About Us

Who is SEStran?

The South East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SEStran) is the statutory Regional Transport Partnership for the South East of Scotland. SEStran encompasses eight local authorities: City of Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian.

Within the partnership area there is a huge diversity of transportation issues, from urban congestion to rural public transport and from ferry ports to airports. SEStran aims to address these issues and work towards a more sustainable and efficient transport network.

SEStran contributes to a varied range of transport projects and events as well as partnership working with various organisations. For more information about our current projects, visit our Projects page.

What is an RTP?

Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs) bring together local authorities and other key regional stakeholders to strengthen the planning and delivery of regional transport, better serving the needs of people and businesses.

RTPs are independent bodies corporate defined in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005. That legislation bases them on the local government model but they are not local authorities and they are not NDPBs. RTPs are like joint boards, bringing councils together to perform local government functions collectively and strategically over a larger area.

All local authorities in Scotland are members of regional transport partnerships. Councillors make up around two-thirds of the membership. There can be up to a maximum of 5 councillor members from each constituent council but no more than 20 councillor members in total. The RTPs can also appoint Advisers/Observers. Around a third of members of RTPs are non-councillor members who fulfil a role similar to that of Non-Executive Directors.

Transport Scotland works to ensure close liaison with the RTPs and local authorities to ensure that transport policy in Scotland is properly co-ordinated.

Regional Transport Strategy – SEStran 2035

SEStran 2035

Read our Regional Transport Strategy 2035

New legislation and strategies in Scotland, rapid societal shift and advances in technology are bringing forward significant changes for transport, economy and land use. In response, SEStran developed a new Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) that sets out a clear framework for how transport and mobility will be provided, developed and improved in our region, to meet the aspirations for a sustainable and economically active growth area over and beyond the next 10 years.

Stantec UK Ltd consultants were appointed by SEStran to support in the process of engagement, development and completion of necessary statutory assessments to create a new RTS for the South East of Scotland.

Further information on how we developed our new RTS is available on the A New Regional Transport Strategy SEStran 2035 Project Page.

Development of the Regional Transport Strategy

On becoming a statutory body, under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, SEStran has been tasked with producing a Regional Transport Strategy for South East Scotland.

The development of RTS has been  opportunities to plan for the needs of 1.5 million people living in Scotland’s most economically vibrant region. It is a blueprint for transport development in South East Scotland for the 21st century.

The Regional Transport Strategy lays out our vision for the strategic development of transport in South East Scotland up to 2028. It includes a particular focus on links to and from Edinburgh, as the economic hub of the region. First produced in 2008 the RTS underwent a thorough update and refresh in 2015 until the most recent version published in 2023.

By its nature the RTS is an ever-evolving strategy, but the key aims and objectives will remain at the heart of SEStran’s work.