SNP Government’s ‘minimal’ progress on reducing car use blamed on ‘lack of leadership’

​The Scottish Government has made minimal progress and is unlikely to meet its climate change target of reducing all car use within five years, a highly critical report from auditors has said.

The assessment comes despite John Swinney's assurance last year the 2030 target for reducing Scotland's car kilometres by 20 per cent could still be met.

Audit Scotland and the Accounts Commission said there has been a lack of leadership and no clear plan for meeting the "ambitious and challenging" target.

Vehicles travel along a motorway. Picture: Ben Birchall/PA Wire

Car use has rebounded since the pandemic and use of public transport has fallen, the report said, while spending on active travel has not necessarily impacted car use.

The report said: "A lack of leadership has resulted in minimal progress against the demanding policy intention.

"It is not clear if the Scottish Government remains committed to the target as key documents remain in draft form, there is no costed delivery plan or measurable milestones, and arrangements for monitoring and scrutinising progress are insufficient."

Opposition parties blamed ScotRail for “deterring would-be passengers” by cutting services and reintroducing peak fares, with Scottish Conservative shadow transport secretary Sue Webber describing the SNP Government’s strategy as “incoherent”.

The Government said it recognised there was still "some way to go" in the shift away from car use, and claimed support from all levels of government was needed to achieve this.

Domestic transport is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in Scotland, accounting for 28 per cent of all emissions.

In 2022, the Government said its efforts to reduce car use by 20 per cent against the 2019 baseline were "stepping up a gear".

Last year the Government axed its trial of scrapping peak rail fares, which was meant to encourage people to use public transport rather than cars, after saying the £40 million price tag could not be justified.

Following this decision in August, Mr Swinney said he believed the 2030 target could still be met, claiming it "obviously requires changes in behaviour from members of the public".

In November, the Scottish Parliament passed legislation to remove the interim emissions reduction target for 2030, after experts said it was no longer credible.

Audit Scotland said to achieve the car kilometre target, car traffic levels would need to drop by 7.3 billion kilometres to 29.3 billion. The last time car use was at this level was 1994.

The Audit Scotland report also said the traffic reduction target would not be achieved without charging motorists more to drive.

The report says policies which attempt to meet the target have not been joined up and decisions which could significantly discourage car use would be "difficult and potentially unpopular".

Auditor General Stephen Boyle said: "The Scottish Government set an ambitious and very challenging target to reduce car use by 20 per cent by 2030. But there has been a lack of leadership around delivering this goal.

"It's now unlikely the Government will achieve its ambition, so it needs to be clear how this will affect its wider ambitions to achieve net zero emissions by 2045."

Ruth MacLeod , a member of the Accounts Commission , said: "All parts of Government need to act to deliver the 2030 car use reduction target. Councils need to set out to what extent they will contribute and how they will measure their progress.”

Green MSP Mark Ruskell said the report must be a "wake-up call", adding: "We urgently need to reduce the number of cars on our roads if we are to have any hope of hitting our climate targets. It won't happen by itself, it will need bold action to get us there.

"Part of the challenge is the extortionate cost of transport. By introducing cheaper bus and train fares we can encourage people to make the switch to greener alternatives and to leave their car at home.”

Transform Scotland director Colin Howden said: “The report accurately records a series of failed commitments on ScotRail peak fares, bus priority and active travel investment. People won’t choose to leave their cars at home unless public transport is the cheaper, easier option. Right now, it’s neither.”

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: "Reducing Scotland's reliance on cars and encouraging a shift towards public transport and active travel is a crucial step in meeting our climate targets. It also mirrors the thinking which is under way across the world in terms of reducing emissions and creating greener, healthier and more enjoyable environments for people and communities.”

"We recognise that Scotland has still got some way to go to transition from private vehicles and towards more sustainable public transport – and cross-party support at all levels of government is key.”