Summary
The Tayside Bus Alliance have engaged transport consultants SYSTRA to study improvements to transport in the Tayside area. The Tayside Bus Alliance is formed of: Angus, Dundee City, Fife, and Perth and Kinross Councils; Tactran, and SEStran Regional Transport Partnerships; Bus Users UK; and key bus operators in the area.


The study considers measures which aim to improve bus journey times, reduce the negative impacts of congestion on bus services, and encourage bus use. We will also look at how a wider package of transport measures, such as active travel, can support these aims.

A key part of the study is drawing on the expert voices and members of the public in the Tayside area, seeking to align the needs and responsibilities of all, and as the study begins to consider the appraisal of different transport improvements. Engagement will focus on:

  • Obtaining feedback on the options and corridors developed; and
  • Discussing opportunities and potential obstacles and risks for delivery of options.

We will collect feedback via an online and paper-based questionnaire. Qualitative engagement, via focus groups and depth interviews and workshops will also be undertaken.


The engagement will help inform ongoing options appraisal for improving transport in Tayside.

This notice

  • SYSTRA have been commissioned by Dundee City Council, on behalf of the Tayside Bus Alliance, to undertake this study;
  • SYSTRA, Dundee City Council and the Tayside Bus Alliance are committed to making sure that we tell you about the ways in which we use your personal information and that we have the right controls in place to make sure it is used responsibly and kept safe from inappropriate access, theft, or misuse
  • We are providing you with this notice so you know what data we are collecting from you as part of this research study; what we are going to do with it; and your rights over our use of your personal data.

Your personal data

Personal data relates to a living individual who can be identified from that data. Identification can be by the information alone or in conjunction with any other information. The processing of personal data is governed by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and associated legislation including but not limited to the Data Protection Act 2018.

Who are we?

  • Dundee City Council and SYSTRA are Joint Data Controller. This means Dundee City Council and SYSTRA have decided how your personal data is processed and for what purposes.
  • SYSTRA is responsible for collecting and processing your personal data. SYSTRA are Cyber Essentials accredited
  • PlaceChangers and Snap Surveys are Data Processors, they are responsible for storing and processing your personal data on instruction from SYSTRA.

What information is being processed?

SYSTRA will collect feedback via an online and paper-based questionnaire. Qualitative engagement, via focus groups and depth interviews and workshops will also be undertaken.
Questionnaire and qualitative research with the public

The Tayside Bus Alliance or SYSTRA will have invited you to take part in the online questionnaire via direct email or promotion on social media. You may have also come across a hard copy of the questionnaire at a local facility, such as a library or council offices.

Where the online questionnaire has been shared with you via direct email, your contact details were provided to SYSTRA or The Tayside Bus Alliance with your consent or were publicly available online. This may include your name, the organisation you represent and your email address.

Broadly, the questionnaire will capture your views toward different bus priority measures.

If you are responding to the questionnaire as an individual, you will also be asked questions on:

  • whether or not you live in the Tayside area;
  • which area of Tayside you live in;
  • your current travel behaviour;
  • the gender with which you identify; and
  • your occupational status.

If you are responding on behalf of an organisation, then to help us understand any differences in opinions between different types of organisations and to ensure responses are unique, you will also be asked questions on:

  • your organisation type;
  • your organisation name;
  • your email address and role.

The questionnaire also asks for your age, to ensure we are only collecting data from those aged 16 and older.
Finally, the online version of the questionnaire will also:

  • Ask if you would like to take part in an online focus group and/or telephone interview, to discuss your views in more detail. If so, the questionnaire will capture your name, email address and telephone number; and
  • Divert you to an interactive mapping exercise, hosted by PlaceChangers. The PlaceChangers form will collect your IP Address on submission of your response. IP Address data will not be linked to any other elements of your response and will be removed from the dataset prior to analysis by SYSTRA and securely destroyed.

Online focus group and/or telephone interviews will be organised using the contact details provided at the end of the survey. SYSTRA will make contact with potential participants to check interest in taking part in qualitative discussions and will re-capture some information originally captured in the survey, such as age and gender.

Contact details (name and email address) will also be re-collected for those wishing to receive an incentive for their participation.

The qualitative discussions themselves are not designed to capture additional personal data, however, personal data may be provided by participants. All data captured during sessions will be fully anonymised for analysis and reporting.

Workshops with stakeholders

The Tayside Bus Alliance or SYSTRA will have invited you to take part in an online workshop to discuss the options. This includes using your name and email address to share information about the meeting and a meeting invite. In this instance, your contact details were provided to SYSTRA or The Tayside Bus Alliance with your consent or were publicly available online.

Any contact details provided or obtained for this research will not be provided to any other third party and will only be used for the research purposes detailed in this privacy notice. All data collected will be analysed and reported on anonymously.

How is it collected?

The online version of the questionnaire is being collected using SNAP Survey software. SNAP Survey is a secure software survey platform used for data collection and analysis which has the highest standards of data security achieving the ISO27001 accreditation.

At the end of the online survey, you will be diverted to PlaceChangers, an interactive mapping data collection tool that adheres to GDPR principles.

The paper version of the questionnaire has been distributed to local facilities, such as libraries or council offices. Completed survey responses are sent directly back to SYSTRA.

The interviews, online focus groups and online workshops will be undertaken using MS Teams or Zoom.
Why is it being collected?


Our lawful basis for processing under GDPR is:

GDPR Article 6(1)(e): the processing is necessary for the performance of its official tasks carried out in the public interest, consistent with the power to advance wellbeing, Local Government in Scotland Act (2003).

We also rely on your Consent to hold your personal data. You may withdraw your consent at any time.

How will it be used?

  • SYSTRA, Dundee City Council and the Tayside Bus Alliance comply with their obligations under the UK GDPR by: keeping personal data up to date; by storing and destroying it securely; by not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of data; by protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure and by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect personal data.
  • All personal data held as part of this project is encrypted with a secure password and access restricted to only those working on the project.
  • Your data will be analysed with all other participant data. SYSTRA will report the findings of the study to the Tayside Bus Alliance. No individual identifiable information will be included during reporting.

Who will it be shared with?

  • Data will be collected and stored in the United Kingdom.
  • YSTRA will share findings from this engagement with the Tayside Bus Alliance at the end of the research, and no other third party. This will not contain any personal contact information alongside views shared.

How long do we keep your personal data?

We keep your personal data for no longer than reasonably necessary. Your data will be kept for the duration of the project. After this, in February 2023, all personal data will be destroyed.

Your rights and your personal data

You have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

  • The right to request a copy of your personal data which SYSTRA holds about you;
  • The right to request that SYSTRA corrects any personal data if it is found to be inaccurate or out of date;
  • The right to request your personal data is erased where it is no longer necessary for SYSTRA to retain such data
  • The right to withdraw your consent to the processing at any time;
  • The right, where there is a dispute in relation to the accuracy or processing of your personal data, to request a restriction is placed on further processing;
  • The right to object to the processing of personal data; and
  • The right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioners Office.

Contact Details
If you would like:

  • Any more information about the research study, or our use of your data;
  • To request to see the personal data held on you;
  • To request to withdraw your personal data; or
  • To exercise any other of the rights listed above:

Please contact the SYSTRA research manager, Emma Salter, esalter@systra.com
Should you wish to find out more about SYSTRA’s data protection processes or contact their Data
Protection Officer, please contact SYSTRA’s UK Compliance Team at UK_compliance@systra.com.
To find out more about Dundee City Council’s compliance with data protection please click on the following links to review their data protection notices: https://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/service-area/chief-executive/chief-executives-services/privacy-statement
If you have any concerns or questions about data protection or your rights you can also contact the Information Commissioners Office on 0303 123 1113 or via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email or at the Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.