TRANSPORT is an ever-present item on the daily news agenda, and more often than not for negative reasons – be it cancelled trains or chaos on the roads.

For people and companies relying on our trains, buses and ferries to go about their daily business, the challenges on Scotland’s hard-pressed networks appear intractable.

But Alex Reid, director of engagement at the Connected Places Catapult in Scotland, believes better transport can be within our grasp – if only providers learned to work together a little more.

Mr Reid has been in situ at the publicly-funded body since February last year, having previously worked exclusively in the private sector, in roles with telecommunications firms such as Vodafone and Cable & Wireless.

And it is no exaggeration to say he has witnessed an abundance of controversy in the transport world since, with plenty of heat and light in the debates over how to improve Scotland’s creaking infrastructure.

As part of an organisation which is funded by government, and whose remit includes informing policy making by commissioning and publishing research, Mr Reid is understandably diplomatic when asked how we can go about improving Scotland’s transport problems. He emphasised, though, that “there has to be more joined-up collaboration” between providers to find solutions, declaring that good policy making will allow companies to “take a few more risks, without feeling it is going to substantially jeopardise the individual business.”

Mr Reid said: “Without a slightly bolder approach to innovation… we are going to struggle to see the steps forward that we really want to see.

“That’s where the catapults come into play, because we can act as a neutral convenor and get the different organisations round the table and, just through working together, help to remove some of the risks that they might ordinarily shy away from.

“We can be a leader in setting up little trials and demonstrations that quickly identify whether a particular type of improvement [can make a difference]. No one company is going to do it themselves – it really has to be a joint approach.”

The Connected Places Catapult, funded by government agency Innovate UK and one of nine serving different sectors around the country, has been around for several years. It was originally called the Transport Systems Catapult but rebranded several months ago, when it was merged with its Future Cities counterpart, on account of the close synergies between the two organisations.

Since then it has been taking steps to build its presence and forge relationships in Scotland under Mr Reid.

He explained the remit of the catapult ranges from commissioning research to influence transport policy to examining how technology can be adopted to improve the efficiency of transport networks. It engages in collaborative research and development projects and seeks commercial opportunities, for example, by engaging with private sector organisations on long-term projects.

Our conversation took place shortly after the Scottish Government took the controversial step of scrapping plans to reduce Air Passenger Duty (APD).

Mr Reid acknowledges a degree of surprise at the decision, which had been a long-term manifesto pledge of the SNP. While keen not underplay the impact air travel has on the environment, he emphasised that the focus should remain on reducing emissions from road transport.

“What we are seeing is car usage continuing to creep up, and that is the one we really need to try and address,” Mr Reid said.

“Addressing that is not just about technology, it’s about behaviour change. It’s about incentivising and motivating people to get of their cars and use shared transport or public transport. I’m not dismissing the APD piece, but at the same time it is very important we address the area of biggest concern for the country, and that is very much centred around our roads.”

Mr Reid praised the ambition of the blueprint recently published by the Glasgow Connectivity Commission on revolutionising the transport system in the city, which includes suggestions such as connecting the two main stations by tunnel and creating a new metro system, which would revive abandoned rail routes.

While he observed that it was “not the first time a bold vision statement” has been set out for the city, he called for all stakeholders to carefully consider the recommendations.

“Of course, the sums of money being quoted are substantial sums of money,” he said. “But clearly that has to be weighed up against what the long-term benefits are going to be, for Glasgow in particular and Scotland overall. We are very much supportive of the scale of the vision, and happy to look at how that vision can be changed into substance.”

A particular bone of contention in Glasgow centres on competing proposals to link the airport with the city centre. Glasgow Airport backs proposals for a £144 million “tram train” scheme, but others favour a rapid transit system linking the airport with Paisley Gilmour Street and in turn Glasgow Central. Mr Reid declined to signal a preference, and suggested there might yet be an alternative solution, stressing: “every possible option has to be evaluated.”

He added: “Let’s make sure the planning is done at a national level and across cities and towns, not just looking at Glasgow in isolation.”