transport and Community Transport organisations (such as Carrick Valley Community Transport in Maybole, or Ayr North Partnership Community Transport in Ayr).

5.4.29 In order to reduce safety concerns associated with bus users having to cross the busy A77 to access the Park, it is this report's recommendation to introduce pedestrian crossing warning signs on the approaches to the Park entrance. This measure would require close working between Park staff and Transport Scotland who have responsibility for the A77 trunk road.

5.4.30 At the time of writing this report, talks are underway to open up the ticket office area of the park to allow bus drop off and pick up as part of the transport provision for the Retrofest concert being held in the Park in September. Clearly this minor reconfiguration of the road network will provide on-going capacity for public buses to drop off and pick up passengers within the safety of the Park grounds. Further negotiations with Stagecoach on the possibility of extending the 60 and 360 services to access the Park will be required to fully achieve this recommendation.

5.4.31 In an attempt to increase visitor numbers to the Park from the surrounding area, there is an aspiration to provide transport links to/from Craig Tara (formerly Butlins) Holiday Park to Culzean Park. This presents a massive opportunity as there is no direct public transport access at present. Clearly there may exist issues with the operator of the holiday park being reluctant to allow its guests to spend significant time and money elsewhere. There is also a long-term desire to introduce a shuttle bus serving Culzean Park, Bachelors' Club in Tarbolton and the Souter Johnnie's Cottage in Kirkoswald, all of which are under the same management structure. Responsibility for this recommendation lies with the NTS working in partnership with a bus/Demand Responsive Transport/Community Transport operator.

5.5 Scottish Seabird Centre, North Berwick

Nature of research carried out in this case study

5.5.1 Individuals from the Scottish Seabird Centre and East Lothian Council were spoken to during research on this case study: Other key sources of information for this case study were:

• Traveline Scotland ⁴⁷ and Transport Direct ⁴⁸
• The Seabird Centre website ⁴⁹
• Green Tourism Success Story - Seabird Centre case study ⁵⁰

Summary description of the initiative and write-up

5.5.2 The Scottish Seabird Centre is a major visitor attraction for North Berwick and the East of Scotland as a whole. It has a strong environmental ethos, and already has some good practice in place in terms of promoting access by sustainable modes, in particular, an integrated rail and entry ticketing package in partnership with First Scotrail.

5.5.3 The town and immediate vicinity of the Centre suffers from significant local traffic congestion in peak periods (summer season), and there is limited car parking in the town as a whole.

5.5.4 95% of visitors still travel by car despite the integrated rail/entry ticket and relatively good accessibility by rail and bus from Scotland's Central Belt, although public transport accessibility from other areas such as the Borders is not as good. North Berwick enjoys good levels of on-street and at-stop information and signage, with particularly strong pedestrian signage from the railway station to the Seabird Centre, although there is a lack of cycling infrastructure in the town.

5.5.5 A pilot shuttle bus ran from the rail station in 2006, linking with the Museum of Flight as well as the Seabird Centre. However, its future is uncertain due to lack of a funding source, and it did not run in 2007.

5.5.6 Potential solutions to improve accessibility by public transport and other sustainable modes include; making the purchase of the First Scotrail ticket more flexible and wide-ranging; better promotion and marketing of existing sustainable transport options by attractions in particular, and infrastructural improvements to encourage walking and cycling.

Description of the cultural activity

5.5.7 Having opened in May 2000, the Scottish Seabird Centre is a Visit Scotland 5 star visitor attraction located in North Berwick. It is a wildlife visitor centre providing information and visual displays on local wildlife, particularly seabird populations and sealife, and provides the opportunity to view and study birds locally using live cameras. It is open all year round, and operates as a Charitable Trust.

5.5.8 Occasional events are held at the Centre, both organised by the Centre owners (such as Slow Food events) as well as those organised externally by those who use the Centre for a meeting place (such as annual First Scotrail public meetings).

5.5.9 Themed events related to the Centre are ongoing. As an example, June 2007 is Environment and Wildlife Month at the Centre, with a variety of activities and workshops in the Discovery Centre. Children's activities include making water 'hippos', puppets and paperweights every weekend from 1400hrs-1500hrs. All events are free with admission to the Discovery Centre.

5.5.10 The ethos behind the Centre is an environmentally sustainable one, and has been since the Centre was designed, built and opened (including to the extent of using sustainable building materials) ⁵¹. It has ongoing activities related to the Slow Food Movement (see above), and is currently considering a campaign to raise awareness of climate change and its impact on sea-life. The Centre also has an integrated ticketing deal with First Scotrail to promote travel by rail, discussed further below. The Centre has a Gold Level award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme.

Form of the organisation and funding sources

5.5.11 They are a Charitable Trust, and elicit donations and grants (for example from the Big Lottery), as well as income from revenue generated throughout the year. The Centre makes a loss on some days during the winter when visitor numbers are low - however this is made up for in the peak season during the summer. The Centre could not survive without donations and grants. It has 7000 members. No funding is received from Visit Scotland. There is no stipulation in any of their funding sources to promote sustainable transport.

Information on the audience and audience development

5.5.12 The Seabird Centre had 200,000 visitors in 2001 (Scottish Museums Council, 2002). There is limited detailed information available on visitors, although some recent research suggested 95% of visitors to the Centre came by car, based on a sample of 200.

5.5.13 Market research of visitors to East Lothian as a whole was carried out in 2003, and gives some useful insights into the type of visitor attracted to the area ⁵². Key characteristics of visitors of relevance to this study are as follows:

• Trip purpose - Some 75% of visitors to East Lothian were on a day trip from home, with nearly a quarter of visitors on holiday away from home (24%)
• Party size and age - 46% visiting with one other person, average party size just fewer than 3 people. 21% under 16, 22% 16-34 years, 34% 35-54 years, 24% +55 years. The average age of all visitors to East Lothian was 42 years, somewhat higher than the average age for the Lothians overall (38 years)
• Social class - As in the majority of visitor surveys, most visitors to East Lothian were in the 'ABC1' social classes with almost three-quarters of visitors (72%) falling within this socio-economic grouping. This relatively upmarket social class profile is best illustrated by comparing it with the Scottish population as a whole, 48% of whom are 'ABC1s' social grouping ⁵³
• Lifecycle stage - The largest proportions of visitors to East Lothian were empty nesters (43%), with around a quarter being families (27%) and a smaller proportion could be categorised as Independent Adults (13%)
• Origin - Overall, nearly 4 out of 5 of visitors were from Scotland (78%), with 12% from other parts of the United Kingdom and 10% from overseas. In terms of the Scottish markets: the largest proportion was from Edinburgh (41%) with Strathclyde (10%), and the Borders (8%). A further 4% were visiting East Lothian from the Central belt
• Previous visits - 4 out of 5 of visitors to East Lothian were on a repeat visit to the area (80%), whilst 17% were on their first ever visit to the area. Amongst those who had been to East Lothian before, 70% had visited the area earlier the same year
• Activities - the majority of respondents undertook non-sporting activities. The main types of activities undertaken were to visit the beach or view the coastal scenery and general sightseeing and touring (48% and 46% respectively), visits to historical buildings or heritage sites and leisure shopping (23% and 22% each)
• Visitor Satisfaction - A 5 point scoring system (5 being very good and 1 being very poor) was used during the survey. Mean score of 4 or more is considered a good score. Visitor attractions were the most highly rated tourist facility, achieving an overall satisfaction score of 4.46. The second highest rated tourist facility was restaurants and cafés, with an average score of 4.35. The satisfaction among visitors to East Lothian was slightly lower for aspects relating to signposting and transport provision, with mean scores ranging from 4.10 to 3.87

5.5.14 Key points to note from this research are the slightly lower levels of visitor satisfaction with signposting and transport provision, and the origins of visitors, with the majority being Scottish visitors, and significant proportions coming from Edinburgh and elsewhere in the central belt of Scotland.

Description of transport links to the site and accessibility analysis

5.5.15 The Scottish Seabird Centre is located in North Berwick, East Lothian. The Centre is well served by public transport with 39 bus stops and 1 railway station within 1 mile of the Centre. The following maps illustrate this.

Figure 5-8 Map showing bus stops and rail halts within one mile of Centre

5.5.16 In terms of accessibility by public transport, Figure 5-9 shows the distances which can be travelled by scheduled public transport services within one hour's travelling time (including bus and rail travel). The town is relatively well served in terms of public transport towards Edinburgh and towns to the west of North Berwick, and less well served in other directions.

Figure 5-9 Map showing travel catchment within one hour by public transport

5.5.17 There is a bus stop immediately to the front of the Seabird Centre on Melbourne Road (stop name "North Berwick Seabird Centre"), although no bus information was displayed in this stop when visited by researchers in early summer 2007. The other bus stops in closest proximity to the Centre are on Quality Street (to the south) and on Church Road. At the Quality Street stop (approximately 5 minutes walk from the Centre), a test Real Time Information System is in place, although it was not functioning in early summer 2007 - in addition, bus timetable information is displayed together with the Traveline Scotland telephone number. The Church Road bus stop (to the south west) is a 10 minute walk from the Centre, and of a different design to the other stops viewed (tinted glass, no bus stop name displayed, different type of seating), timetables and the Traveline Scotland number were displayed.

5.5.18 Whilst buses were not boarded by the researchers, several services were observed at bus stops referred to above, specifically 120 (Dunbar to North Berwick) run by Eve Coaches Ltd and 124 by FirstEdinburgh - both appeared to be modern vehicles and were wheelchair accessible.

5.5.19 Pedestrian signage in the town for the Seabird Centre is good, and onward signing is visible from all bus stops referred to above. Signage is particularly good at the North Berwick Railway Station, with bespoke maps showing how to reach the Centre on foot (signage indicates a 1.1km/15 minute walk to the Centre) and by bus from the station. Clear and consistent signage to the Centre is presented throughout the town. However, given its historic nature the walkways within the town are narrow and often uneven - this is likely to make travel by wheelchair or pushchair difficult.

5.5.20 Discussions with the Marketing Manager at the Centre revealed a desire to promote further pedestrian access by completing the "missing link" in the Nortrail Coastal Path in East Lothian - this is an ongoing European funded project, and the path network does not currently link with North Berwick ⁵⁴.

Cycling

5.5.21 Cycling facilities for the Seabird Centre are mixed. 3 cycle racks are in place immediately outside the Centre, although this is the only facility for cyclists at the Centre (e.g. no lockers or covered racks). Covered cycle lockers are available at North Berwick railway station. Cycles can also be carried on First Scotrail train services to North Berwick from Edinburgh and intervening stops. No cycle-specific signage was visible within North Berwick, nor any on or off road cycle lanes. The North Sea Cycle Route does not connect with North Berwick (it runs from Berwick upon Tweed westwards through the Scottish Borders, turning north at Innerleithen towards Edinburgh).

Car Parking

5.5.22 There is a limited amount of free car parking immediately outside the Centre on Melbourne Road. Free car parking on-road is available within the town centre, although this is time limited in most places to 90 minutes - however, this is of limited capacity and appeared to be very well-used when observed in early summer 2007. Anecdotally, pressure on car parking is a problem within North Berwick, particularly during the peak visitor seasons.

5.5.23 The Seabird Centre does have its own car park - however, there is a public car park situated some 5-7 minute walk from the Centre to the south. It hosts approximately 35 car parking spaces, and charges in early summer 2007 were £1.20 per hour Pay and Display - however, 4 hour tickets are fully refunded when presented upon entry to the Seabird Centre. This car park has a good level of onward signposting to the Seabird Centre, and displays a way-finding map, similar to that in place at the railway station. There are other small car parks within the town centre, one of these, to the south of the Centre off Quality Street, appeared almost full when viewed on a weekday morning in early summer 2007 - at the same time, the Seabird Centre car park had only 3 cars parked.

5.5.24 Disabled parking bays are located immediately to the front of the Seabird Centre, with a ramped walkway to the Centre doors. These spaces, plus the cycle racks, are the closest points of access to the Centre from the road.

5.5.25 It is clear from some previous work by tourism partners in the region that there are issues around transport accessibility to East Lothian as a whole. The East Lothian Tourism Action Plan 2004-07 (ibid) contains a number of recommendations on various improvements to assist with visitor retention and dispersal - transport-related improvements are amongst those recommended, as follows:

• To increase the number of through visitors who stop in East Lothian and divert off main artery routes, as anecdotal evidence suggests that majority of visitors pass through East Lothian on the main A1 artery road and East Coast railway line without stopping or diverting onto other routes
• Lobby the Scottish Government for additional funding to be made available for new signage, promotional materials and visitor information facilities relating to the upgrading of the A1 artery route. New tourism signage schemes to be developed to maximise the diversion of through tourist traffic off the upgraded A1 artery route onto local roads including the A199
• Lobby railway companies and other transport companies to improve the quality, frequency and promotion of rail and bus services within East Lothian including the development of at least 2 new joint ticketing packages with local attractions/facilities

Key stakeholders involved in the case study

5.5.26 Key bodies with a role to play in transport accessibility to the Seabird Centre are as follows:

• Scottish Seabird Centre itself, with the Marketing Manager playing a key role in accessibility and audience development for the Centre as a whole
• Transport operators - First Scotrail (rail), First Edinburgh (bus), Eve Coaches Ltd and other smaller operators, taxi operators
• East Lothian Council - transport officers (relating to cycling, walking, public transport, roads and infrastructure), and tourism / economic development related officers
• Visit Scotland - the Centre is a 5-star Visit Scotland visitor attraction, and holds Gold level membership of the Green Tourism Business Scheme. The Centre does not receive any funding however from Visit Scotland
• Funders - the Centre exists on a mixture of revenue income, funding from the National Lottery and donations from its 7000 members as well as through its status as a Charitable Trust

Marketing, press, publicity, promotion

5.5.27 The Scottish Seabird Centre website, www.seabird.org, promotes the Seabird Saver Offer under its Visitor Information section. This Offer is a family ticket, costing £25.00 (2 adults and 2 children), which includes return rail travel from Edinburgh to North Berwick and entry into the Seabird Centre. Single adult (£8.00) and child (£5.00) tickets are also available. A web link is provided to the First Scotrail internet site, and the webpage dealing with this offer directly.

5.5.28 However, there is no further information within the Visitor Information section on how to access the Centre by public transport, nor is a link given to Traveline Scotland.

5.5.29 One other section of the website, the "About Us" section, has a paragraph entitled "easy to get to". It promotes the Centre's proximity to Edinburgh with transport links by car, bus or train available, and its proximity (1 hour) from the English Border. Free parking for 800 visitors is promoted, and a link is provided to the First Scotrail webpage, although not to Traveline.

Successes and good practice

5.5.30 The Centre together with First Scotrail offer an integrated ticketing and entry package. This Offer is a family ticket, costing £25.00 (2 adults and 2 children), which includes return rail travel from Edinburgh to North Berwick and entry into the Seabird Centre. Single adult (£8.00) and child (£5.00) tickets are also available. A web link from the Centre's website is provided to the First Scotrail internet site and the webpage dealing with this offer directly.

5.5.31 A shuttle bus pilot ran in 2006 from the North Berwick rail station to the Seabird Centre and other local attractions. However, its future is uncertain.

5.5.32 There is excellent pedestrian signage throughout North Berwick, directing visitors on foot to the Seabird Centre from the rail station, from the town centre, and even from bus stops. The signage is widespread and consistent in design. Furthermore, specific branded signage directs rail travellers from the rail station to the Seabird Centre, showing a map and details of the Centre.

5.5.33 Infrastructure at the rail station, and on trains, is good for cyclists in particular - trains carry at least four cycles (a result of successful lobbying by the Seabird Centre), and cycle lockers exist at North Berwick station.

5.5.34 Real Time Information systems are currently undergoing testing in East Lothian, and most bus stops have shelters and a good level of bus information, including the Traveline telephone number.

Barriers and problems, challenges

5.5.35 Despite many aspects of good practice in terms of promoting accessibility by public transport, a significant proportion (95%) of visitors to the Seabird Centre still travel by car.

5.5.36 The future of the pilot shuttle bus is uncertain. It was funded initially by East Lothian Council, who are keen for the major attractions in the area and local operators to take it forward after the initial pilot. The service has not run in summer 2007, primarily due to a lack of funding and ownership by any one organisation.

5.5.37 North Berwick suffers from local traffic congestion during peak summer periods, and a lack of car parking. The Seabird Centre itself has limited parking adjacent to its site, but offers a bespoke car park some 5-10 minutes walk away - parking is not free, but is reimbursed upon purchase of a ticket to the Centre. The Centre has an aspiration for a Park and Ride to manage local traffic and parking problems. Notwithstanding the integrated rail and entry ticket, some 95% of visitors still come to the Centre by car.

5.5.38 The integrated First Scotrail ticket cannot be bought online, or on trains - and are only valid from Edinburgh. Furthermore, anecdotally, this ticketing package is not a profitable one.

5.5.39 There is a lack of public transport services from the west of East Lothian and the Borders.

5.5.40 There would appear to be a lack of local cycling infrastructure within North Berwick itself - racks are not extensive, nor is there any route signage for cyclists or dedicated road space.

5.5.41 There is a lack of public transport information on the bus stop immediately outside the Seabird Centre - responsibility for information provision lies with transport operators in East Lothian (although this is not always the case across other local authorities in Scotland such as Edinburgh or Fife).

5.5.42 North Berwick could be classed as a "honeypot" tourist destination, and as a result, suffers from local congestion and pressure on car parking resources in peak periods. Possible Park and Ride type solutions are being discussed on an ongoing basis.

5.5.43 As reported in discussions with the Marketing Manager of the Seabird Centre, and the East Lothian Tourism Action Plan, a lack of clear signage from the A1 (road) and East Coast Mainline (rail) is a concern for the Centre and other attractions in East Lothian, who fear many visitors are passing the area by.

Recommendations

5.5.44 As discussed, the combined rail / entry ticketing system is particularly restrictive with tickets only available from manned rail stations and only valid from Edinburgh. Providing access to the tickets online and extending the tickets to cover other areas of Scotland including Fife and Glasgow would be beneficial. Responsibility for this recommendation lies with First Scotrail working in partnership with the Seabird Centre.

5.5.45 The Edinburgh to North Berwick rail line has witnessed high passenger growth in recent years, if this trend continues then significant capacity constraints on the service may arise. A potential solution to this capacity issue would be to raise awareness of existing bus-based alternatives and where appropriate introduce additional bus services. To achieve this, the Seabird Centre would be required to work with local bus operators to improve bus services where commercially viable. The Seabird Centre could also work with East Lothian Council to develop bus routes based on Bus Route Development Grant kickstart funding.

5.5.46 The existing traffic management system in North Berwick makes it difficult for buses to manoeuvre through the historic town with its narrow streets. In addition many of the pavements are narrow and uneven and pose significant challenges for those with mobility impairments. A potential solution to these issues would be the introduction of a Park and Ride facility on the edge of the town. This solution does introduce further challenges however with the Park and Ride site possibly encouraging public transport visitors to the Centre from switching to the car and using the Park and Ride site. Responsibility for the development of a Park and Ride scheme would fall on East Lothian Council with input from bus operators and local businesses.

5.5.47 As this case study has already highlighted, there is a lack of consistent public transport information to all of the bus stops within the town. This responsibility lies with bus operators in this region.

5.6 Pittenweem Arts Festival

Nature of research carried out in this case study

5.6.1 To support information gathering on this case study a number of people were contacted, including members of the Pittenweem Arts Festival Committee and Fife Council (Bus and School Transport). The following websites and documents were used to assist with the information gathering process:

• the Pittenweem Arts Festival website ⁵⁵
• Transport Direct ⁵⁶
• Traveline Scotland ⁵⁷
• the Go-Flexi website ⁵⁸

Summary description of the initiative and write-up

5.6.2 This annual arts festival takes place over 8 days in August in and around the small fishing village of Pittenweem in East Neuk of Fife, comprising of events and exhibitions. Venues are in homes/workshops/shops across the village as well as public buildings such as schools and church halls.

5.6.3 The audience targeted is of a typically higher income bracket, and whilst no information is gathered on how visitors travel to the event, it is thought by organisers that the majority will travel by car despite a reasonably good level of bus access to Pittenweem, and the existence of a local Go-Flexi demand responsive taxi scheme which is open to the general public. Due to the historic nature of the village and pressure from local traffic congestion and lack of available parking during the festival, a free Park and Ride shuttle service is provided from a public recreation ground in the village. The Festival is reaching saturation limit in terms of capacity for car-using visitors, and a greater proportion of non-car using visitors would therefore be desirable in the future.

Description of the cultural activity / event / site

5.6.4 Pittenweem Arts Festival is an annual Arts Festival run in August, now in its 25 ^th year. The festival week provides a variety of cultural activity, drawing on both local artists, and artists from further a field. Activity includes musical performances, talks, workshops and other performances (for example comedy).

5.6.5 The Festival is almost entirely volunteer-led and self-contained in terms of funding - no public funding is sought or received, as the festival organisers have wished to remain independent, although this ethos is gradually changing as the pressure to compete with other similar festivals across Scotland grows.

Information on the audience and audience development

5.166.6 An Economic Impact Assessment Report on Pittenweem Arts Festival was carried out by consultants for Fife Council in 2004, and is a key recent source of data on visitors. This report estimated visitor numbers to be in the vicinity of 20,000, and growing. With regards the make-up of visitors:

• The proportion of visitors who either lived in Pittenweem or elsewhere in East Neuk was 20% in 2004, whilst 40% of all visitors were from Fife
• From the remaining 60% of visitors not from Fife, 76% came from the rest of Scotland (Edinburgh and Glasgow areas accounting for the largest proportions)
• Overall, holidaymakers (as opposed to day trippers at 41% or local residents at 20%) accounted for 36% of visitors

5.6.7 These figures on origin have implications for travel needs, as it would suggest there is a clear market for local transport solutions amongst residents in the local area and Fife as a whole, as well as potential transport solutions for audiences travelling from Glasgow and Edinburgh areas.

5.6.8 More women than men attended the Festival in 2004 (64% compared to 36% men), whilst those aged over 55 accounted for 42% of all visitors surveyed, suggesting the Festival appeals to an older audience (although only 11% overall were aged over 65). Almost 40% were in full time employment, whilst around 20% were retired. Just over 90% of interviewees said there were no children in their group, and 86% said there were a maximum of 2 adults in their group - this would suggest that there is potential to market use of public transport for visitors travelling alone or in couples.

5.6.9 The survey suggested that the majority of visitors travelled to Pittenweem specifically to attend the Festival, with two-thirds indicating they would not have visited the town in the absence of the Festival.

5.6.10 In 2004, there were 81 venues used during the Festival - the majority of survey respondents (78%) said they had visited up to 15 venues. 84% indicated they would spend more than 2 hours in Pittenweem, with 44% saying they would spend more than 4 hours.

5.6.11 Interviewees were asked if there was anything they disliked about the Festival - the issue that got the most mentions (24 mentions) was parking/traffic. Improved and more parking was one of the main improvements requested (although after improved and more catering, and improvements to the art on show), followed by signage/venue numbering.

5.6.12 The Economic Impact report also explored daily spend, and found that less than 1% of daily spend was spent on transport, indicating that visitors may be relatively self-sufficient in terms of travel (driving private cars as opposed to spending on taxis, buses and trains).

5.6.13 The Festival has encountered pressures from the level of vehicular traffic which arises during the festival period each year - a Park and Ride was developed to ease pressure on parking and traffic congestion locally within the village, partly in response to the parking issues highlighted in the Economic Impact Report of 2004. For this reason, the organisers would welcome more visitors to come by public transport or other sustainable modes, although there has not been any significant work done by organisers to promote this.

Description of transport links to the site and accessibility analysis

5.6.14 Pittenweem is a small settlement located in the East Neuk of Fife. There are 26 bus stops within 1 mile of the centre of Pittenweem, as shown in Figure 5-10.

5.6.15 Bus services to the village are as follows:

• X26 St Andrews/Glasgow - calling at the main stops of Glasgow - Cumbernauld - Dunfermline - Kirkcaldy - Leven - Anstruther - St Andrews, as well as some local stops. This service runs roughly hourly on weekdays and Saturdays, from around 0730hrs with the last service towards Glasgow through Pittenweem at around 1830hrs, the last towards St Andrews at 1900hrs. A limited route service runs on Sundays, which does not serve Pittenweem
• Local bus service 62 serving Earlsferry - St Monans - Pittenweem - Anstruther - Cellardyke. From around 0830hrs in the morning until 1800hrs, this service runs hourly on weekdays and Saturdays (no Sunday service)
• Local bus service 95 serving St Andrews - Crail - Anstruther - St Monans / Arncroach - Leven. From around 0630hrs, this service runs hourly (slightly more at peak times) until the last service at 2250hrs on weekdays and Saturdays to St Andrews. A modified hourly service runs on Sundays, the last service to St Andrews from Pittenweem leaving at 2313hrs.

5.6.16 The nearest train station is Leuchars, near St Andrews - trains between Edinburgh and Dundee and Aberdeen stop at Leuchars. A typical journey by public transport from Leuchars' rail station (as informed by Transport Direct) takes approximately 1 hour, involving interchange at St Andrew's, in addition to the interchange at Leuchars' from the travellers origin.

Figure 5-10 Overview of Pittenweem accessibility

5.6.17 A site visit revealed a number of inconsistencies in public transport infrastructure within the village - whilst some stops (mainly those on the main road served by X26) provided bus service information and the Traveline number, others did not. Only 1 bus shelter was visible within the village, at the Tollcross South bus stop (towards Leven/Kirkcaldy).

5.6.18 A further issue arises in terms of accessibility of all venues by public transport - whilst most venues during the Festival are within the village, within walking distance of each other, 1 venue is located approximately 5 miles outside the village at Kellie Castle. By public transport, this is achievable by taking the local 95 bus service from Charles Street on a 7 minute journey to Newton of Balcormo - followed by a 10 minute walk to Kellie Castle, which not all may find desirable or possible (for example, those with limited mobility). This compares with a 14 minute journey by car (all journey details sourced from Transport Direct).

5.6.19 Pittenweem is on the Fife Millennium Cycleway Anstruther Pittenweem Kellie Route, and there is associated signage within the village. This 19 mile route is on and off road, and on road mostly through the village of Pittenweem. However, within Pittenweem itself there are limited facilities for cyclists - beyond some limited Cycleway signage and 2 cycle racks in front of the Pittenweem Arts Festival box office, there are limited incentives for cyclists. As several villages surrounding Pittenweem are within cycling distance (Anstruther is 1.4 miles), and the Economic Impact Assessment report indicated a sizeable proportion of visitors from the local area, there is potential scope to increase the number of local visitors coming by cycle.

5.6.20 Furthermore, there is potential to increase the number of local visitors walking to the village. Anecdotally, some visitors do walk from the neighbouring villages of Anstruther and St Monan's, particularly as there is a coastal path available to use, although it is unknown if a significant proportion of residents visiting the Festival from these villages walk, or whether visitors from further away park in these villages and walk, due to parking pressures in Pittenweem - the latter has been suggested by Festival organisers.

5.6.21 Organisers also stated that some visitors have reported it difficult to navigate their way around the venues during the Festival, so there may be a need for improved signage in this regard. There is some pedestrian signage around the village, and an AA sign from a previous Festival was seen during a 2007 site visit. However, a village map in the centre of Pittenweem does not show any public transport information (for example bus stops or cycling routes). Signage throughout the village is in general inconsistent in terms of style and design, and in some places could be perceived as cluttered - all of which does not contribute to a comprehensible pedestrian environment.

Key stakeholders involved in the case study

5.6.22 The key stakeholders in this case study are as follows:

• Pittenweem Arts Festival organising committee (largely volunteers)
• Fife Council - cultural officers, traffic management officers, funders of the Go Flexi demand responsive transport scheme
• Stagecoach bus operator

Marketing, press, publicity, promotion

5.6.23 The Pittenweem Arts Festival website is a key marketing tool, as is the Festival Programme which costs £2, and is available by contacting the Festival Box Office (in person or by telephone). It is assumed the Programme is also available at other local outlets in Fife, particularly arts venues. The Economic Impact Assessment Report of 2004 stated that the organisers also produce a poster, are a member of the Kingdom of Fife Tourist Board and advertise on a limited basis in Scottish broadsheet newspapers. The Report stated that significant marketing was by word of mouth, and this is potentially demonstrated by the proportion of the audience who had been before, with only 39% of interviewees saying they were new visitors to the Festival in 2004. Organisers also stated that they advertise in the Superfast Ferries brochure, which serves the Rosyth-Zeebrugge route.

5.6.24 A web search for this research revealed that the Festival is also advertised in the following sources:

• The Scottish Arts Council website, in its "what's on" pages ⁵⁹
• The List, a key publication advertising events and entertainment in Scotland, which has a hard copy format as well as online version ⁶⁰
• The fifedirect.org.uk website, which is the official Fife Council website, and promotes the Arts Festival on its "what's on" section ⁶¹
• The Visit Scotland - Fife website ⁶² includes the Arts Festival in its list of events in August. This website also includes details of travel and transport in Fife, including the UK Traveline website - links are provided to the individual websites of operators, as no specific timetable information is provided on the Visit Scotland website
• The St Andrew's Directory ⁶³, an online directory to businesses, accommodation and activity listings for St Andrews and surrounding areas

5.6.25 However, none of these information resources give any specific information on how to travel to the Festival, instead providing merely a link to the Pittenweem Arts Festival website.

5.6.26 On the Pittenweem Arts Festival website, travel information is given on a strategic level; with information on long distance coach services and the nearest railway station (some 16 miles away). No local bus information is given, although a web link and telephone number for Traveline is provided. A telephone number and web link is provided for Stagecoach buses, who are the main bus service provider in the area.

Successes and opportunities

5.6.27 There are a number of positive elements surrounding the Pittenweem Arts Festival with the potential to improve access by public transport, as follows:

• Free Park and Ride shuttle bus to enable people to get around the small village, particularly people with mobility difficulties as the village does have a number of steep gradients - this solution has also helped to overcome local traffic congestion issues
• Good level of public transport services (hourly) available, throughout the day and evening (although this level drops considerably on Sundays)
• Strategic public transport information is available on the website including the Traveline number, although no local bus information is provided (which could arguably be obtained by the user through Traveline Scotland)
• Official cycling route and associated signage in place, and cycling racks within village, although more could be made of these opportunities
• Coastal path available linking the village to surrounding villages within walking distance, although, again, more could be made of this opportunity

Success factors

5.6.28 The Economic Impact Assessment report in 2004 by Fife Council encouraged the organisers to consider how to deal with parking issues during the Festival, and partially as a result, the Park and Ride scheme was set up. The Park and Ride scheme was also set up in response to concerns raised by local residents over the volume of traffic in the village and lack of parking during the Festival.

5.6.29 In addition, the organisers have a good working relationship with Fife Council officers from various departments, including traffic management (although not on transport planning and sustainable transport issues), and meet on a regular basis to discuss issues and how to deal with them. Fife Council owns the recreation field where the Park and Ride is based.

Barriers and problems, challenges

5.6.30 In order to promote more public transport travel access to the Festival, a number of issues have been identified that need to be considered and overcome, as follows:

• There is a lack of understanding of how visitors travel to the Festival - more information is required on this
• There are limited Sunday public transport services
• There is a lack of direct public transport services away from coastal route, and travelling from several directions (for example from the inland west, or from Leuchars rail station, requires interchange)
• Interchange is required from Leuchars railway station via St Andrew's, and this journey by public transport is considerably longer and less convenient than a car drive (takes 1 hour by public transport involved interchange at least once compared to a 25 minute direct drive)
• The cost of travel by public transport may be an issue for people when compared to what most people perceive to be the relatively free cost of using a car they already own - it costs £14.50 to travel by bus from St Andrews to the Festival. However, this is a common problem in promoting public transport, as individuals tend to underestimate the true cost of a car journey (petrol, maintenance, and crucially the environmental cost)
• Steep gradients within the village make the pedestrian environment a challenging one
• It could be argued there is a lack of cycling infrastructure with only 2 bicycle racks, although it should be stressed there is currently a lack of data on the proportion of local people who cycle to the Festival
• For people travelling by public transport in the evening, there are a limited number of places to wait (there is just one bus shelter)
• There is a lack of consistent pedestrian signage, which could be perceived as cluttered and discouraging to a person on foot. Furthermore, signage tends to be focused on cars. During the festival, AA signage is paid for by the organisers, which is primarily aimed at directing cars to the Park and Ride.
• There is an inconsistency in bus stop infrastructure, as not all have shelters or information on buses serving that stop

Proposed solutions and responsibilities - recommendations

5.6.31 As Pittenweem is already served relatively well by public transport, there would appear to be 2 key issues to be addressed in encouraging more people to travel by public transport on - increase the attractiveness of the existing public transport on offer, and increase awareness of the existing public transport provision. These are dealt with in turn below.

5.6.32 To increase awareness of the existing public transport provision available, the Arts Festival website could provide further links to local bus information, potentially even timetables which operate during the Festival period (changes to service provision should not be an issue over an 8 day period and therefore there is minimal risk that timetables posted on the Pittenweem website will be out of date if sourced directly from operators). The organisers could also promote public transport in the hard copy program - no information on public transport or public transport infrastructure (for example bus stops) within the village was provided in a previous Festival programme viewed by this project's researchers. Furthermore, bus operators (Stagecoach) could promote the Arts Festival on board local buses and express services serving the area in the preceding months, as well as their website.

5.6.33 To increase the attractiveness of the existing public transport on offer, consideration could be given to integrated travel and entry packages. The organisers indicated this may be difficult as most events are not big enough to merit such a deal (maximum capacity in one of the biggest venues is 200). However, a pilot could be considered in 2008 for some of the larger events, through partnership between the Arts Festival organisers and Stagecoach, the local bus operator. Such an integrated entry package could also be considered in conjunction with the Go Flexi service and Fife Council (see below). A barrier to this could be lack of available funding to commit from the Arts Festival organisers, unless they receive some specific funding to promote sustainable transport from charitable or public sources.

5.6.34 Furthermore, Fife Council could improve the public transport infrastructure within the village, providing more bus shelters, and ensuring public transport information and the Traveline number is available at each bus stop (Fife Council has responsibility for public transport information at bus stops as opposed to operators). To assist with encouraging people to view using public transport as an attractive option, particularly in the evening, the Arts Festival organisers may need to consider providing specific waiting areas in the evening for people waiting on buses and encouraging local catering venues to remain open in the evening. It is noted that one of the key concerns raised by visitors in the Economic Impact Assessment report of 2004 was a lack of local catering venues.

5.6.35 It is recognised that the Festival does generate a particular pattern of travel demand that is difficult to serve by mainstream public transport - small events throughout the week at different times, and a large proportion of activity being based on visits to exhibitions throughout the day. Visitor numbers are therefore spread out over a considerable time period across the week, which makes the provision of bespoke coach or bus services difficult to justify. However, if a sufficient audience exists within St Andrews, consideration could be given to a bespoke express bus or minibus service for key events during festival, funded by the organisers but on a paying fare basis (any fares charged however, as well as journey times, would have to be competitive with local public transport options and with use of a private car).

5.6.36 Moreover, there is an existing demand responsive transport service serving local communities which is open to the general public, which could be used by visitors to the Pittenweem Arts Festival - the Go Flexi service ⁶⁴. During this research, the potential for greater use of this service for the Arts Festival was discussed with an officer at Fife Council, who held the opinion that such a service was not designed for events like the Pittenweem Arts Festival. However, the researchers cannot find any justification for this view, having viewed timetables and operating arrangements for the service - it operates at all times of the day, including evenings, can be booked on a relatively short notice timescale, caters well for individuals and small numbers of people wishing to travel, and is open to the general public. It is therefore strongly recommended that the Arts Festival organisers discuss with the Council the possibility of promoting this service on their website, program and any other promotional material, including adverts in brochures and local newspapers.

5.6.37 A separate coach parking area has been suggested for the 2007 Festival, which would be a good solution to promote more public transport travel by groups. Fife Council is working with the organisers, and has allocated land for this.

5.6.38 To promote more cycling trips by local residents (those within Pittenweem and within a catchment area of approximately two miles ⁶⁵), the following measures could be taken:

• Arts Festival organisers promote Fife Millennium Cycleway website link on their Festival website and promotional material, including the program
• Arts Festival organisers, in partnership with Fife Council, could include maps of local cycling routes and cycling infrastructure within Pittenweem (for example cycle racks) on their website and promotional material, including the program
• Fife Council could put in place more bike racks within the village, and improve mapping on the High Street to include a map of cycle routes and related infrastructure

5.6.39 To promote more walking trips by local residents (those within Pittenweem and within a catchment area of approximately 1 mile ⁶⁶), the following measures could be taken:

• Fife Council could improve pedestrian signage within Pittenweem, making it more visually consistent, and work with Arts Festival organisers to make pedestrian signage throughout the Festival widespread and coherent
• The Arts Festival organisers could promote greater use of the coastal path for people living locally in St Monans and Anstruther during the Festival, by promoting the existence of the coastal path in its promotional material and website, and working with Fife Council to erect pedestrian signage directing people along this route to the Festival from these villages

5.7 Lyth Arts Centre, Caithness

Nature of research carried out in this case study

5.7.1 To support information gathering on this case study a number of people were contacted, including staff at Lyth Arts Centre, Caithness Community Transport, Highland Council, Community Transport Association and Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise. Key information sources for this case study included:

• Lyth Arts website ⁶⁷
• Information on travel in and around Thurso ⁶⁸
• Traveline Scotland ⁶⁹ and Transport Direct ⁷⁰
• Rapsons bus operator's timetables for Caithness ⁷¹

Summary description of the initiative and write-up

5.7.2 Lyth Arts Centre is a 60 seat theatre/arts venue located in Caithness in the far north of Scotland. The nearest bus stop is approximately 1 mile away, which is served by very low frequency bus services. A local community transport scheme exists in the area but only occasionally serves the Centre. Some informal car sharing by visitors to the Centre occurs, facilitated by Centre staff at the time of booking.

5.7.3 Given the remote location of this Centre, and the small audience numbers at any one time, it is thought likely that demand responsive transport is the most realistic opportunity to promote more access by sustainable modes. This could include the Centre facilitating greater use of the existing community transport scheme in the area by promoting it on its marketing and information literature (including website), although membership of this scheme is restricted; as well as expansion of taxi-based supported services to cover this area, should demand warrant it.

Description of the cultural activity / event / site

5.7.4 Lyth Arts Centre is a key local arts and culture facility in Caithness. It promotes work in theatre, music and visual art, with most of its programme devoted to presenting professional artists, although it also acts as a stepping-stone for local artist's activity. Traditionally it holds an annual summer exhibition throughout July and August presenting a broad variety of artwork.

5.7.5 The Centre is funded by Scottish Arts Council and Highland Council. In addition, capital funding is occasionally received from Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise.

Information on the audience and audience development

5.7.6 Information collected on how the audience travels to the Arts Centre is limited, but does tend to support the claim that most people drive to the venue. Due to the nature of the area (rural with close knit communities), the Arts Centre management feel they know their audience well as some of their audience have been coming to the venue for 30 years, and in some cases, the Centre audience is comprised of a second or third generation from particular families.

5.7.7 From discussions with the Director, the Centre does have some aspirations to increase/develop its audience, although not large scale aspirations in terms of volumes or type of visitor, given the capacity of the venue primarily. The Centre management believes that the scope for developing the audience into different socio-economic groups is limited, being of the view that most people make decisions about how to engage with the arts fairly early on in their lives. The Centre believes that the key to audience development lies with working with the very young. As a result, the Centre devotes a lot of time to organising theatre performances for primary school children and school visits to exhibitions for slightly older children.

Description of transport links to the site and accessibility analysis

5.7.8 Lyth Arts Centre is located some 15 miles from Thurso, 10 miles from Wick. It is in a relatively inaccessible location in public transport terms - there are no bus or rail stops/halts within 1 mile of the centre.

Figure 5-11 Accessibility analysis

5.7.9 There are limited ways to access Lyth Arts Centre by public transport and other sustainable modes - the Director of the Centre acknowledges that most people reach the centre by car.

5.7.10 It should be noted from the outset, that a search on Traveline Scotland for a public transport option from either Wick or Thurso to Lyth, provides no journey options. A search using other local settlements as destinations - Sortat, Howe - also gives no public transport journey options. Transport Direct ⁷² also provides no public transport journey option for Wick to Lyth. This is most likely explained by the inability of these journey planners to provide journey options where there is not a local bus stop within one mile of the location cited.

5.7.11 However, an interview with a transport officer at Highland Council revealed there is a local bus service. This service, 83 and 83A, is run by local operator Rapsons, and runs between Wick and Dounreay. However, it is very limited in its hours of operation. Therefore, these services are presumably aimed at those in employment at Dounreay and Forss Business Park, and do not provide any real public transport option for people attending cultural activity either during the day or evening at Lyth Arts Centre.

5.7.12 Citylink buses run between Thurso and Inverness 5 times daily (4 times on Sundays), with a journey time of approximately 3 and a half hours. Although Hastigrow is not shown in the published Citylink timetable ⁷³, a search on Traveline Scotland reveals the coach stops at this location (3.13 hour journey from Inverness), from where it is approximately a 2.5mile walk to the Lyth Centre. The Lyth Centre Director commented that some people use this option, although, acknowledging that it is a long walk. Traveline Scotland reveals the earliest this journey can be made is on the 1400hrs from Inverness, arriving at 1713hrs in Hastigrow. There is no return journey to Inverness in the evening on Citylink, and the next available Citylink service going south from Hastigrow is at 0720hrs the next day.

5.7.13 A local bus operator, Harrolds, operate school transport in the area, and Lyth Centre has worked with them in the past to transport school trips to the Centre. They will be doing this again in September of this year, when there will be 8 events over a week, with 2 shows per day, bringing in school children from Wick and 5 surrounding villages. These shows have to be tightly scheduled so that buses can take children back to school in time to pick up all other children for the school run home.

5.7.14 There is some use by visitors of local community transport: Caithness Dial a Ride, Thrumster Community Bus, and schools, have their own buses that they use. Pultneytown Church Minibus (which has applied for Rural Community Transport Initiative ( RCTI) funding in 2007, under the name of Wick and East Caithness Church Community Transport) also takes visitors to the Centre, anecdotally.

5.7.15 According to the Director of Lyth Arts Centre, some informal car sharing goes on amongst audience members. The Centre staff know their audience very well, and "check in" everyone "airline style" before performances, so they know they will have enough of an audience to go ahead. They phone the visitor up the day before the performance normally to confirm attendance. This contact gives them an opportunity to raise the possibility of sharing a car with someone else who is coming to the Centre - Centre staff only do this with people they know, and they tend to know most of their customers very well.

Key stakeholders involved in the case study

5.7.16 The key stakeholders of relevance to this case study are:

• Lyth Arts Centre - funded by Scottish Arts Council, Highland Council and Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise (capital funding only)
• Caithness Community Transport scheme, based in Wick
• Highland Council - Transport Officers within Technical Services Department, and Cultural and Youth Development Officers
• Local and regional bus operators, such as Rapsons and Citylink

5.7.17 It is not thought that Lyth Arts Centre receives any stipulations in funding awards to promote sustainable transport.

Marketing, press, publicity, promotion

5.7.18 The Lyth Arts Centre website does not provide any information on how to reach the Centre by any form of transport other than by car. On a webpage entitled "Location" ⁷⁴, a series of maps are provided showing the location of Lyth. The only travel information given is the following paragraph, set against a map entitled "Lyth Arts Centre road map":

From the South, Lyth Arts Centre is reached via Wick by the A9 / A99, turning off towards Lyth after the Loch of Wester. The Centre is signposted and is set back from the road about 1km after the bridge over the Burn of Lyth.

Key successes to date and success factors

5.7.19 An example of good practice from this case study is the informal car sharing that Centre staff facilitate amongst audiences. However, as discussed above, this is most likely only replicable in similar sized venues where staff and audiences are well known to each other and a degree of trust exists.

5.7.20 The local community transport scheme provides occasional trips for some of its members to the Centre (this is discussed further below in terms of a key opportunity for the future).

Barriers and problems, challenges

5.7.21 The principle barrier faced in any attempt to promote public transport access to Lyth Arts Centre is its location - in a remote rural part of the Highlands and Islands, a mile away from the nearest bus stop with an extremely limited range of sustainable transport options available. The economics of de-regulated bus provision mean that commercial operators must at least see the potential for an economically viable bus service before they will commit to it - this is a considerable challenge for public transport provision in many remote and rural parts of Scotland. Kickstart schemes do exist, such as the Bus Route Development Grant previously provided by the Scottish Government on a challenge fund basis. These do require funded schemes to have some probability of commercial viability within a specified period of time (typically 3 years), making it difficult for rural bids to be successful.

5.7.22 Local transport authorities are responsible for ensuring that bus services in their areas meet local needs. Indeed, under the Transport Act 1985, they have a duty to intervene in the marketplace to identify and subsidise socially necessary services. A high proportion of bus services receive financial support from local authorities across the Highlands and Islands. Although increasingly, Highland Council is funding demand responsive taxi-schemes instead of conventional bus services in areas where demand is too low to justify a mainstream bus. Such a Demand Responsive Transport scheme, open to the general public at all times of the day, could be a valuable opportunity to promote access to venues such as Lyth Arts Centre, and enable new audiences to develop particularly if costs to the user are reasonable. Such a Demand Responsive Transport scheme is not currently available in the area around Lyth Arts Centre. Funding levels available to the Council and justification of demand form the main barriers to more of these schemes. A further barrier is a lack of local infrastructure to deliver such schemes - a Highland Council officer with whom this research was discussed cited the lack of local taxi companies as a key factor in the inability to extend the coverage of Demand Responsive Transport-based taxi schemes across the Highlands.

5.7.23 The local community transport scheme, Caithness CT, is a key opportunity to promote more sustainable modes of access to Lyth Arts Centre in the future, particularly as it has a membership base most likely to be amongst those targeted by the Scottish Government for enhanced access to cultural activity (lower incomes, older people, disabled people). However, the restriction on membership is also a barrier to increased use of this scheme for cultural activity, as it is not open to the general public (although it does serve anyone in the rural catchment area it covers without access to a car). The community transport scheme is publicly funded - Scottish Government Rural Community Transport Initiative ( RCTI) funding, as well as Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise - as well as generating revenue from its various uses.

5.7.24 The definition of social needs is a key barrier to improving access to cultural activity through the use of publicly funded schemes, be they bus, taxi or community transport based. Historically, community transport provision has focused on social needs of its users, and indeed, this has been a focus of funding awards such as the RCTI. The organiser of the Caithness CT scheme states that the majority of their trip purposes are for such social needs - shopping, health, education, visiting friends and families, amongst the specific target groups they serve (groups traditionally with lesser access to private transport for reasons of where they live, age or mobility).

5.7.25 However, the nature of community transport across the UK is changing. Grant based funding is in recession, and schemes are increasingly having to look to diversify their sources of income, often by developing a more commercially oriented outlook and opening up to new client groups in the attempt to increase sources of revenue. Some are increasingly taking on contract work for local authorities in the search for steady sources of income. It may be therefore, that the Caithness CT and other similar groups could, in partnership with Lyth Arts Centre, target both existing and potential cultural audiences in this regard. However, Lyth Arts Centre will need to facilitate this by promoting such alternative transport options on its website and other sources of marketing literature.

5.7.26 As with all case studies examined in this research, a general issue applies in terms of a lack of any incentive built into funding awards for cultural providers to promote travel by public transport. Lyth Arts Centre does receive some funding from Scottish Arts Council, Caithness and Sutherland Enterprise ( CASE) and Highland Council. However, as far as can be discerned, none of these funding awards require Lyth to promote or achieve sustainable travel access by staff or visitors. Moreover, CASE says it prefers to fund sustainable transport initiatives directly, as it funds Caithness and Sutherland Community Transport.

Recommendations

5.7.27 The promotion of more formal car sharing, such as Liftshare ⁷⁵ would be recommended. This scheme could be extended through working in partnership with HITRANS (Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership) to develop a region-based car sharing scheme. A major challenge to successfully implementing this recommendation is the relatively small audience numbers at the Centre.

5.7.28 Increased promotion of the Caithness Community Transport ( CT) Scheme through marketing on the Lyth Arts Centre website and associated leaflets/brochures would be of benefit. A challenge to this recommendation is the current priority for Caithness CT to serve social needs with cultural activity not viewed to be within this category.

5.7.29 Extending taxi-based Demand Responsive Transport ( DRT) schemes within the region to this part of Caithness would bring benefits to the Centre. This recommendation is however restricted by a lack of funding within Highland Council to extend routes significantly and also a lack of local companies to operate the schemes.

5.7.30 A greater use of school and local authority provided transport during off-peak times would be a further recommendation. This could be extended to provide transport for groups who may be underrepresented in cultural activity participation (for example older people and disabled people). There exist inherent challenges in vehicle sharing although by no means insurmountable. At present Highland Council is moving towards the creation of a single Integrated Transport Unit which it is believed should make vehicle sharing easier.

5.7.31 A final recommendation is for funders (to the Arts Centre) to stipulate requirements where appropriate to provide information about access by all modes for visitors and staff in funding awards.

5.8 Eden Court Theatre, Inverness

Nature of research carried out in this case study

5.8.1 Individuals from Eden Court Theatre and Highland Council were spoken to during research on this case study. Key sources of information for this case study were:

• Traveline Scotland ⁷⁶ and Transport Direct ⁷⁷
• The Eden Court website ⁷⁸
• Some limited information on amended planning applications for the redevelopment of the Eden Court site

Summary description of the initiative and write-up

5.8.2 Eden Court Theatre is the largest arts venue in the Highlands, with relatively good accessibility for those who can get to city by public transport. However, the Theatre aspires to attract more visitors who travel by public transport, particularly as there is limited parking capacity in the area in the daytime. Information on how visitors travel is limited, although some information exists on where visitors travel from.

5.8.3 Key challenges to promoting access by public transport is the remoteness of the catchment area and the large distances many audiences have to travel (the Highlands and Islands of Scotland), the need for interchange for many travelling by bus or rail from outlying areas, and a lack of evening public transport services.

5.8.4 Potential solutions include greater promotion of existing public transport modes to audiences by Eden Court Theatre itself; better infrastructure to promote safe walking and cycling to the venue; more liaison with local transport bodies and sources of advice (for example Highland Council and Community Transport Association) on how to make the most of community and demand responsive transport options.

Description

5.8.5 Eden Court Theatre in Inverness is the largest arts venue in the Highlands and Islands. Its location is 500 metres from Inverness town centre. At the time of writing, the Theatre is currently under refurbishment, and performances have been "on the road" during the refurbishment period, taking theatre and other arts performances to audiences across the region. When it reopens, there will provide a 850 seat theatre, a 260 seat theatre, 2 cinemas (86 seat and 135 seat), and 2 dance/drama studios with 20/30 person capacity. The Theatre will be open 7 days a week, 1000hrs to 2200hrs, and in addition to its core business of cinema showings and theatre performances, it will also host major conferences.

Information on the audience and audience development

5.8.6 Some limited information is gathered on audiences upon bookings made. Data from 2003 suggested that the average distance travelled by visitors was 40 miles, although no information is available on how audiences travel to the venue beyond anecdotal information from conversations with visitors. Bigger shows attract audiences from further away, whilst cinema audiences tend to be mainly from Inverness and the Black Isle area (including Badenoch, Strathspey, Nairn etc).

5.8.7 From discussions with the Marketing Manager at Eden Court, the management know the following information about their audience from previous periods of data collection. Most of the existing audience are:

• resident in Postcode IV2 (this area encompasses most of central and eastern Inverness, east of Inverness to a point west of Nairn and south of Inverness along most of the length of Loch Ness)
• visit twice a year
• are aged 35 plus
• "typical" theatre goers
• 50/50 male female
• varied income brackets (Eden Court takes care to have an inclusive pricing policy)
• not students or young people aged 15 to 35

5.8.8 Eden Court place significant emphasis on audience development. Anecdotally, they know that much of their audience who have access to a car can reach the venue, although they would also like to target audiences without access to a car as a priority. Illustrative of this commitment is the altering of some show times to make it as easy as possible for those travelling by public transport to attend.

5.8.9 Eden Court Theatre is located in central Inverness, in an accessible location. There are 191 bus stops within 1 mile of the theatre, and 1 railway station (Inverness railway station). The following map illustrates this.

Figure 5-12 Location of bus stops

5.8.10 The general accessibility catchment of the site for people travelling by public transport in less than 1 hour is shown in Figure 5-13. This figure illustrates that accessibility by public transport is at its greatest along radial corridors served by rail and bus services into Inverness. It also indicates that most of the catchment area of the theatre, effectively a significant part of the Highland region, is more than 1 hour travel time by public transport, particularly areas to the north and west of Inverness.

5.8.11 As the existing Eden Court Theatre site is still under refurbishment and redevelopment, including surrounding access roads, a detailed site visit was not made by researchers.

5.8.12 From discussions with the Marketing Manager, it was elicited that cycle parking was provided at the venue in the past, and will be again when the redeveloped Theatre re-opens (with 10 secure bike racks provided at the venue, and additional bike parking available at adjacent Council building). However, there does not appear to have been a significant steer from Highland Council in the planning application process for redevelopment of the site to promote cycling and walking access, beyond basic road safety considerations for pedestrian access and egress.

Figure 5-13 Accessibility overview

5.8.13 A condition attached to the Planning Consent for refurbishment and extension to the existing theatre states that the Theatre must provide for 2 bus shelters to be erected at bus stops proposed on Bishop's Road (at no expense to Highland Council) - the reason given for this condition, was to ensure that the desired modal shift from private car to public transport indicated within the applicant's original submission was fulfilled. Four bus drop off spaces must also be provided at the entrance of the Theatre on Eden Court land.

5.8.14 Whilst the original planning application and Planning Consent for the refurbishment of Eden Court Theatre were not viewed by researchers, a discussion with a Development Control officer at Highland Council suggested that as the Theatre was an existing venue since 1970, it is unlikely that public and sustainable transport access was given much weight when it was originally built, making it difficult to give this issue significant weight in future redevelopments. The Officer also pointed out that the Theatre has a large catchment area, region-wide, and therefore a degree of realism must be employed as not all audiences will have access to a sustainable transport option.

5.8.15 In terms of parking, the original venue was built adjacent to the Highland Council headquarters on Glenurquhart Road to take advantage of shared parking capacity. This is still the case, although the Theatre increasingly has events during the day, putting pressure on local car parking capacity. The Council Officer confirmed that parking at and around the Theatre is limited due to the nature of the surrounding area (Council owned car parks all charge, and on-street parking is largely regulated). Eden Court themselves acknowledge that parking is limited and is an issue for them, particularly during the daytime - moreover, the existing redevelopment has only seen a slight increase in parking capacity (150 spaces, compared to 130 previously).

Key stakeholders involved in the case study

5.8.16 Eden Court receives funding from Highland Council, Scottish Arts Council, Inverness and Nairn Enterprise and Scottish Screen. Other key stakeholders in improving accessibility are local transport operators, in particular Stagecoach (Inverness) and First Scotrail. Furthermore, there are a number of community transport organisations throughout the region that could potentially provide their client groups with transport to Eden Court Theatre.

Marketing, press, publicity, promotion

5.8.17 Eden Court theatre is undergoing a major refurbishment project, with reopening planned for late 2007. Therefore, directional information on the website is limited, and refers only to the temporary location of events at the Eden Court Cinema, by the Floral Hall in the Bught Park car park.

Successes to date

5.8.18 As the Theatre is in central Inverness, it enjoys a good level of public transport accessibility. Eden Court Theatre has been proactive in the past about both increasing the range of their audience, and promoting access by public transport, having negotiated the re-routing of a local bus service with a local operator. The Theatre has amended showing times, putting matinee times forward 30 minutes, to enable customers to catch the last bus home - this was directly in response to some informal customer feedback.

5.8.19 Information provision is currently limited, as the theatre venue is still undergoing refurbishment but a recent brochure for the Theatre viewed by researchers displayed a map showing direct bus services to its location. Data is gathered on audiences. Their socio-economic backgrounds and where they live is well understood - but there is little or no data on how audiences travel to the venue beyond anecdotal evidence. The Theatre has a pro-active attitude towards increasing their audience, in terms of volume and types of visitors.

Barriers and problems, challenges

5.8.20 The Theatre management are aware that transport is a barrier for some potential audiences from anecdotal evidence, particularly feedback from audiences when the Theatre activity has been on tour during the period of refurbishment.

5.8.21 Physical barriers to more public transport access include; a lack of late night travel options in the area; low frequency of services; long interchange times involved for some customers, and the long walk from the rail station to the venue (takes approximately 15 minutes although there are bus services).

5.8.22 Eden Court Theatre has experienced pressure in terms of car parking during the daytime. When it re-opens, it will have a 150 free car park space with access to a free Council car park nearby in the evenings.

5.8.23 The Theatre has in the past considered arranging buses and car sharing for its visitors, but was deterred by what they perceived to be complicated legislation and regulations, and are uncertain as to who to contact within Highland Council to discuss this. Whilst the Theatre is keen to promote public transport access, they have a staff resource of 20 which limits the amount of time they can spend on transport provision issues.

5.8.24 There is currently no information on travel by public transport on the Theatre's website (although it is believed this will be amended when the website is relaunched in July), and the Traveline number is not displayed in a brochure viewed by the research team.

5.8.25 It could be argued that Highland Council could have asserted a greater emphasis on travel by modes other than the private car to the venue through the recent planning application process for redevelopment and refurbishment of the venue (for example requiring cycling infrastructure within and outside the building).

Recommendations

5.8.26 Eden Court Theatre lack awareness of available transport provision in the area (for example community transport schemes, demand responsive taxi schemes, etc.) The Theatre also lacks transport contacts in Highland Council to discuss potential public transport solutions. To address these issues it is recommended that the Theatre liaise with the Community Transport Association ( CTA) who can point them towards contacts for established community transport schemes in the area. This arrangement would also allow the Theatre to liaise with the Rural Community Transport Officer at Highland Council who could act as the primary point of contact between the groups.

5.8.27 In recent years the Theatre has made attempts to promote access to their venue by bus but take up of the scheme has been very poor. In an attempt to overcome this attitudinal change is required as a whole. This is a larger task for HITRANS (Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership) and the local authorities. The Theatre can help to raise awareness of existing public transport solutions to their audience and make travel by these forms of transport as easy as possible (for example make use of the 10 drama outreach workers in outlying communities to advise on travel options to the Theatre). The Theatre could also provide public transport information with bookings and promote Traveline Scotland on all marketing and information sources.

5.8.28 At present there is a lack of emphasis on public transport promotion by Highland Council during the planning approval process of the venue redevelopment. A recommendation would be for the Council to promote greater accessibility by public transport in the planning process, through stipulating conditions for cycling facilities and bus stop facilities and locations.

5.8.29 It is unclear how much "lay-people" (both audiences and cultural activity providers) know about journey planning tools available to them (for example Traveline). Therefore a further recommendation would be for the Theatre to promote and integrate Traveline on all information and marketing material including leaflets and the website. The Traveline Scotland Journey Planner could be integrated within the Theatre's booking system to provide travel options to customers at the time of booking. The challenge here would be to ensure that the additional information required to be gathered did not prove too time consuming and thus have a negative impact on the performance of the booking system.

5.8.30 The final recommendation relates to the issue of the distance from the rail station and bus stops to the Theatre building and the particular problems associated with making this journey late at night after a show. To overcome this issue a number of recommendations are made including: improving signage throughout Inverness town centre to the Theatre; provision of taxi numbers at bus stops, rail stations and in Theatre information and marketing material.

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