SSN Steering Group member, David Charles, Head of Climate Action at Strathclyde University was invited along to a CoMo UK member event, on the role of shared transport in helping businesses work towards achieving net zero.
SSN Steering Group blog: Decarbonising transport systems
My colleague Neil and I were invited along to present on behalf of SSN and the University of Strathclyde. It was a great opportunity to introduce the audience to some of the excellent work happening collaboratively across the public sector on shared transport, such as work with Liftshare; the Avenues Project; Sustainable Dundee’s Climate Action Plan and Glasgow’s Climate Neutral Innovation District.
We heard from NHS National Services Scotland, Liftshare, NHS Lanarkshire, Enterprise Car Club, Highland Council, Co Wheels car club and App Bike who shared their own experiences of shared transport and how it has benefitted their organisation.
We need a joined-up collaborative approach to optimise Scotland’s shared transport network
A lot of the discussion in the Q&A sessions centred on servicing Scotland’s rural communities with shared transport infrastructure and services. There seemed to be a growing frustration from individuals and businesses located rurally at the lack of available and integrated shared transport providers and the solutions being offered.
It got me thinking about the opportunity for a joined-up approach between shared transport providers, academia and organisations and individuals based in rural communities. For example, the FASTER project, led by East Border Region Ltd, in partnership with the University of Strathclyde and HiTrans, has been working recently on the optimisation of EV charger placement in Highland and Island communities in the West of Scotland.
This innovative and collaborative approach applied by the team at the Power Networks Demonstration Centre (PNDC) could be applied at a much more National scale and it could also be applied at a multi-modal level. This would bring in many more users and operators of EVs, e-bikes and e-buses and enable co-creation of an optimised shared transport network across Scotland.
This is just one example of the great work happening across the SSN Network on decarbonising and optimising transport systems. What is still needed is the replication of these good examples to create an innovative and thriving public and shared transport network in all Scottish Cities and across Scotland’s Highlands and Islands.
Share and learn from others
My advice to colleagues would be to familiarise yourself with the good practice going on across the SSN Network. Discover what is replicable at your organisational and community level and get in touch with the body behind the work to explore the feasibility of replicating it in your own context.