Our latest blog is by Sarah Junik, our Communications and Marketing Officer. Sarah has recently written our 2024/25 Annual Report, and in this blog reflects on some of the achievements we’ve had during the year.
As a communications and marketing professional, I get to know a little bit about everything in the organisation where I work, and I love being able to showcase the achievements and impact my colleagues have had. Writing our Annual Report for the 2024/25 financial year has been a brilliant opportunity to deepen my understanding of SEStran, almost a year into the job, and to highlight the fantastic work the team has done to deliver the objectives in our Regional Transport Strategy. And wow, there’s been a lot going on!
Active travel: a new regional approach
In 2024/25, Transport Scotland introduced a new approach to funding active travel behaviour change, handing responsibility to Scotland’s regional transport partnerships. For SEStran, this meant launching and managing a brand-new funding programme, awarding £5.3million of funding grants to 17 delivery partners. That alone was a major achievement, but the real reward has been the feedback. A member of staff at one our funded projects commented:
“We’re seeing widespread engagement across different demographics, and we have seen a surprising number of people who were using the bike for commuting rather than just for leisure.”
It is the impact of projects such as this that will support real active travel behaviour change. As we take our People and Place programme into its second year of delivery, it will be exciting to watch how this behaviour change grows.
Making buses work for everyone
Buses are a vital part of the sustainable travel mix. Personally, I’d never really understood how to use them before joining SEStran and I was slightly in awe when my 15-year-old son began confidently travelling around West Lothian thanks to the under 22s free bus travel scheme. I kept asking him how he knew which bus stop to go to and which bus went where! (If, like me, you’re not sure how to plan bus journeys, the Traveline app is a great place to start: www.travelinescotland.com).
But buses only work if they go where people need them, when they need them. That’s why, during the year, we began developing a regional bus strategy. It’s no small task! We worked closely with local authorities and bus operators to develop a case for change and consulted on draft policies and actions. We’re now at the exciting stage of wider public consultation. If you’d like to have your say, please visit SEStran Regional Bus Strategy – Public Survey before 25 August 2025.
Tackling transport to healthcare
Another major issue in our region is how people get to healthcare appointments. For many, it’s difficult and expensive, with limited or no public transport options. Transport can be a key reason why people miss important appointments.
This year, we began working with the four health boards in our region to explore what can be done. It’s the first time transport, planning, and public health colleagues have come together to tackle this issue. We’ve laid a strong foundation for future collaboration, and we’re excited to keep building on this work.
Find out more
These are just a few highlights from a busy and impactful year. If this has whetted your appetite to learn more, check out our full Annual Report. You’ll find updates on other areas of work too, including Thistle Assistance, real-time passenger information, EV charging infrastructure, and our Regional Transport Strategy Delivery Plan. And despite everything we’ve packed in, it’s not a long read: Read the Annual Report 2024/25
We’re now well into the 2025/26 year, and it’s already proving even busier, with the continuation of many projects, as well as some new and interesting programmes of work. This year sees the twentieth anniversary of the legislation that created regional transport partnerships, and I’m looking forward to the roll out of the exciting things we have planned to celebrate this anniversary. So, watch this space to see what we have in store!
