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6. Households' reported expenditure on fuel for cars, and reported expenditure on public transport fares by adults (16+)
6.1 Households' reported expenditure on fuel for cars in the past month
6.1.1 The Highest Income Householder (or his/her spouse/partner) was asked about the total of the amounts spent on fuel, for all the cars the household normally has available for private use, in the month before the interview, excluding any expenditure met by an employer or business. The answer was often a rough "off the top of the head" estimate: many households reported "rounded" values like £50 or £60. Therefore, SHS results can only be a rough guide as to individual households' actual expenditure on fuel for cars. However, if one takes account of those who did not spend anything on fuel for cars, one obtains an overall average for all households which may be only 10% or so below the Office for National Statistics' estimate of the average weekly household expenditure on motor vehicle fuel (which includes fuel for motorcycles and vans) which appears in "Scottish Transport Statistics" - which suggests that the SHS's overall results are not far wrong.
6.1.2 For those households who reported expenditure on fuel, Table 8 shows the average (arithmetic mean) amount spent for each group and also the median amount spent, as the latter is more like a "typical" amount spent by each group. The median is the middle value: half the households in the group will have spent no more than the median, and half will have spent no less. The average (arithmetic mean) might give a misleading impression due to the effect of a small number of households spending a large amount on fuel for cars in the past month. The medians are expressed in terms of whole pounds because the interviewer asks for estimates to the nearest pound. Households who had not spent any money on fuel, or who did not know (or would not say) how much they had spent, are not counted for the purposes of calculating the figures in Table 8, as were the small number for whom a value of "999" or more was recorded.
6.1.3 The average (mean) and the median amounts spent on fuel tend to rise steadily with annual net household income: from an average of about £57 per month (a median of £40) for households with an annual net income of up to £10,000, to around £138 (a median of £100) for households with incomes of over £40,000. The amount spent on fuel also differed between types of areas. 13% of households in large urban areas which reported expenditure on fuel spent £150 or more per month on fuel, in contrast to 28% in "accessible" rural areas - of all the types of area, the latter had the highest values for the average (£116) and the median (£90). As one would expect, the amount spent on fuel rises with the number of cars the household had access to: from a median of £50 per month for households with access to one car, to £150 for households with access to three or more cars.
6.1.4 Table C shows the average (mean) amount recorded rose from about £75 per month in 1999 to around £84 in 2000, fell to £78 per month in 2003, then rose to £91 per month in 2006. The pattern is similar to that of the average prices of petrol and diesel (in June of each year), which appear in "Scottish Transport Statistics", which show a rise in 2000, falls from 2001 to 2003, then rises to 2006. However, the median amount reported hardly changed between years (it was £60 in every year except 2006, when it was £70). The figures for different years should be compared with caution, because of a change to the questionnaire, which is mentioned in the footnote to the table.
6.2 Adults' reported expenditure on public transport fares in the previous seven days
6.2.1 The randomly chosen adult was asked how much he/she spent on public transport in the seven days before the interview, excluding any fares paid for by an employer or business. Again, the answer was often a rough "off the top of the head" estimate. For those who reported any expenditure, Table 9 shows that 36% said that they had spent £1 to £5 on public transport fares in the previous seven days, 28% said £6 to £10, 14% said £11-15, and about a fifth said larger amounts. The exclusion of people who spent nothing means that these figures exclude those whose only public transport journeys were made free of charge using a concessionary fare pass.
6.2.2 Table 9 shows the average (arithmetic mean) spent for each group and also the median amount spent. Again, the medians are expressed in terms of whole pounds because the interviewer asks for estimates to the nearest pound. The average (mean) amount reported spent on public transport fares is £14.03 and the median is £8. (Again, these statistics have been calculated by excluding those who said that they had not spent anything on public transport. Also, any cases with a reported amount over £500 were excluded from the calculation of the medians and the averages.)
6.2.3 There was some variation with sex for those reporting expenditure on public transport in the previous seven days: 37% of women spent £1 to £5 compared to 33% of men. On average, men who reported expenditure on public transport spent £15.60 (a median of £10) in the previous seven days whereas women spent an average £12.99 (a median of £8). The amount spent varied with age. Those aged 20-29 years who had reported expenditure on public transport in the past seven days spent a median of £10 compared to a median of £5 for those over 70 years old. The amount spent on public transport also seems to be related to the current situation of the adult. Those who had reported expenditure on public transport who were self-employed, employed full-time or in higher/further education spent a median of £10. This compares to a median of £5 for those permanently retired from work. There was little difference in medians between types of area. Overall, expenditure on public transport tends to rise with household income. Adults from households with an annual net income of up to £10,000 who had reported expenditure on public transport in the past seven days spent a median £7 on public transport compared with £10 for those from "over £40,000" households (the corresponding means were £10.98 and £20.10).
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