The study is focused predominantly on the four cities where the greatest patronage growth is anticipated (i.e. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee). It does, however, also consider the wider issues which may impact upon the other local authorities’ targets. The emphasis of the study is primarily on movements to/from the city centres of these four study cities and on the peak periods (i.e. 0800-0900 and 1700-1800, Monday to Friday), since this is where spare capacity is generally at a premium. However, where appropriate, the study considers other locations and/or time periods where available capacity may be scarce. In the main, the focus is on local travel in and around the main cities, but there is also some consideration of longer distance, interurban travel where this is appropriate to the patronage targets. The report is generally (though not exclusively) structured in such a way that it deals firstly with the more factual elements, then moving on to explore the more subjective, opinion-based aspects relating to capacity utilisation. To this end, Chapter 2 uses the published statistics and policy documents to present a background to the current situation in Scotland relating to bus and rail service provision and patronage. The various stated targets for public transport, from the Scottish Executive and the Local Transport Strategies from the key authorities are also summarised. Finally, this section deals with the quantity and quality of available public transport data for Scotland, by way of highlighting the additional information required for the study. In Chapter 3, the key elements of the study methodology are presented, demonstrating how the study has been designed to develop the understanding of the extent to which existing public transport capacity is utilised and the key issues surrounding the achievement of the various public transport targets. The methodology is based largely upon three distinct elements, these being: bus and rail vehicle occupancy surveys; discussions with local authorities, Strathclyde Passenger Transport and the Scottish Executive; and discussions with public transport companies. Chapters 4 and 5 respectively present analyses of the existing utilisation of bus and rail capacity. For bus, this is based primarily on occupancy surveys together with some data provided by the main bus operators. A detailed investigation of recent capacity changes for the main Edinburgh operator is also presented. For rail, a combination of existing studies and original surveys are analysed. Chapters 6 and 7 then deal with bus and rail respectively to establish the extent to which meeting the targets is feasible given the present level of service provision. For rail, this incorporates the known increases in capacity to be provided in the near future. In Chapter 8, the analysis of the discussions with the public sector stakeholders is presented. This focuses mainly on the targets and how they were determined, work that is ongoing to achieve the targets, problems encountered in so doing, existing capacity problems and their relationship to targets and how the targets are being monitored, together with current views on progress towards them. This is followed in Chapter 9 by the analysis of the discussions with key players in the bus and rail industry. This focuses on recent industry trends, existing capacity provision and utilisation, changes in capacity provision and the responses to the patronage targets from the public transport operators. Finally, Chapter 10 presents the conclusions and recommendations from the study. (Author/publisher)
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