The Scottish Liberal Democrats manifesto contains various commitments on transport issues spread throughout the document.
They want to “explore ways to help petrol stations adapt and survive (especially in more rural areas) by encouraging the use of 24 hour card payment systems and provide services for new fuels and electric vehicle systems. This infrastructure will be developed with the UK Government.”
Any increase in electric vehicles of course will require more electricity to be generated and this will be done by “working with companies to develop marine, hydro and [appropriate – my word] biomass schemes”. There is also an ambition [my word] for the country to “generate 100% of its electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2025”. Making this a target – which the manifesto does – is a problem if we continue to expand the number of items requiring electricity and move away from finite fossil fuels (including gas) as a heat source.
“The public sector will be encouraged to procure electric or low carbon vehicles, where appropriate, when current oil-powered vehicles are due to be replaced.”
A “Scotland-wide smart card” for use on all mass transit operators (bus and rail) is to be developed covering all routes and fares making it easier to use the one card across all providers. This should make it easier to use these forms of transport and “make commuter transport a more convenient option”, even in less urban areas. However, it requires a Fairer Fares structure to make it successful.
The manifesto also commits to “increasing the percentage of the transport budget that is spent increasing the number of short journeys done on foot or bicycle” by ensuring that all [new – my word] “housing and commercial developments have an active travel infrastructure built in” to the plans at the beginning. For housing schemes this would reduce the reliance on private cars and encourage mass transit and car club schemes as well as “travel plans for schools and workplaces”.
