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Main Transport Statistics 2007
20/08/2007
The Statistical Bulletin Main Transport Trends 2007 is published today describing some of the main trends over the past ten years and, in some cases, over the longer term.
It also provides some comparisons with figures for Great Britain (or, in a few cases, the UK as a whole) for the past ten years.
The findings for 2006 include:
- The total volume of traffic rose by 3 per cent, to the highest level ever recorded
- The total number of vehicles on the road increased by 3 per cent, to the highest number ever
- Rail patronage was at its highest level since (at least) 1960
- Air passenger numbers reached a new record level
Motor vehicles and traffic
- The total volume of traffic in 2006 was 44 billion (thousand million) vehicle kilometres: 3 per cent more than in 2005, the highest level ever recorded and 16 per cent more than in 1996
- The total number of vehicles licensed grew by 2 per cent to 2.59 million, 32 per cent more than in 1996 and the highest number ever. Although the number of new vehicles registered fell by 3 per cent to 243,000, it was still the fifth highest figure recorded, 33 per cent more than in 1996
- While the number of vehicles per head of population has been rising steadily, it has been consistently lower in Scotland than in GB as a whole: in 2006, there were 51 vehicles per 100 population in Scotland compared with 57 in GB
- 68 per cent of households had at least one car available for private use - up from 63 per cent in 1999. 24 per cent of households had two or more cars in 2006 compared with 18 per cent in 1999
Public transport: bus, rail and air
- There were 77.3 million passenger journeys on ScotRail services in 2006-07, 3 per cent more than the previous year and 46 per cent more than 10 years earlier. Rail passenger numbers are at the highest level since (at least) 1960
- Per head of population, there are fewer rail passenger journeys originating in Scotland than in GB: 14.4 per head in Scotland in 2004-05, compared with 18.0 per head in GB
- There were 24.4 million air terminal passengers in 2006, 3 per cent more than in the previous year, 85 per cent more than in 1996, and the highest level ever recorded
- The number of air passengers per head of population has been consistently higher for Scotland than for the UK. Between 1996 and 2006, air terminal passengers increased by 85 per cent for Scotland and 73 per cent for the UK as a whole
- Bus passenger numbers remained broadly stable over the period 2003-04 to 2005-06, the latest three years for which data are available. Whilst the 2005-06 figure of 477 million was slightly below the previous year's (0.4 per cent less) there were increases in the six previous years, which represents an improvement over the longer-term trend. The 2005-06 figure was 6 per cent below that for 1995-96, and considerably less than the totals of almost 900 million for 1975 and about 1,700 million for 1960
- Usage of local bus services is higher in Scotland than in GB as a whole: in 2005-06 94 journeys were made per head of population in Scotland compared with 81 in GB
Personal travel, including travel to work and school
- Over two-thirds of commuters travelled to work by car or van (60 per cent as a driver and 7 per cent as a passenger), 14 per cent walked, 12 per cent went by bus, 4 per cent took a train, 2 per cent cycled and 2 per cent used other modes of transport. In recent years, it appears that the percentage driving to work has risen and the percentage getting a lift has fallen
- 51 per cent of pupils walked to school, 24 per cent went by bus, 22 per cent by car, 1 per cent cycled, 1 per cent went by rail and 1 per cent used other means of transport. In recent years, the percentage walking to school has fallen and the percentage going by car has risen
- 66 per cent of people aged 17 or over had a full driving licence: 77 per cent of men compared to 58 per cent of women. In recent years, the percentage for men has been fairly constant, whereas the percentage of women has increased
Road Casualties
- 314 people were killed on Scotland's roads in 2006, as was published in Key 2006 Road Accident Statistics in June. This was 10 per cent more than in 2005, but 12 per cent fewer than in 1996 and the fifth lowest number for more than 50 years. The number of people recorded as seriously injured in road accidents was 2,611, down by 2 per cent and the lowest figure since records of serious injuries began in 1950. Road casualties totalled 17,165, 4 per cent fewer than in 2005, 21 per cent fewer than in 1996, and the lowest figure since 1952
The bulletin also includes statistics on some other aspects of transport in Scotland, such as road lengths, toll bridges, ferry passengers, the frequency of walking and cycling, and freight transport.