A new Scottish enlightenment:

transport, telematics and the reduction of social exclusion.

Napier University
Professorial Lecture
19th June 2001

Margaret Grieco, D.Phil(Oxon.)
Professor of Transport and Society,
Transport Research Institute and Department of Psychology and Sociology,
Napier University,
Edinburgh

email: m.grieco@napier.ac.uk
website: http://www.geocities.com/transport_and_society

Abstract:

New information communication technologies (ICT) have important consequences for travel and transport organisation: access to information, the ability to communicate in-journey and to readily reschedule are all features of the new information age. Much of the focus on new information communication technology has been at the high status end of the market - this lecture will explore the ways in which ICT can contribute to the reduction of social exclusion in respect of travel and transport. New transparencies and accountabilities are emerging in the transport sector: the public can now more readily review the performance of the transport sector. In this professorial lecture, we will examine this new transparency, accountability and enlightenment in the Scottish context.

A new Scottish enlightenment: information, technology, distributed access and distributed opportunity.

A new Scottish enlightenment - a big claim! Where are the Scottish thinkers of the 21st century who rival the enlightenment thinkers of the 18th century - the geologist, James Hutton (1726-97), the philosopher, David Hume (1711-1776) and the moral philosopher, Adam Smith, (1723-90) (for detailed information on the Scottish enlightenment go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/enlightenment/index.shtml)? Where is the new intellectual leadership that constitutes such a radical change or transformation that it can be termed ‘a new Scottish enlightenment’? Indeed, the past history of enlightenment in Scotland, as with other regions, states and polities of the world, exhibits highly focused leadership structures. But that is not the structure of the new Scottish enlightenment. The new Scottish enlightenment is found in the emergence and proliferation of information fora, discussion domains and community web sites; it is made possible by new information communication technologies which enable the previously peripheral or marginal to connect within communities and to interact with outside communities and policy agencies; the combination of a flourishing virtual environment and an effective, low transaction cost communication technology distributes access to public, commercial and political services and distributes the opportunity for interacting, negotiating and transforming those same services. It is a new political, social and economic environment: as we will see, it is also contains the possibility of a new transport and travel environment.

The new Scottish enlightenment is, of course, part of a broader social movement of electronic participation by the previously sidelined, excluded or marginalised. And that broader social movement has provided resources which stimulate the virtual Scottish enlightenment. European funding has been crucial in the uptake and flourishing of the many Scottish web sites and on line provision of services. Europe’s need to integrate its diverse and multiple regions whilst seeking to preserve local identities has seen major investment in information communication technology projects. Two language facilities have become a common feature of this burgeoning body of communication activity. Indeed, an important feature of ‘enlightenment’ is the opening up of the important relationship linking language and identity. The virtual discourse of Scotland is not shaped by one authority but the interaction of many voices: and those voices now operate in Gaelic as well as in English. Indeed, the mainstream movement towards on line communication for a range of social, economic and political purposes is not only supportive of the maintenance of linguistic identities but also enables the outsider to enter and gain acquaintance with Gaelic.

European community support of projects such as the Book of Deer (http://www.bookofdeer.co.uk/page2r.html) allows local community access and interaction with ancient manuscripts which were previously viewed as the province of the distinguished scholar. The earliest medieval Gaelic writings in Scotland can now be accessed, shared and interacted with by the local as well as the global participant. The Scottish enlightenment is an emergent movement, a process which is beginning to pick up speed - the European funding and local interest secured the existence of the domain of the Book of Deer project for future use; the discussion page, however, still remains empty (http://www.bookofdeer.co.uk/discussion.html).

Case 1: the province of scholars or community resource? the book of Deer

European funding has produced both a structure and set of processes in the sphere of on-line communication and interactivity within Scotland. Within and around these structures and processes, it is the burgeoning of communication activity which can be seen as the emergence of a new Scottish enlightenment. But what makes Scotland such an attractive venue for European funded projects? What are the circumstances that make the use of the new interactive technologies so compelling?

The social geography of Scotland undoubtedly has its part to play. Issues of peripherality and insularity are very much part of the policy discussion for many Scottish policy agencies and local authorities. The Western Isles are able with European funding to discuss these issues on a web site which provides for community interaction and community feedback (http://www.wie.co.uk/wiced.htm). The new information communication technologies are seen as critical to the support of the small scale community in the continually globalising market economy. The sustainability of small scale communities rests in their effective linking up with external opportunities: the provision of education and employment (http://www.work-global.com/workglobal/default.asp) through e-linkages is an increasing feature of the policy discussion (http://www.communitylearning.org/links.asp).

Scotland with its densely populated urban areas and sparsely populated rural areas makes use of the new information communication technologies in its communications with Government already. Devolution brought with it a re-establishment of Scottish political institutions and those institutions have already embraced the electronic form. The International Teledemocracy Centre at Napier University has been at the heart of developing electronic petitioning technology and administering electronic petitions for the new Scottish Parliament. Government, along with the European funding agencies, the local authorities, the universities and activists in the communities is playing its part in the new information environment - the new Scottish enlightenment. Complaining to the Scottish Commissioner has been streamlined for the ease of extending community participation - an online visit to ‘How to complain to the scottish commissioner’ (http://www.parliament.ombudsman.org.uk/scotland/) enables the individual without assistance to obtain a full overview of rights and entitlements.

The transparency of structure and ease of interaction available in electronic petitioning and on line complaint facilities is happening at all levels of Scottish politics and policy processes. In part, the transparency is an outcome of Government’s intention in a context of heightened accountability, in part, it is an outcome of the activity of other agencies not least of which are transport and travel interests in Scottish society.

 

Travel and transport on line: information, consultation and interaction

In the travel and transport domain, the use of the new information communication technologies for consultation and lobbying is widespread. On the Isle of Barra web site, for example, Halcrow Fox invite public participation and consultation on the transport planning activities co-ordinated by Halcrow Fox on the island (http://www.isleofbarra.com/halcrowfox.html).

Case 2: Peripheral community or connected affected public?: the Isle of Barra and transport planning.

The on-line update of an ongoing policy process and set of actions enables the community to better track , keep pace with and intervene in arrangements that historically took place behind doors which were more firmly closed. Extending participation in transport planning is itself an act of enlightenment: previous views of the relationship between community and public service provision advantaged the ‘expert’ over the ‘resident’. The argument is not that the local environment yet triumphs over external impositions in terms of public service provision but rather the political space for such a direction is increasing as a consequence of distributed technology, distributed access and distributed discourse.

The Halcrow Fox consultations on Barra are not it seems in any sense controversial - the contact information provided enables the community to readily link up with a developer operating locally but based in Edinburgh. It surmounts old communication barriers by placing contact information on the local web site so that it is readily retrievable. Opposition to schemes or any part of schemes can similarly be mounted locally and Halcrow Fox is undoubtedly aware of this capability. Indeed, a longstanding, vigorous and well informed campaign has been conducted by local groups against the toll on the Skye toll bridge. The Skye and Kyle Against Tolls campaign (http://www.skat.org.uk) provides, for example, comparative information on tolls paid on the Oresund bridge between Denmark and Sweden and on the tolls paid in Skye.

Case 3: Crossing the information divide: comparing toll costs in Europe

The campaigners, protesting both at the toll and at the public sector financing arrangements which resulted in Bank of America having outright ownership of the bridge, have coupled their virtual challenge with civil disobedience. The site regularly updates on ongoing action and alternative travel arrangements. The Skye toll bridge has a very high level of non local users: it is located in a prime tourist location and captures a tourist market in which there is a high level of disposable income. (Postscript: Since this lecture was written research has been conducted by Professor Ron Mcquaid and Malcolm Greig of the Employment Research Institute, Napier University which costs the damage the Skye toll imposes on the local economy - go to http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=689102002)

The link between transport, travel and tourism is an important dimension of Scotland’s busy activity on the world wide web. Tourism is a major industry for Scotland and ensuring that potential clients overseas can locate information on cultural heritage, accommodation availability and travel and transport organisation is increasingly crucial to the success of the industry. In the same way that Scotland’s communities are now located in a network society so too travellers and tourists exist in a network society - and travellers in this network society expect both the certainty of advanced booking and the flexibility of being able to change programmes and schedules in journey. Not surprisingly, there has been a growth in the number of dedicated tourist web sites broadcasting information out of Scotland - the Aberdeen and Grampian Tourist Board web site (http://www.agtb.org/indexfr.htm) with its information on the Highland whisky industry, and other heritage trails within the region, provides a good example of the use of new information communication technologies in the capturing of local employment opportunities.

The local information search and booking capabilities of such sites are important in attracting travellers to regions with which they are not familiar. The Aberdeen and Grampian Tourist Board site along with that of other Tourist Board sites has carried updated information on the foot and mouth outbreak with advice on how to behave so as to reduce the spread of the disease and continue to enjoy the countryside. Apart from dedicated tourist industry web sites, community web sites carry travel and transport information: Virtual Dumfries and Galloway (http://www.dumfries-and-galloway.co.uk/) has a travel and transport section but as with many sites the focus is primarily upon the needs of the tourist rather than the presentation of travel information which assists local communities in better organising their transport arrangements. Dumfries and Galloway, an area badly affected by foot and mouth, also carries on line information on the incidence of foot and mouth in the region and gives advice on how to ‘carefully’ enjoy the region: the advice is formulated in terms of a ‘comeback code’. From the major tourist board web sites to the island of Colonsay (http://www.colonsay.org.uk/), travellers are being provided with instructions on disinfecting procedures and travel and transport arrangements in respect of foot and mouth.

There is also an official web site of the Scottish tourism industry - Scotexchange.net (http://www.scotexchange.net/) - funded by Scottish Tourist Board, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise. The site markets itself as ‘ a resource for everyone involved in Scotland's most important industry’ and provides important discussion forums for matters affecting the tourist industry. At present it carries a Survival Tool Kit for coping with the impact of foot and mouth on businesses in the tourist industry. The nature of the new information communication technologies with their distributed access ensures that rather than these problems of foot and mouth being concealed from potential visitors, the best technique for attracting custom lies in accurate information coupled with the clear identification of the procedures and protocols necessary for containing the impact of the disease. The new Scottish enlightenment is to be found not only in the overall volume of information now available rapidly on a travel and transport topic such as the incidence of foot and mouth but on the distribution of that information across many local sites and the ability to access archived information on foot and mouth within that regional network.The sharing and exploring of common problems, such as the impact of foot and mouth, in the tourist sector in an immediate and virtual form is another aspect of the new Scottish enlightenment.

There are other registers of the sharing and exploring of common problems in the on-line forms and some of this sharing expands beyond Scotland’s borders. The Caledonia Centre for Social Development in Inverness, my home town, labels itself as a ‘virtual ngo’: on its web site http://www.caledonia.org.uk/) discussion of a range of planning issues can be found, planning issues which are focused on Africa as well as upon Scotland. Enlightenment can never simply be about activity within or knowledge about any one community, however, large its boundary. The Caledonia Centre’s site has a wealth of interesting intellectual material available; it is in fact performing some of the same functions as the Book of Deer project strives to perform - the integration of the local and the global without the loss of identity.

Another useful example is the Scottish community development centre (http://www.scdc.org.uk/about.htm) which as of yet has simply established the domain in which it is going to work, its materials are not yet on line. But when they come on line they will perform the important function of setting up easy access to best practice sites in the field of community development, an area of great importance to transport organisation and operation. At Napier University, along with colleagues, I have established the Transport_and _Society network web site (http://www.geocities.com/transport_and_society): the site was developed on geocities.com so that any new member could be entitled to sharing the passwords for the development of the site, an arrangement which can not be undertaken understandably within University regulations. This site leads on each of its sub-categories with Scottish materials which are now on line. It provides tool kits and information intended to be of use to a range of individuals and agencies in the reduction of social exclusion. The ability to build the site was a direct consequence of the level of activity in the Scottish virtual environment: it is a direct product of the new Scottish enlightenment.

Transport, telematics and the reduction of social exclusion.

The focus of this lecture (and virtual lecture) so far has been on extending the participation of isolated, peripheral, remote, rural Scotland in information circuits, in politics, in opportunities, in discourse. The new technologies, we saw, can overcome many of the traditional barriers erected by distance. Time and travel and transport costs and distances traditionally hindered participation in social and political processess which imposed upon and ordered the lives of those unable to counteract the distance. But the barriers to participation were and are not only experienced by the remote. Geographical isolation can also be an urban experience: present work conducted with colleagues in the North East of England provides evidence of city dwellers who rarely ever access their city centre as a consequence of low incomes, high fares, poorly designed overlengthy bus routes and the time constraints of contemporary motherhood or other equally restricting factors. Communities of 10,000 can find themselves without a doctor in the neighbourhood and the need to take two buses to arrive in the doctor’s surgery with a walk at either end.

Recent work by Dr Julian Hine and his colleagues at Napier University found that low income communities in Scotland regarded the need for information on transport as very important (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/resfinds/drf110-00.asp). A similar finding on women’s need for information in the transport environment was obtained for the Scottish Executive women and transport study (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/kd01/blue/transport-01.htm). The use of telematics to better inform urban low income households on the timing and availability of public, commercial and volunteer transport requires major consideration of the new Scottish enlightenment already outlined. The ability to keep those at an international distance informed about the patterning, incidence and travel restrictions surrounding foot and mouth raises a question about why the same resources are not being used in informing and enabling Scottish urban low income communities. Indeed, even within the public transport domain itself, the quality of information available to inter-city bus users and the reservation capabilities are radically different to those experienced by the low income estate bus user (http://www.citylink.co.uk/main/index.html).

But telematics can be used for much more than the simple informing of the public on the routing, timing and price structures of ‘public’ transport. Telematics can be used to shape special transport services for those who can not access conventional public transport: ‘intelligent reservation systems’ can be used to identify and collect those requiring a direct trip to a doctor’s surgery. Booking and reservations could be made through in-home communication technologies such as networked terminals or increasingly through the internet capabilities of digital television or mobile phones. ‘On demand’ special transport services can be used to service a workplace where there are unsocial working hours or where there is a highly curtailed conventional bus schedule. ‘On demand’ special transport services could be used to compensate for failures in the conventional bus system; or for bringing children home who have been held in detention and have missed the scheduled service.

Telematics could be used to expand the role of the third sector in community transport provision. With the deregulation of traditional public transport services, and the reduction of service levels to low income areas under commercial operators, community transport provision and the better use of both the volunteer sector and pooling arrangements where private car ownership is present are potential areas of development. New information communication technologies enable a ready match between those willing to perform public service, such as providing transport to hospitals, and those requiring it who do not have own transport; similarly, the exchange of travel, transport and time favours can be organised within the rapid matching capabilities of new information technology. This is effectively an electronic extension of the Local economic time transfer arrangements found within the USA but with a transport characteristic.

In the same vein, to date experiments with car clubs have been aimed at those with middle class lifestyles in urban areas. Car clubs with their associated technologies of electronic access keys could be used in low income areas, perhaps provided through local authority funding, perhaps as a commercial venture. Linking a car club to a community centre which has already benefited from the BT community connections programme would provide a valid and useful social experiment which links transport, telematics and the reduction of social exclusion. Social innovation along these lines has been limited primarily because the concern with altering the modal shift away from the car and towards public transport has left areas with low car ownership statistics and very often poor public transport out of the policy frame.

There are telematic projects in Scotland which could be harnessed to improving the transport, living and participatory circumstances of the socially excluded. For example, Edinburgh is a city in which previous car clubs failed and new car clubs are in prospect: it is also a city in which there is experimentation with city wide information systems (http://www.edinburghtelematix.org/webpages/about.asp). Investigating the prospect of car clubs in the low income areas of Edinburgh where public transport levels are not adequate for full participation of the residents in modern urban life makes sense.

Telematics is not only important for making necessary health and economic journeys, it is also important as a substitute for journeys. The availability of in-home information and the provision of on-line services has its consequence in reducing the number of journeys that have to be made on a restricted income. On-line availability of education materials, training courses and other skill packages enable youths, and others, to gain credentials for the employment market without having to face either the transport costs of travel or the time management uncertainties of unreliable public transport.

In closing this lecture, I want to raise the question of why the new scottish enlightenment has not yet seen a burgeoning of community pressures for improved public transport in low income communities. Do we really believe we are looking at a satisfied public?, almost every indicator would say that we are not. But research is partial, and intermittent, and even where researchers demonstrate the inadequacy of the public transport services in low income areas effective action is not taken. There is, however, within this new enlightenment of community access to information technology the beginnings of an answer. Not in Scotland but in the north east of England, local communities are getting ready to set up their own monitoring of their transport environment. The ladies of Moor Park in North Tyneside, enabled by a BT community connections project and disabled by the level and quality of public transport service they experience, are placing upon the web their own materials on their transport situation. (http://www.mpcg.ic24.net/)It is an area the new English minister for transport knows well: it is likely to signal on his radar. The residents of Moor Park will coordinate with other communities in the North East in similar transport circumstances. It is a strategy not unrelated to that adopted by SKAT in Skye and by Scotland’s own fuel tax protesters. It is a strategy of direct information, increased accountability and global transparency. Telematics, transport and the reduction of social exclusion: a new Scottish enlightenment.

Postscript:

Go to http://www.geocities.com/the_odyssey_group/johnson.html for the virtual tour of Scotland on which the visuals of this lecture finished.

Thanks for the company on this academic journey from local to global must go to my parents who brought me on their journey, to my colleagues in the odyssey group (http://www.geocities.com/the_odyssey_group), to my Napier colleagues and to those colleagues at the World Bank who pushed me into developing my first web site.


 

 

 

 

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