The report, ‘SPT: Delivering for East Dunbartonshire’, shows £1.7 million of capital funding was awarded to support sustainable transport projects in the area between 2017 and 2021.

Almost £500,000 of additional money was also awarded to East Dunbartonshire Council in 2021/22 to support their delivery.

Since 2017, SPT has provided nearly £1.7 million has been provided in support of active travel developments as part of the Walking and Cycling Off-Road Network Improvements project.

This funding has helped the council deliver several key projects including Wester Way Active Travel Route, Kirkintilloch Town Centre Sustainable Transport Improvements and Lenzie Hub.

The Wester Way has seen an old section of Westerhill Road converted into a new traffic-free travel corridor for walking, cycling and wheeling.

SPT funding helped to support the delivery of major changes in Kirkintilloch to make the town centre around the Cowgate area a more welcoming pedestrian and public transport friendly place for shopping, businesses, residents and visitors.

The Lenzie Station Improvement Project delivered enhancements to the station car park and Lenzie Cross area, creating a more pedestrian and cycle friendly environment.

Other projects include improvements to bus infrastructure and to off-road path networks including Mugdock Path Works, and transport services carrying 1,900 children to and from school every day in East Dunbartonshire.

East Dunbartonshire is one of is one of 12 council areas to benefit from funding provided by SPT, which also covers East Ayrshire, Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire and the Helensburgh and Lomond area of Argyll and Bute.

The transport body pointed out that the cross-council boundary nature of transport and travel means investment in one area will benefit all residents who travel for work or leisure.

Across the west of Scotland, SPT has supported 6.1 million bus station departures across Buchanan, Hamilton, East Kilbride, Greenock, Braehead and Silverburn in recent years.

It has sold 515,000 ZoneCard tickets since 2017/18 across the Subway and participating rail and bus operators, and 43.7 million Subway journeys have been taken since 2017.

It has supported 200 bus services run by around 20 operators on behalf of SPT, and has 33 MyBus services operating in the west of Scotland.

SPT has also invested in several regional projects in recent years, including the Subway Modernisation Project, its ongoing bus stop and shelter upgrade programme and its Real Time Passenger Information roll out.

Valerie Davidson, chief executive of SPT, said:

“We continue to deliver a range of services in East Dunbartonshire and across the region either directly or on behalf of councils.

“As this report shows, we have invested more than £2 million over the last five years in sustainable transport projects in the area.

“SPT’s activities support the west of Scotland’s regional transport network to the benefit of all residents who travel across the area.

“While the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in significant impacts on our operational activities due to reduced travel demand, the majority of services were maintained to ensure transport remained in place for key workers and those making essential trips.”