In their latest column, Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park chief executive Gordon Watson discusses making the area accessible for all with the help of a new pilot, The Trossachs Explorer.

Of the millions of visitors to the National Park each year, 79 per cent travel by car.

The dominance of car travel is one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions in the National Park and puts huge pressure on popular locations and their communities, with parking and congestion.

Part of the reason for the volume of cars is because large parts of the National Park can’t be reached any other way. This also means that the park isn’t equal for everyone.

We’re also aware that improved sustainable transport infrastructure will support rural connectivity, which is so incredibly important for people living and working in the Park; particularly those who don’t have access to a car or prefer to leave the car at home.

And we know from businesses in the National Park, how important it is to have public transport options for staff, who can’t always live where they work.

(Image: Camera Club, by Sheena Anderson)

Tackling these challenges through partnership working is a crucial part of becoming a Net Zero National Park and one of the key focus areas of our new National Park Partnership Plan, which sets out a long-term vision for the National Park as a ‘thriving place that is nature positive and carbon negative’.

Scotland is also aiming to reduce car kilometres, the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions nationally, by 20 per cent by 2030.

If we are going to hit that target, we need an efficient, inclusive, rural transport sector that meets the needs of both visitors and residents in the National Park. We need to make it easier and more attractive for people to travel to, from and around the National Park.

That’s why, after several years of research and listening to the needs of the people who live, work and visit the park, we’ve launched a pilot shuttle bus service, The Trossachs Explorer.

The new service will run between Aberfoyle and Callander from July 1 to September 30, allowing visitors and locals to enjoy popular destinations including Ben A’an and Ben Ledi without their cars this summer.

(Image: Camera Club by Leilani Mata Dio)

The service will run seven days a week, with eight services a day, and has been designed to tie in with bus services from Stirling and Glasgow, to allow visitors from those cities to make the full journey without a car.

This is a pilot project for just one area of the National Park, but it’s a step in the right direction. We will use the learnings from this initiative to work with partners and develop longer-term, more sustainable and active travel options across the rest of National Park.

This involves continuing to investigate the feasibility of services on other popular routes based on the learnings of the pilot.

The income generated from the pilot will also be reinvested into future transport initiatives that support more sustainable travel.

More information about The Trossachs Explorer, including timetable and route information, is available on the National Park Authority website at lochlomond-trossachs.org/trossachsexplorer.

For more information about the National Park Partnership Plan and the vision for the future of the National Park, visit lochlomond-trossachs.org/national-park-plan.