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Indicators of Sustainable Development for Scotland
Indicator 17. Travel: accessibility
Percentage of Scottish households within 6 minutes walk of a bus service
Urban/Rural area | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
Urban, pop > 125,000 | 88% | 88% | 88% |
Other urban, pop > 10,000 - 125,000 | 90% | 90% | 90% |
Small "accessible" towns > 3,000 - 10,000 | 85% | 87% | 84% |
Small "remote" towns > 3,000 - 10,000 | 87% | 86% | 79% |
"Accessible" rural | 71% | 72% | 73% |
"Remote" rural | 56% | 54% | 60% |
All (including a few "urban / rural" NK) | 84.7% | 84.6% | 84.7% |
Source: Scottish Executive
The relevance of the indicator
Accessibility to transport is a key issue for sustainable development and social justice. We need to ensure that more Scottish households are able to choose sustainable forms of transport.
Detailed definition and source details
The indicator is defined as the percentage of Scottish households within a 6 minute walk of a bus service. The data are from annual results of the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) which is commissioned by the Scottish Executive and has been running since 1999. Householders are asked how long it would take the interviewer to walk to the nearest bus stop (or place where one could get on a bus). Results are published annually in
Bus and Coach Statistics, and in the annual
Household Transport… and biennial
Transport across Scotland… statistical bulletins of transport-related results from the SHS
40. While, in theory, results on a slightly different basis might be available for some earlier years from the National Travel Survey, in practice its clustered design and the small size of its sample in Scotland mean that they have not been used.
Trends
The SHS figures suggest minimal change between 1999 and 2001.
Further disaggregation
The SHS results can be disaggregated in many ways, including by household type, social class, household income band, property type, tenure, local authority and "urban" and "rural" areas (details of the SHS "urban" and "rural" categories are given in the Annex).
With the exception of those living in "accessible" and "remote" rural areas, broadly speaking, around 85-90% of Scottish households live within 6 minutes walk of a bus stop. This falls to just over 70% in "accessible" rural areas and 55-60% in "remote" rural areas. The percentages for some of the types of area can fluctuate noticeably from year to year, due to sampling variability and to population changes causing some settlements to be counted in a different category of the "urban / rural" classification in the next year.
Target
To increase local bus passenger journeys by 5% by 2006, compared with 2000-01 levels.
Action
Local buses are the most frequently used and the most accessible mode of public transport across Scotland. As might be expected, in rural areas a higher proportion of the population live further away from bus stops than in urban areas, and in some of Scotland's most remote areas no services are available. We are committed to improving local bus services across Scotland though the Public and Integrated Transport Funds, as an alternative to the private car for journeys into town and in-town, and to promote social inclusion, by providing access to jobs and services for those who do not have access to a car. In rural areas, public transport provision is also supported through the Rural Transport Fund. This fund provides support for local bus services, which may otherwise not be economically viable and for demand responsive and community transport initiatives, tailored to meet the transport needs of local communities.
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