Transport Group and Transport Scotland
There are 8 economists in the Transport Analytical Services Team - four in the Transport Group within the Scottish Executive, and four in Transport Scotland, the recently created transport agency. The team also includes professional statisticians and social researchers, and works closely with professional transport planners and policy makers. Working with those other specialists, economists are responsible for providing advice and analysis which supports the development of strategy and policy; monitoring and evaluation of policy performance; assessment of market failures; and the rationale for government intervention across the transport agenda in Scotland.
Economists in Transport Group look at key issues, amongst others, such as:
- The contribution of transport to economic development in Scotland;
- The rationale for the introduction of Concessionary Fares;
- The potential impact of road user charging; and
- links between transport and other high profile policies such as the environment, social inclusion and health.
Economists in the Transport Agency are responsible for, amongst other things:
- Developing guidance for carrying out economic appraisals of transport infrastructure projects (e.g. new roads or rail links) submitted to the Executive for funding;
- Economic advice on the rail network and fares in Scotland;
- Researching the economic impact of congestion; and
Interpreting economic modelling output for traffic flows in Scotland