The Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS) is the statutory
regional transport partnership for
Na h-Eileanan Siar
The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...
,
Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
,
Moray
Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.
Between 1975 ...
,
Orkney Islands
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
and
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...
(less the Helensburgh and Lomond area, which is covered by the
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) is a regional transport partnership for the Strathclyde area of western Scotland. It is responsible for planning and coordinating regional transport, especially the public transport system in the are ...
).
It was created by
Transport Scotland
Transport Scotland ( gd, Còmhdhail Alba) is the national transport agency of Scotland. It was established by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, and began operating on 1 January 2006 as an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government.
Organisat ...
under the
Transport (Scotland) Act 2005
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
, along with six similar groups covering other areas of Scotland. HITRANS covers the largest area of any such partnership in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, covering over 50% of the country's total landmass.
Functions
Its main functions are to determine and deliver better transport, both locally and nationally, and to act as a catalyst for regeneration of the region's economy.
HITRANS makes plans through its Regional Strategy, which was first approved by the
Scottish Government in 2008. It was later refreshed in 2017.
In January 2020, HITRANS introduced an
electric bike
An electric bicycle (e-bike, eBike, etc.) is a motorized bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fall into two broad categories: bikes that assist ...
hire scheme in partnership with three local cycle shops in
Aviemore
Aviemore (; gd, An Aghaidh Mhòr ) is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is popul ...
,
Fort William and
Grantown on Spey
Grantown-on-Spey ( gd, Baile nan Granndach) is a town in the Highland Council Area, historically within the county of Moray. It is located on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairngorm mountains, about ...
, who each received six e-bikes funded by the Scottish Government.
References
Transport in Scotland
Regional Transport Partnerships in Scotland
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