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Foreword
Scotland's National Transport Strategy ( NTS) provides an overarching strategy for transport. This guidance supports the delivery of some of the key bus aspects of the NTS and its sister document Moving into the Future: An Action Plan for Buses in Scotland. The high level forum of senior bus stakeholders held in March 2008 was strongly supportive of the Scottish Government's modal shift agenda, and in that context, recognised the vital need for a partnership approach to secure improved bus services and infrastructure.
Buses are almost unparalleled in their scope to achieve the modal shift we all want to see. But people are attached to their cars and achieving significant modal shift will require the strongest vision and leadership - not only from the bus companies, nor only from central government or the regulatory bodies, nor simply from local authorities or the regional transport partnerships: partnership working between all the key stakeholders is a fundamental requirement of the changes sought.
The Scottish Government and local government concluded a historic Concordat in November 2007 based on an outcomes-focused relationship. We strongly believe the Concordat brings benefits to the people of Scotland, empowers local government and aligns their activities with the Government's national objectives. The Concordat gives local government an active role in the delivery of the national outcomes by providing a shared set of policies and priorities we can all work towards. We firmly believe this partnership approach is the right way forward.
In keeping with the spirit of the Concordat, this guidance document aims to facilitate that process of essential partnership working. It highlights the need for co-operative working across a number of key areas, including strategic bus planning, service information, regulation and funding to help raise standards. That, and the consequent increase in passenger numbers which we believe will follow, must be our collective goal.
We hope that key practitioners within local government and the bus industry will welcome this guidance, which we commend to you.
Stewart Stevenson MSP
Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change
Councillor Alison Hay
COSLA Regeneration and Sustainability Spokesperson
September 2008
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