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7. Conclusions and Recommendations
Introduction
7.1 This section sets out overarching conclusions from the study, and generic recommendations on how to enhance accessibility by public transport to cultural activity. Where appropriate, and given the intrinsic links between public transport accessibility and access by other sustainable modes (walking, cycling, community/demand responsive transport), these modes have also been discussed. Recommendations on how to promote accessibility by public transport and other sustainable modes is contained within individual case study reports in Section 5.
The key barriers to be addressed
7.2 From the research carried out, it can be concluded that there are a number of key barriers to enhancing public transport accessibility to cultural activity across Scotland that need to be recognised, and addressed where possible.
7.3 Notwithstanding this, it should be stated that many of the barriers to public transport access identified within this study are common to any effort to promote access by public transport, whatever the type of activity, destination or group of people being discussed (for example staff, visitors, healthcare patients, students, commuters and shoppers). It is therefore incumbent upon a range of policy and decision makers to play a role in reducing and/or eliminating these barriers where possible through a range of mechanisms.
7.4 Key barriers identified in this research to enhancing public transport access to cultural activity therefore included the following:
- Lack of information on existing public transport and other travel options, and lack of promotion of available information sources by those involved in generating travel - this is not exclusive to the cultural sector. One example being the availability of technology that could deliver journey planning information to customers when booking tickets, through a direct link from a venue website. This is not currently being utilised.
- Lack of motivation to promote and achieve access by public transport - whilst again not exclusive to the cultural sector, it is a specific issue identified within this research on transport and culture. In many cases, complacency about current audiences and how they reach venues appears to override consideration about alternative ways to access sites than the private car. This lack of motivation is exacerbated by the absence of stipulations for public transport access within funding grants to the cultural sector, and/or lack of emphasis on this issue in advice and support mechanisms provided by umbrella cultural and tourism groups.
- Relating public travel to other objectives - there is a case for cultural activity providers making the most of tangential but related reasons to encourage public transport solutions, and many may not currently recognise the benefits to themselves and their local communities of encouraging more access by public transport. Climate change issues have risen significantly on the political agenda of late, and similarly in the media and the public mind. Cultural activity providers may wish to consider the potentially changing motivations of future audiences, who would like their participation in cultural activity to have a lower carbon footprint than in the past. This can be used as a driver for the promotion of sustainable transport options, and can help demonstrate the green credentials of a particular cultural body. Similarly, lack of car parking space and local traffic congestion from high numbers of visitors in peak periods have emerged as common themes in several of the case studies - encouraging more people to visit or participate in cultural activity by public transport can help relieve pressure on local car parking and local roads, with benefits to the wider community. Importantly for audience figures, promoting public transport access to cultural sites and events can help to open up such attractions to those with no or limited access to a car.
- Lack of know-how - there is a clear "cultural" and information divide between those providing cultural activity, and those involved in promoting and providing public transport solutions. Many of the case studies in this research had instances of cultural activity providers struggling to understand how to promote public transport, and being unaware of who to contact within the transport sector, be it the local authority or local transport operators. There is also a lack of knowledge on how to negotiate basic elements that could enhance public transport access, such as alterations of a local bus route, installation or relocation of a bus stop or shelter, development of a new, or linkage into an existing, car sharing resource.
- Lack of clarity over who is responsible for promoting public transport access - throughout the research, differing views have been offered by individuals from cultural and transport sectors on who is responsible for promoting access to cultural activity by public transport. This uncertainty and lack of ownership is a clear barrier to effective action and progress.
- Underutilisation of community transport and demand responsive transport solutions - a critical barrier to developing generic solutions to promoting public transport access to cultural activity is the diversity in size and type of cultural body, for example from a small remote rural arts centre with a capacity for 60 people in an area with few or no scheduled public transport services, to a large scale musical event like T in the Park. However, one consistent theme that emerged from several of the case studies was the under-appreciation of the role of community transport and demand responsive transport solutions to enhancing access in rural and remote areas in particular.
- Transport issues are not flagged up at an early enough stage - Public transport needs must be flagged up at an early stage by cultural providers as transport operators need advance notice to put on new or additional bus services (registration issues).
- Lack of knowledge sharing on successful initiatives or ideas- building a support resource relevant to and maintained by the cultural sector.
- Lack of integrated entry and travel ticketing options - as the policy and research review in Section 3 illustrates, the ability to easily combine the purchase of an entry and travel ticket is often an important incentive for visitors to use public transport, yet examples of this in Scotland are not widespread and tend to be limited to a few larger attractions or city contexts. Again, providing information that supports venues or cultural event organisers develop these promotional tools with transport providers could assist with greater development of such initiatives, even in instances where audience figures are low.
- Lack of consideration of the end-to-end journey for the visitor - whilst some of our case studies did have good access theoretically by public transport, it is possible that many visitors are deterred from taking up such opportunities due to deficiencies in the provision and infrastructure from "front door-to-destination". Examples of this include lack of signing from a bus stop or station to the venue itself, and/or poor environmental conditions for those who have to walk or even cycle on a leg of the journey, for example poor lighting or poor pathway surface from a bus stop to a venue entrance.
Key recommendations and possible solutions for enhanced public transport access to cultural activity
7.5 The following, grouped by issue/barrier, presents some generic recommendations / solutions on how to enhance access to cultural activity by public transport and other forms of transport.
Lack of information
7.6 Good sources of information already exist that could be promoted and utilised much better than at present. As an example, cultural activity providers could provide links to the Traveline Scotland website 85 as a matter of course on all marketing and information sources. This includes promotion of local community and demand responsive transport solutions.
7.7 Journey planning tools could be developed in conjunction with booking systems. Cultural providers could be given guidance on how to link into established journey planning tools such as Traveline Scotland and the Scottish Government with the Confederation of Passenger Transport could explore further how Batch Journey Planning could be extended as an automated process to other sectors.
7.8 Changes to local services, for example bus timetable services, may render information on bus services outdated if not updated regularly. Traveline Scotland links could help to overcome this, although it is preferable to provide audiences/visitors with as much information as possible at the source of booking.
7.9 Together, cultural activity providers along with Traveline Scotland, Scottish Government and Confederation of Passenger Transport would be responsible for ensuring this issue/barrier is overcome.
Lack of motivation
7.10 Local authorities, specifically land use planners, could encourage more take up of public transport through use of appropriate planning conditions and agreements, and the application of appropriate policies in development plans.
7.11 Funders could stipulate a requirement to collect information on how visitors travel to an activity so that modal share can be monitored. Potentially linking targets on the provision of good quality public transport information to future grant awards. It should be noted that it may be considered potentially onerous on smaller cultural activity providers to gather additional information about how their audiences travel, which most currently do not.
7.12 Together, local authority land use planners along with funders such as Scottish Arts Council, Visit Scotland and Local Enterprise Companies would be responsible for overcoming this issue/barrier.
Relating public transport to other objectives
7.13 Cultural activity providers could adopt environmental policy statements to inform audiences why travel by public transport benefits them and their communities. A major challenge to this potential solution is that there is a need to avoid patronising audiences. Together, cultural activity providers and local authorities would be responsible for undertaking this potential solution.
Lack of know-how
7.14 A possible solution to this issue/barrier could be for interested cultural activity providers to use the case studies detailed in this report as examples of good practice. There are examples of good website information and the provision of information leaflets containing advice on how to access sites by a variety of modes that could easily be replicated.
7.15 A challenge to this solution is that the onus is on cultural providers to take the initiative to improve the information they currently provide.
7.16 Responsibility for this issue/barrier would lie with the cultural providers themselves..
Under utilisation of community transport and demand responsive transport solutions
7.17 This issue/barrier is directly linked to the solutions detailed above for lack of information and lack of know-how. Cultural activity providers need to become more aware of local solutions in these sectors, by liaising with Community Transport Association for guidance and key local authority contacts.
7.18 Responsibility for this issue/barrier lies with the Community Transport Association, local authorities and cultural providers.
Lack of clarity over responsibilities
7.19 There should be clearer guidance on responsibilities regarding the promotion of public transport access by policy makers. Land use planners have a role in the development management process; transport operators and transport planners have a role in facilitating and providing sustainable access; however, cultural activity providers have a significant and potentially overarching role to promote access by public transport to their audiences and visitors, which should be emphasised in funding and advice regimes by funding bodies such as Scottish Arts Council and Visit Scotland.
7.20 Challenges facing this solution include a lack of resources amongst individual cultural activity providers (for example small staff) and a lack of know-how to deal with transport issues. Responsibility for this lies with cultural activity providers, but with support and guidance from local authorities, funders and operators.
Raising transport issues at an early stage
7.21 Cultural providers need guidance on how to go about contacting operators and negotiating new/amended services. This issue/barrier links to a lack of know-how discussed above.
Lack of integrated entry and travel options
7.22 A potential solution to this issue/barrier is through smartcard technology for entry discounts and travel. An example being a National Entitlement Card. Local authorities could include cultural attractions on this to improve access to these sites/venues, as well as linking up with travel deals. Local authorities working with Scottish Government would be responsible for delivering this solution.
Lack of end-to-end journey consistency
7.23 Cultural activity providers need to consider the whole journey experience of visitors, particularly the last leg from a public transport node to their venue/activity entrance, and work with local authorities in particular to improve signage, condition and availability of pathways/cycleways, lighting and general feeling of safety and security for those on foot or cycling.
7.24 Cultural activity providers may not know who to approach in their local authority to request improvements to infrastructure, and may lack funding themselves to invest in signage. This solution would be a partnership between local authorities and cultural activity providers, with lobbying from cultural activity providers where they have identified critical improvements require.
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