Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026

Chapter 8 Transport

Portfolio Responsibilities

The portfolio’s activities and budgets are focused on the First Minister’s priorities: to eradicate child poverty, grow the economy, tackle climate change and improve public services. In particular, the ability to move people, goods and services around Scotland and beyond is a key building block to growing the economy, leisure and tourism, and making our nation more prosperous.

Transport is literally a lifeline, with ferry and air services to Scotland’s islands supporting people, communities and key public services in rural and island communities. Every day, we help keep families, friends and communities connected – locally, nationally and internationally.

Scotland needs a resilient, reliable transport system that is also efficient, affordable and accessible. Achieving this, through improving and maintaining Scotland’s transport system in line with the vision set out in the National Transport Strategy (NTS), is our priority.

An increasing number of transport bodies are now publicly owned and controlled: Scottish Rail Holdings, owning group of ScotRail Trains and the Caledonian Sleeper; David MacBrayne Ltd., owning group of Caledonian MacBrayne; Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd.; Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd.; Scottish Canals; the Scottish Road Works Commissioner; the Mobility and Access Committee Scotland; and the National Smart Ticketing Board.

We support Regional Transport Partnerships and provide a range of funding to operate and support local, regional and national bus services, provide concessionary fares for 2.3 million older and disabled people, children and young people, increase options for people to walk, wheel and cycle, and create more public electric vehicle charging points across Scotland.

In the coming year, we intend to invest more than £2.6 billion in public transport to provide new ferries, enhance ports and harbours, and commence plans to replace ScotRail’s Intercity fleets, as well as maintain existing bus, lifeline ferry and rail services. We will extend free bus travel to asylum seekers and provide inter-island free ferry travel to children and young people under 22.

As a rural country, we still rely on roads to move people and goods. The portfolio funds the safe operation and maintenance of the strategic road network, as well as the design and development of trunk road improvements. A key aspect of our work is road safety, to reduce injuries and deaths on trunk and local roads.

Decarbonisation of transport and making travel more sustainable is an increasingly important part of the portfolio’s work, as is adapting the road network to the impacts of climate change.

In 2025-26, we intend to invest nearly £1.1 billion to ensure our trunk road network is well maintained and enhanced, and progress major road projects, including dualling the A9 and improving the A83.

The portfolio’s spending plans aim to help Transport Scotland develop and maintain a sustainable, safe, inclusive and accessible transport system.

Transport intended contributions to the National Outcomes

Primary National Outcomes

• Environment
• Communities
• Economy
• International
• Poverty

Secondary National Outcomes

• Fair Work and Business
• Human Rights
• Children and Young People

For further information on the purpose of the portfolio budget and contributions to national outcomes (including impacts of spend on equality of outcome), please refer to the relevant portfolio annex in the published Equality and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement.

Transport

The prior year 2024-25 Budget comparator figures are based on the latest in-year budget numbers which were revised at the Autumn Budget Revision. The 2023-24 Scottish Budget comparator figures reflect the outturn numbers for that year.

* Separate Agency Administration Costs in table 8.04