Elected Member Briefing - Public Transport Transformation update

About this Briefing Note

Report by: Elaine Ritchie, Strategic Lead, Housing and Communities

Date: 7th May 2025

Subject: Public Transport Transformation update

Purpose

This briefing is being issued to update you on progress being made on the Public Transport Transformation project.

Briefing Information

Background

The Public Transport Transformation Project was initiated using a £325,000 budget over three years (2024/25 - 2026/27) to support the development of a new transport model for Perth and Kinross. This project leverages the new powers granted by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, focusing on Local Authority-operated transport operations.

The project will review public transport delivery and enhance awareness and promotion of public transport in Perth & Kinross. This will help reduce inequalities, tackle climate change, and improve the health and wellbeing of local communities by supporting an inclusive economy. Integrated transport is crucial for efficiency, so home to school, HSCP, and Social Work transport are key elements of this project.

The overall aim is to develop a transport model for Perth and Kinross that meets the needs of local communities now and in the future. This model will be integrated, accessible, reliable, efficient and effective, while also considering the external realities and their impact on the Council's statutory school transport duty.

Workstreams

Workstreams have been established to examine, review and develop an overall transport model in terms of the movement of people across Perth and Kinross.

Workstream 1 - Local Bus Service Network and Community Transport

In Perth and Kinross we have a significant reliance on one commercial local bus operator and have a concerning shortage of rural transport depots/hubs. Within this workstream a baseline assessment of current real need is being carried out, in addition to a mapping exercise to identify forms of public and contracted transport currently provided which will support the development of potential transport models for Perth and Kinross.

This work will include a public consultation, roadshows, establishing transport focus groups and direct consultation with stakeholders and communities.

Progress to date:

• The mapping exercise is almost complete, and consultants will be providing a report with their findings in May which will be used, along with the information in the public consultation, to develop potential transport models
• The public consultation has been drafted on the Council's online Consultation Hub and will be published later this month after some requested amendments have been completed
• Refreshed promotion of the 25/26 Free Bus Saturday commenced on 5 April 2025
• Bespoke and focussed bus timetable leaflets for the Highland Perthshire area have been published and are in circulation
• Regular promotion of free bus passes and free bus Saturdays is ongoing on the Council's social media platforms and the first "Bus Service of the Month" post has been provided to the Communications Team for publishing
• The first three minibuses were handed over to three Community Transport Groups last month

Workstream 2 - Home to School Transport

Linking closely to Workstream 1, this workstream focuses on home to school transport for pupils. The Council has a statutory duty to provide home to school transport as per the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. Perth and Kinross is home to approximately 27,400 young people under the age of 18, with around 10,000 attending Perth and Kinross Council primary schools and 8,000 attending Perth and Kinross Council secondary schools.

Over 6,000 children—more than one-third of those attending Perth and Kinross Council schools—are recorded as having an Additional Support Need (ASN).

Currently, 4,344 journeys are provided to children and young people, twice a day, to transport them to and from school.

This is broken down by:

The current Home to School policy was reviewed in August 2011 to remove discretionary transport provisions. The policy has been reviewed annually as part of the Policy Framework. However, as part of the Public Transport Transformation project, consultants are reviewing the policy to ensure it continues to meet legislative requirements and incorporates best practices, including achieving best value for money. A draft of the revised policy will be ready for approval by the Learning and Families Committee during year 2 of the project.

Under the current policy, the following arrangements were in place to transport children and young people in academic session 2024/25:

Over the years, we have seen an increase in:

• The complexity of needs among children and young people entitled to free school transport, with some requiring escorts and one-to-one arrangements
• Children and young people being placed in provisions further from their homes (an ASN review is in place to address this issue)
• Looked-after children requiring transport from their carer's home to their existing school which is often a significant distance
• Requests for home to school transport during an academic session, despite the budget remaining the same, often leading to overspending

We have also experienced:

• An increase in costs for providing home to school transport, from £6m in 2011 to nearly £11m in 2025
•  A shortage of transport operators, particularly in rural areas
• No new bus or coach companies operating school transport
• No increase in the Network Support Grant for 14 years

Progress to date:

• Consultants are currently reviewing the policy to ensure it continues to meet legislative requirements and incorporates best practices, including achieving best value for money. A draft of the revised policy will be ready for approval by the Learning and Families Committee during year 2 of the project
• Benchmarking has been carried out with other local authorities to identify elements of good practice and to undertake a peer review against our current policy and arrangements
• Significant mapping and analysis has been carried out regarding the contracts and arrangements in place for Fairview in order to reduce the number of contracts in place and a possible reduction in expenditure. However, this review is significant and will take time given the complex needs of the children involved
• We continue to promote parental conveyance. However, this can only be targeted in areas where there is limited provision and is deemed to be cost-effective. This is a voluntary arrangement, and parents are not legally required to transport their own children where they are entitled to free school transport
• We are continuing to review all contracts and identifying alternative options and testing these options through small tests of change
• Close working links have been established with the ASN Transformation Programme to help reduce transport requirements and cost, where possible

Workstream 3 - HSCP Older Persons and Adults and Social Work Looked After Children Transport

Workstream 3 focuses on clients using Health and Social Care Partnership services and services for young people. These passengers are some of the most vulnerable members in our communities, and the transport costs from commercial operators can be significant due to the length and timings of journeys. Currently, the Public Transport Unit strives to co-ordinate these journeys with home to school transport contracts, but this has limits.

Progress achieved to date:

• A Steering Group has been established and work tasks allocated to group members in terms of reviewing policy and scrutinising current transport provision

Workstream 4 - Communication and Engagement Strategy

Workstream 4 focuses on the implementation of an effective communication and engagement strategy regarding the new public transport model. This strategy is key to the successful implementation and sustainability of a new public transport model. It ensures that the project is community-driven, transparent, and adaptable to the needs of the people it serves.

Progress achieved to date:

• A Communications Strategy has been drafted, discussed and monitored via the Project Steering Group
• New branding has been produced and a strapline agreed for public engagement with the project - "Get on Board"
• Various comms issued as per stated in Workstream 1
• Consultation progressing as stated in Workstream 1

Challenges

The two workstreams which present the most significant challenges are Workstreams 1 and 2:

Workstream 1

Whether public transport is delivered by a commercial operator or the LA, the continued increasing costs of operating a public transport service will impact on both forms of delivery. Commercial operators also may benefit from economies of scale and/or additional non-LA work that the LA will not have access to.

Bus driver shortages continue to be an issue, and this would be an issue for an LA operation also.

Over-reliance on Community Transport groups may be challenging both in their desire and/or ability to deliver the transport, and also in the legal position in that they could be limited in what level of transport they could deliver within their Section 19 and Section 22 permits.

The complexities of mainstream and ASN transport in conjunction with the statutory duty of the Council in this regard, makes this workstream one of the most challenging in terms of this project.

The main challenges are:

• ASN transport is required to meet the needs of the pupil, the location of their home address and the school in which they have been placed. This is why it can result in a high cost per pupil and is mainly delivered by taxi/PHV. If an escort is required, then this increases the cost further. We cannot project who is going to move into the local area at any given time and if we have several pupils who meet the above criteria and have moved into Perth and Kinross, then very quickly the projected budget can be quite significantly overspent.
• Mainstream school transport is mainly provided by either minibus, single-deck buses, double-deck buses or coaches. The cost of purchasing, staffing, maintaining and operating these vehicles has risen significantly post-Covid and post-Brexit. If we compare the cost of a single-decker school bus to the Community School of Auchterarder in financial year 2020/21 to the same contract in 2025/26, the cost has risen by 39.5%. The cost of a double-decker school bus from Greenloaning to Crieff High School in the same period has risen by 76.4%. This is a national experience and to compare, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport procure the mainstream-only school transport for 11 local authorities in their area. Their 2019 annual cost for this was £27m, and in 2025 it is £46m. This in a far more urban area than Perth and Kinross, and with a higher level of competition.
• In addition, there have been increases in pupil numbers in some of our rural areas which has required increased transport provision at increased cost. The PTU always asks a parent to undertake a parental contract where there is currently no other provision, or the commercial provision would be a significant cost. However, parents do not legally have to agree to this, and it is an entirely voluntary arrangement. Many parents do not agree to this for various reasons ranging from no ability to deliver the transport to no wish to deliver the transport.

Next Steps

• We will continue to work with consultants regarding the findings of the mapping exercise and feedback from communities in order to develop potential transport model options
• A revised Home to School policy will be submitted to Learning and Families Committee this summer
• All contracts will continue to be reviewed. We will identify alternative options and test these options where possible through small tests of change
• We will examine areas where footway works may be possible which would remove the requirement for transport on safety grounds, as pupils could walk to school when they were under the statutory walking distance
• PowerBI will be used to scrutinise current usage of local bus contracts with a view to a public transport network review later in 2025
• We will increase periods of reporting to Finance from PTU in terms of variations to school transport contract costs as from 01 April 2025, and will analyse reasons for the changes to scrutinise costs more deeply
• Key aspects of the Communication Strategy continue to be rolled-out
• We will continue engagement with NHS Tayside to establish any opportunities for integrated transport efficiencies.