Tackling the transport challenges faced by people accessing healthcare in rural parts of Scotland will be the focus of a project backed by new funding.
Researchers at Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) and Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) will collaborate with community interest company Scottish Rural & Islands Transport Community (SRITC) for the work.
It is among the latest round of research to be supported by Scotland Beyond Net Zero (SBNZ) - a collaboration between Scotland’s universities which harnesses academic expertise to meet Scotland’s climate emergency targets.
Co-led by ENU’s Professor Pat Langdon and Dr Nick Davies of GCU, in partnership with Dr Jenny Milne of SRITC (CIC), ‘Improving Net Zero Transport Access to Healthcare in Rural Scotland’ aims to transform rural healthcare transport, supporting Scotland's net zero goals through a systems-based approach.
The team hope to understand the experience of people living in rural areas who face long, complicated journeys to reach healthcare appointments, how barriers differ across the country, and to explore sustainable solutions. They will utilise evidence from SRITC’s health focus action group to keep the project embedded in lived experience and community.
Through surveys, workshops and stakeholder mapping, they will examine how cuts to NHS patient transport and local networks, as well as unintentionally disruptive decarbonisation measures, may have affected healthcare inequality.
Professor Pat Langdon, Director of ENU’s Transport Research Institute said: “People who live in rural parts of Scotland are often relying on difficult, high carbon, multi-leg journeys to reach essential healthcare, such as cancer treatment or dialysis.
“At the same time, patients who are forced to miss appointments through complex or poorly designed transport systems create further strain onto the NHS.
“Currently there is a disparate mix of systems across the country, including community transport, private hire taxis, and even complex routes involving road, ferry and air connections.
“We hope that by understanding the challenges in different rural areas, we can help to identify equitable grassroots solutions for both the short and long term.
“By explicitly aligning efforts to improve health access with the reduction of transport emissions, we can strengthen Scotland’s net zero effort.”
Dr Nick Davies, Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Events at Glasgow Caledonian University, said: “We recognise that the transport and healthcare sectors often operate in silos, so our project makes a vital step towards better integration in planning more effective services for rural communities.
“We also acknowledge that the issues in rural Scotland vary from place to place – it’s a large and diverse geographical area – and therefore we take a place-based approach to understanding the problem.
“Our project will create a foundation for larger research projects and future project development. We will identify pathways to ensure rural and island residents have an equal access to healthcare, and a just transition to net zero for rural areas of Scotland.”
Dr Jenny Milne, Founder and Director of Scottish Rural & Islands Transport Community (CIC), said: "We are proud to be part of this project which is embedded in work undertaken by volunteers in the Health and Transport Focus Action group, highlighting the challenges around the topic.
“Accessibility to healthcare in rural and island areas is not a given and presents many challenges, even when an appointment is held digitally. 
“This project will fill a much needed gap on evidence and help direct policy and research with lived experiences at the core.”
Climate resilient hospitals and sustainable festivals – projects backed by Scotland Beyond Net Zero
Fourteen projects are being backed by Scotland Beyond Net Zero’s seed funding round for 2026, addressing areas such as energy, climate justice, sustainable healthcare and the green economy.
Alongside the examination of rural transport access to healthcare, two other projects will be co-led by ENU academics:
- Climate-Resilient, Net Zero Hospitals: A Digital Twin Approach for Scotland
Led by ENU’s Professor Berk Canberk and Professors George Loumakis and Rohinton Emmanuel of GCU, this project will develop a Digital Twin-based decision-support framework to enable climate-resilient and low-carbon operation in hospitals. In partnership with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, their virtual copy of hospital assets will assess its operational building data, energy performance information, environmental and climate-risk indicators, providing evidence-based recommendations.
- A living lab approach to decarbonising the Scottish festival sector: a case study of reusable cups and serveware
ENU’s Professor Jane Ali-Knight and Professor Matt Brennan from the University of Glasgow will collaborate with organisers of the Summer Sessions in Glasgow and Edinburgh’s Hidden Door Festival to assess waste reduction challenges - particularly with reusable cups and serveware. The team’s living lab approach will see them identify barrier and test solutions in real-life festival settings.
Professor Chris Pearce, Vice Principal for Research & Knowledge Exchange at the University of Glasgow and Chair of the SBNZ Governing Board, said: "Now in its third year, the Scotland Beyond Net Zero Seed Fund continues to grow in scale and ambition.
“This year, we have increased our investment and funded more projects across more of Scotland’s universities than ever before.
“We are delighted to support these innovative and impactful collaborations, which reflect the breadth of climate and sustainability research across Scotland.
“I look forward to seeing the results of these projects and the lasting benefits they will bring to Scotland’s communities and environment."
The full list of projects is available on the Scotland Beyond Net Zero website.