This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scots broadening their horizons
19/04/2005
Scots are travelling more, and further, than twenty or
thirty years ago, according to a new national survey
published today.
The survey
Travel by Scottish Residents shows that
the average person travels around 18 miles a day.
The main findings show:
- An average Scottish resident travelled around 6,670
miles per year (or about 18 miles per day) within Great
Britain in 2002/2003
- The average distance travelled per head has risen
by nearly 2,500 miles (59 per cent) since 1975/76, due
to the average number of trips per person per year
increasing by 12 per cent, and the average length of a
trip rising by 43 per cent
- The average time spent travelling per person
increased by 20 per cent from 289 hours per year (or 48
minutes per day) in 1975/76 to 346 hours per year (57
minutes per day) in 2002/2003
- Cars accounted for 86 per cent of the increase in
the distance travelled since 1975/76
- In 2002/2003, cars accounted for about three
quarters of the total distance travelled per person. No
other mode of travel accounted for more than 10 per
cent: surface rail accounted for 4 per cent and local
bus accounted for 5 per cent
- Between 1985/86 and 2002/2003, the number of trips
per person made as a car driver rose by 65 per cent,
and there were falls of 33 per cent for walking and 31
per cent for local bus
- 'Other personal business…' was the most frequent
purpose of travel in 2002/2003, accounting for 20 per
cent of the average of 991 trips per person per year.
Shopping and commuting or business purposes each
accounted for 19 per cent of trips
- Between 1985/86 and 2002/2003, the average distance
travelled per person rose by 67 per cent for shopping
trips, 81 per cent for other personal business (e.g.
visits to the doctor, library or church) and 26 per
cent for commuting
- The main mode of travel for men was as the driver
of a car, accounting for 66 per cent of the distance
they covered in 2002/2003, whereas only 42 per cent of
the distance travelled by women was as a car
driver
- In 2002/2003, people in the "top 20 per cent"
income group averaged 21 per cent more than the overall
average number of trips per person per year; people in
the "bottom 20 per cent" income group averaged 14 per
cent fewer trips than the overall average
- People in households with cars averaged eight per
cent more than the overall average number of trips per
person per year; people in households without a car
averaged 24 per cent fewer trips than the overall
average
The National Travel Survey is not designed to produce
annual figures for Scotland, so the samples for a number of
years must be combined in order to produce Scottish
results. The first period for which any overall results are
available in 1975/76, and 1985/86 is the first for which
the main breakdowns used subsequently are available.