This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Transport across Scotland in 2003 and 2004
16/01/2006
Differences in the transport patterns in different parts of Scotland are shown in a statistical bulletin published today.
It gives Scottish Household Survey results relating to 2003 and 2004 because the SHS was designed to provide local authority figures only for two-year periods. The statistics for types of area use the SHS 'urban/rural' classification.
The main findings are:
Availability of cars and bicycles
- 66 per cent of Scottish households had one or more cars. The percentage was highest in rural areas (83 per cent) and lowest in large urban areas (57 per cent)
- The percentage of households without a car available for private use was highest in Glasgow (55 per cent), Dundee (49 per cent) and Inverclyde (43 per cent), and lowest in Aberdeenshire (16 per cent) and East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Highland and Moray (all 19-21 per cent)
- About 23 per cent of households had two or more cars, rising to around 39 per cent in "accessible" rural areas. Aberdeenshire, East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire were all around 36-37 per cent; Dundee and Glasgow around 10-11 per cent
- About a third of households had one or more bicycles that adults could use, ranging from 19 per cent for households in Glasgow, and 21-22 per cent in Dundee and Inverclyde, to 56 per cent in Moray, 54 per cent in Highland and 52 per cent in Aberdeenshire
Driving
- Across Scotland, 42 per cent of people aged 17 or over drove "every day": 51-55 per cent in rural areas compared with only 34 per cent in large urban areas; 27-28 per cent in Dundee and Glasgow; 32-34 per cent in Edinburgh and North Ayrshire; and 53-55 per cent in Aberdeenshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire and Moray
- Reliance on cars for each of seven types of journey varied - e.g.:
39 per cent of drivers in large urban areas who went town centre shopping always used a car, compared with 90 per cent in "remote" rural areas
35 per cent of drivers in Edinburgh who shopped for small amounts of food always used a car, compared with 84 per cent in Eilean Siar
overall, Edinburgh had the lowest percentages; Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee tended to have low percentages; Eilean Siar and Shetland had the highest percentages of drivers who always used a car, the proportions who could use another mode of transport were much lower in rural areas than in small towns and urban areas. Orkney and Shetland were always among the Councils with the lowest proportions able to use another mode; Dundee, Falkirk and Perth & Kinross usually among the highest
Travel to work
- About 9 per cent of employed adults worked at or from home. The percentage was highest in "remote" rural areas (21 per cent), and in Eilean Siar and Orkney (both 19 per cent)
- Overall, 60 per cent of those who travelled to work drove a car/van: from 72-75 per cent of those living in rural areas to 50-51 per cent in large urban areas and "remote" small towns
- Including passengers, 68 per cent of commuters travelled by car/van. The figure was lowest for those who lived in Edinburgh (48 per cent) and Glasgow (54 per cent) and highest in Clackmannanshire (85 per cent) and Aberdeenshire, Falkirk, Shetland and South Lanarkshire (all 78-79 per cent)
- Overall, 13 per cent walked to work. This percentage was highest in "remote" small towns (26 per cent) and Angus, Orkney and Scottish Borders (20-24 per cent)
- 12 per cent went by bus. This percentage was highest for those living in large urban areas (19 per cent), Edinburgh (26 per cent) and Dundee and Glasgow (both 20-21 per cent)
- 43 per cent of those who usually travelled to work by car or van said that they could use public transport: 53 per cent in large urban areas; 64 per cent in Edinburgh and 53-58 per cent in East Dunbartonshire, Glasgow, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire. However, 85 per cent of car/van commuters in "remote" rural areas could not use public transport, as did 84-85 per cent in Orkney and Shetland
Travel to school
- Walking was reported to be the usual method of travel to school for 52 per cent of pupils, 23 per cent went by bus, 22 per cent travelled in a car or van, and only 1 per cent cycled. About three-fifths of pupils in towns and cities walked to school, compared with around 30 per cent of those in rural areas. The percentage travelling by bus was 16-21 per cent in towns and cities, and 43-51 per cent in rural areas. There was much less variation in the use of the car, the figures for the different types of area all being between 16 per cent and 23 per cent
Public transport
- Public transport was described as "very convenient" by 51 per cent of adults in large urban areas, but by only 19 per cent of those living in "remote" rural areas: there, 27 per cent said that it was "very inconvenient", and a further 20 per cent felt that it was "fairly inconvenient"
- The "very convenient" percentage was highest for Aberdeen, East Renfrewshire, Edinburgh and Renfrewshire (all 51-59 per cent); and the "very inconvenient" percentage highest for Aberdeenshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Highland, Scottish Borders and Shetland (all 18-21 per cent)
- Overall, 4 per cent of households had no bus service or were at least 14 minutes walk away from the nearest bus stop - but this rose to 27 per cent in "remote" rural areas and 14 per cent in "accessible" rural areas. Orkney (27 per cent), Shetland (18 per cent), Aberdeenshire and Highland (both 14 per cent) and Argyll & Bute and Dumfries & Galloway (11-12 per cent) had the highest percentages with no bus service or a 14+ minute walk to one
- 11 per cent of adults used their local bus service "every day, or almost every day" - ranging from 17 per cent in large urban areas to 2 per cent in "remote" rural areas; it was 23 per cent in Edinburgh and 20 per cent in Glasgow
- 41 per cent of adults had used a local bus service in the past month: 56 per cent in large urban areas and 15 per cent in "remote" rural areas; 71 per cent in Edinburgh and 56 per cent in Glasgow; but only 11-13 per cent in Orkney and Shetland
- Users' views on most aspects of bus services did not vary much by type of area. However: o only 68 per cent of users in large urban areas agreed that "the buses are on time", compared with 91 per cent in "remote" rural areas
only 60 per cent in "remote" rural areas agreed that "the buses are frequent", compared with 83 per cent in other urban areas;
only 60 per cent in "accessible" rural areas agreed that "the service runs when I need it", compared with 78 per cent in other urban areas
only 67 per cent in large urban areas agreed that "the buses are clean", compared with 90 per cent in "remote" rural areas
only 46 per cent of bus users in Glasgow agreed that "the buses are clean" and only 34 per cent of bus users in Scottish Borders agreed that "it's easy changing to other forms of transport"
- Overall, 8 per cent of adults felt, or would feel, "not safe at all" from crime when travelling by bus in the evening. The percentage was highest in Dundee (26 per cent) and Angus, East Ayrshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire (all 10-15 per cent); it was only 2 per cent in "remote" small towns and "remote" rural areas
- 17 per cent of adults had used a train in the past month: 27-33 per cent in East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire
Walking
- Overall, 54 per cent of adults said that they had made a trip of more than a quarter of a mile by foot to go somewhere in the previous seven days, but only 35-41 per cent of those in rural areas had done so. Among the Council areas, the percentage was highest in Edinburgh (70 per cent) and Falkirk and North Ayrshire (both 60-62 per cent) and lowest in Eilean Siar (17 per cent) and Aberdeenshire (37 per cent)
- 52-56 per cent of adults in rural areas and "remote" small towns said that they had walked for pleasure or to keep fit in the seven days before the interview, compared with the overall figure of 44 per cent. The figures ranged from 31-35 per cent in Aberdeen, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire to 70 per cent in Moray and 58 per cent in Argyll & Bute, Perth & Kinross and South Ayrshire
Transport across Scotland in 2003 and 2004: some Scottish Household Survey results for parts of Scotland costs £2, and may be purchased from Blackwell's Bookshop, 53 South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1YS.
The SHS involves interviews with about 31,000 households across Scotland in every two-year period. While the aim is to obtain a representative cross-section, like any survey the results may vary from period to period depending upon the composition of the sample.
In the SHS urban / rural classification, a "small town" has a population between 3,000 and 9,999; and a "large urban area" has a population of 125,000 or more. An area is described as "accessible" if it is within 30 minutes drive of a settlement with a population of 10,000 or more (otherwise it is described as "remote").
This is a National Statistics publication. It has been produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice and Release Practice Protocol.
These statistics undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.