« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
Statistical Bulletin Trn/2005/2
Scottish Household Survey Travel Diary results for
2003
7. Car occupancy rates
(
Table 10)
7.1
Table 10 analyses the number of people travelling in a car or
van, for journey stages which were reported by the driver.
In 2003, 60% of car or van journey stages were made with
only one person (the driver) in the vehicle. 27% of car or
van journey stages were made with two people in the car,
and about 13% with three or more. The average number of
people in the vehicle was 1.60. There was very little
difference between male and female drivers.
7.2 There was greater variation in the number of
occupants of the car or van with the age of the driver.
60-66% of car journeys by drivers aged 17-29 and 40-59 were
made unaccompanied, compared to 55% by 30-39 year old
drivers and 50-57% by those aged 60 and above. 30-39 year
olds were the most likely to drive with 3 or more occupants
in the car, with around 21% of their car journeys being
made in this way, compared to around 6-8% for drivers aged
50 and above.
7.3 56-66% of journeys as the
driver of a car or van made by those in employment or
further or higher education were made alone, compared to
51-52% of such journeys made by those permanently retired
from work or those unemployed and seeking work, 37% of
those permanently sick or disabled, and 39% of those
looking after the home or family. The average number of
occupants of a car or van driven by someone looking after
the home or family was 2.1, compared to 1.5 to 1.9 for
drivers in other situations. Car occupancy did not vary
greatly with the annual net household income of the
driver.
7.4 The number of occupants of a
car or van varied with the purpose of the journey. 85% of
commuting journeys made as the driver of a car or van, and
81% of such business journeys, were made unaccompanied,
compared with only 23% of journeys by people going out to
eat or drink or 27% for a holiday or day trip. Only around
2% of commuting journeys made as the driver of a car or van
were made with three or more occupants of the vehicle,
compared to about a third of such journeys for education
purposes, for eating or drinking, and for holidays or day
trips.
7.5 The start time and day of the
week were also correlated with the number of occupants of
the vehicle for journeys reported by the driver. The driver
was the sole occupant of the vehicle for 79% of car or van
journeys starting before 7 a.m., and for 73% starting
between 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., compared with 60% for all car
driver journeys. In 64% of car drivers' journeys taking
place during the week, the driver was unaccompanied,
compared to 47% of journeys at weekends.
7.6 The bottom part of
Table 10 shows that the proportion of journeys made as the
driver of a car in which the person was unaccompanied has
increased slightly each year, from 55.5% in 1999 to 59.8%
in 2003. The average number of occupants of a car or a van
during journeys reported by the driver has decreased very
slightly, from 1.68 in 1999 to 1.60 in 2003.
« Previous | Contents | Next »