This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Household Transport in 2005
27/10/2006
Differences in the transport patterns for different groups of people are shown in a Scottish Executive statistical bulletin, called Household Transport in 2005: some Scottish Household Surveyresults, which is published today. It follows the publication in August of "Main Transport Trends", which gave figures on the growth in recent years of traffic and public transport use.
The Scottish Household Survey provides more detailed background to the trends in transport, by asking people how and why they travel, and about their views on a range of transport issues. Some of the main findings are listed below.
Public transport
43 per cent of adults had used a local bus service in the month prior to the interview, and 19 per cent had used a train. 13 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men said that they had used a local bus every day or almost every day, as did 18 per cent of adults living in large urban areas
74 per cent of bus users felt that the buses ran on time, and 66 per cent agreed that bus fares were good value. In contrast, 81 per cent of train users felt that the trains ran on time, and 60 per cent thought that fares were good value. 31 per cent of non-users of trains agreed that the trains ran on time, and only 23 per cent felt that train fares were good value. A high proportion of non-users said they had "no opinion" on rail services
- 85 per cent of all householders said they were up to 6 minutes walk away from a bus stop. Overall, 25 per cent of householders said that there was a least one bus every 13 minutes: 44 per cent in large urban areas but only 3 per cent or less in rural areas and "remote" small towns
- While sampling variability can cause year-to-year fluctuations in the results, it appears that the percentage of households saying that there was at least one bus every 13 minutes at their nearest bus stop has tended to rise
Concessionary travel
- 81 per cent of adults aged 60 and over held a concessionary travel pass (75 per cent of men and 85 per cent of women). 40 per cent of adults in this age group had used such a pass at least once a week: 32 per cent of men and 44 per cent of women. Use of concessionary travel passes increased as income decreased: 44 per cent of those aged 60 and over in households with an annual net income of less than £10,000 had used their pass at least once a week, compared with 25 per cent of 60+s in "over £40,000" households
Travel to work
- About two-thirds of commuters said that they travelled to work by car or van (60 per cent as a driver and 8 per cent as a passenger), 13 per cent walked, 12 per cent went by bus, 4 per cent took a train and 2 per cent cycled. 65 per cent of men drove to work compared to 56 per cent of women
- 43 per cent of those who travelled to work by car or van could use public transport. The most common reasons given for not doing so were "takes too long" (58 per cent of this sub group) and "inconvenient" (36 per cent)
- 27 per cent of those who drove to work or education did something else as part of their journey to work. 17 per cent of women car driver commuters took children to school compared with 6 per cent of men
- While sampling variability can cause year-to-year fluctuations in the results, it appears that the percentage driving to work has tended to rise, the percentage getting a lift has tended to fall, the percentage walking has tended to fall slightly and there has been little change in the use of other modes of transport
Travel to school
- 53 per cent of pupils walked, 24 per cent were said to go by bus, 21 per cent went by car or van, and only 1 per cent cycled to school. 26 per cent of primary school age pupils travelled by car, as did 14 per cent of secondary school age pupils
- While sampling variability can cause year-to-year fluctuations in the results, it appears that the percentage walking to school has tended to fall, the percentage going by car has tended to rise and there has been little change in the use of the other modes of transport
Availability of cars
- 68 per cent of households had one or more cars. Car availability rose with income, from 38 per cent of households with an annual net income of under £10,000 to 99 per cent of those with an annual net household income of over £40,000. 58 per cent of households in large urban areas had a car, compared with 84-85 per cent of those in rural areas
- While sampling variability can cause year-to-year fluctuations in the results, it appears that the percentage of households with one or more cars has tended to increase, as has the percentage with two cars
Driving
- 65 per cent of people aged 17 and over were said to have a full driving licence: 77 per cent of men (but only 56 per cent of women) and 79 per cent of 40 to 49 year olds
- While sampling variability can cause year-to-year fluctuations in the results, it appears that the percentage of men with a driving licence has remained almost constant, but the percentage of women with a driving licence has tended to rise
- 41 per cent of people aged 17 and over were said to drive every day: 50 per cent of men compared with just over a third (34 per cent) of women. 57 per cent of people aged between 40 and 49 drove every day
Views on motoring taxes and charges, traffic growth and congestion
- 36 per cent of adults supported keeping the current system of road tax, and 34 per cent supported giving incentives to drive more environmentally friendly cars
- 58 per cent of adults were concerned about traffic growth in Scotland. The biggest concerns were "busier roads/streets" (46 per cent of those concerned), "congestion/increased travel times" (41 per cent) and "air pollution" (32 per cent)
- 11 per cent of those aged 17 or over drove in congested traffic every day: 16 per cent of men compared with 7 per cent of women. The most frequently mentioned impacts of congestion were "longer journey times" (38 per cent of those who ever drove in congested traffic) and "stress" (23 per cent). The most popular ways to combat congestion were "improve public transport services" (34 per cent), "public transport should be cheaper" (16 per cent) and "build more roads" (15 per cent)
Walking / cycling for pleasure / to keep fit
- 46 per cent of adults said that they had made a trip of more than a quarter of a mile by foot for pleasure or to keep fit (including walking a dog) in the previous seven days: 48 per cent of men and 45 per cent of women
- Only 4 per cent of adults said that they had cycled for pleasure or to keep fit in the previous seven days: 6 per cent of men and 3 per cent of women
Background
Household Transport in 2005: some Scottish Household Surveyresults costs £2, and may be purchased from Blackwell's Bookshop, 53 South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1YS.
The SHS started in February 1999. It involves interviews with about 15,500 households across Scotland each year. While the aim is to obtain a representative cross section, like any such survey the results may vary from year to year depending upon the composition of the sample.
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.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about_ns/cop/default.asp
These statistics undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.