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4 Rail and bus use, and accessibility
- Eighty five per cent of respondents lived within 6 minutes walk to a bus stop, although this may not be the bus stop that they regularly use.
- Almost a quarter of all respondents in 2007 had used the bus at least twice a week, six times higher than using the train.
- Four per cent of respondents had travelled to work by rail and 12 per cent had travelled by bus in 2007.
- Respondents in large urban areas were the most likely to have frequently used the bus in the past month.
- Twenty-eight per cent of adults (16+) had a concessionary fare pass in 2007.
Train use
4.1 Three per cent of all respondents in 2007 had used the train at least twice a week, a stable trend since 2002. The percentage using the train in the past month has increased 8 percentage points since 2002 (14 per cent in 2002 and 22 per cent in 2007). [ Table 5].
4.2 Frequency of driving and driving licence possession had little effect on the percentages using the train in the past month. [ Table 19].
4.3 In 2007, 4 per cent of respondents travelled to work by train, a constant trend since 1999. [ Table 12]. The percentage travelling to school by train was 1 per cent, again a constant trend since 1999. [ Table 13].
Age/gender
4.4 There was no difference in train use with gender but train use decreased as age increased, i.e. 41 per cent of respondents aged 16 - 19 had used the train in the past month compared with 5 per cent over 80 (Figure 5). [ Table 19].
Income and deprivation
4.5 Train use increased as income increased. This is seen clearly in the percentage of respondents reporting never using a train in the past month, i.e. 84 per cent of low income respondents never used a train in the past month compared to 64 per cent in high income households. This is likely due to the higher cost of rail travel.
4.6 A similar trend as above is seen in train use with the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, with respondents in the least deprived areas more likely to have used the train in the past month.
Urban/rural
4.7 Unsurprisingly, respondents in rural areas were less likely to have used a train in the past month than those in urban areas. This is most likely due to the poor train network coverage in rural areas than urban areas.
Figure 5: Adults who have used a bus or train in the past month, 2007
Evening travel and safety
4.8 Almost four-fifths of respondents had never used the train in the evening and 1 per cent used it most days. [ Table 7]. Ten per cent of respondents in 2007 felt very safe when travelling by train in the evening, a 6 percentage drop since 2001. However, it should be noted that the sample size in 2007 was halved.
4.9 There was no difference between evening train use and gender; however, women reported feeling less safe than men when travelling by train in the evening (27 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively). [ Table 21].
4.10 Younger respondents (16 - 29) were the most likely to have use trains in the evening and those aged 16 - 19 were the most likely to have reported feeling safe when travelling by train the evening.
4.11 As household income increased, the percentage never using the train in the evening decreased. There was a similar trend with deprivation, i.e. households in the least deprived areas were more likely to travel by train in the evening.
4.12 The perception of safety when travelling by train in the evening was dependent on the frequency of travelling by train in the evening, i.e. 37 per cent of regular evening train users (at least once a week) felt very safe compared to 9 per cent of users who never travelled by train in the evening, suggesting that the perception of safety on trains needs to be addressed rather than any real safety issues.
GB comparison
4.13 The SHS results are comparable GB level results ( NTS07), which found that 6 per cent used the train at least once a week (7 per cent, SHS 2007 train results).
Bus use
4.14 Eighty-five per cent of respondents lived within 6 minutes walk to a bus stop, although this may not be the bus stop that they regularly use, similar to the GB figure (86 per cent, NTS07). Almost a quarter of all respondents had a regular bus service (minimum of 1 every 13 minutes) and 22 per cent lived within 6 minutes walk of a bus stop and also had a regular bus service, both of which have increased 4 percentage points since 1999. [ Table 2].
4.15 Almost a quarter of all respondents in 2007 had used the bus at least twice a week, six times higher than using the train. [ Table 19]. The percentages using the bus in the past month has been stable since the question was introduced in 2002. [ Table 5].
4.16 Respondents who regularly drove were unlikely to have frequently used the bus (at least twice per week) in the past month. However, respondents who did hold a licence but never drove and those without a licence were the most likely to have used buses in the past month. [ Table 19].
4.17 In 2007, 12 per cent of respondents travelled to work by bus, a constant trend since 1999. [ Table 12]. The percentage travelling to school by bus in 2007 had dropped 3 percentage points since 1999 to 21 per cent. [ Table 13].
Age/gender
4.18 Respondents aged 30 - 59 were the least likely to have used the bus in the past month compared to respondents aged 16 - 19 (61 - 63 per cent and 29 per cent had not used the bus in the past month, respectively). [ Table 19].
4.19 Women were more likely to have used the bus in the past month than men and 27 per cent of women had used the bus at least twice per week in the past month compared to 20 per cent of men.
Income and deprivation
4.20 Frequent bus use (at least twice per week) decreased as income increased. This is seen clearly in the percentage of respondents reporting never using a bus in the past month, i.e. 41 per cent of low income respondents never used a bus in the past month compared to 68 per cent in high income households.
4.21 Respondents in more deprived areas were more likely to have a good bus service (bus stop within 6 minute walk and 5+ buses per hour) than respondents in the least deprived areas (36 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively). [ Table 18].
Urban/rural
4.22 Urban/rural had a large impact on whether or not respondents experienced a good bus service. Large urban areas were significantly more likely to have a good service and towns and rural areas the least likely to have a good service (42 per cent and 0 - 4 per cent, respectively).
4.23 Unsurprisingly respondents in large urban areas were the by far the most likely to have used the bus in the past month and remote towns and rural areas the least (Figure 5), which is related to the levels of service in these areas.
Evening travel and safety
4.24 Four-fifths of respondents had never used the bus in the evening. 16 - 29 year-olds were the most likely to travel bus in the evening (61 - 67 per cent). [ Table 20]. The percentage using buses in the evening has decreased since 2001, where 76 per cent of respondents had never used a bus in the evening. [ Table 6].
4.25 Thirteen per cent of respondents reported feeling very safe when travelling by bus in the evening. However this rose to 33 per cent for respondents who had travelled in the evening at least once per week. [ Table 20]. The overall figures have dropped 9 percentage points since 2001 (22 per cent). [ Table 6].
4.26 Women were more likely to report not feeling safe on buses in the evening than their male counterparts (34 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively). [ Table 20].
4.27 The percentage reporting feeling very safe decreased as evening bus use decreased, suggesting that the perception of safety on buses needs to be addressed rather than any real safety issues.
GB comparison
4.28 The SHS results are comparable to GB level results ( NTS07), which found that 28 per cent used the bus at least once a week (31 per cent, SHS 2007 bus results).
Concessionary Travel
4.29 The National Concessionary Travel Scheme was rolled out across Scotland in April 2006. The scheme enables individuals aged 60+ or with a certain types of disabilities to travel free on buses across Scotland. Table 22 and Table 23 only contain statistics for respondents with a concessionary pass described above and do not contain statistics for those holding a young persons concessionary fare pass as this question was added to the survey in 2008.
4.30 Twenty-eight per cent of adults (16+) had a concessionary fare pass in 2007, an increase of 3 percentage points since 2003. [ Table 8]. Three-quarters of respondents aged 60 - 64 held a concessionary pass in 2007, an increase of 13 percentage points since 2003.
4.31 This is consistent with Transport Scotland data showing 26 per cent of the adult population owning a concessionary fare pass (1,090,992 passes issued by April 2008; GROS mid-year 2007 population estimate of 4,227,249).
4.32 Respondents aged 16 - 59 were the least likely to hold a concessionary fare pass. [ Table 22].
Figure 6: Possession and use of concessionary fare pass, 2007
4.33 The percentage of respondents over 60 years old without a pass varied with age, with those aged 60-64 the least likely to own a pass (Figure 6). Respondents who did own a pass, the frequency of pass use decreased with age, with respondents over 80 the least likely to use their pass compared to those aged 60 - 64 (62 per cent compared to 75 per cent used pass in the past month, respectively). [ Table 23].
4.34 Women were more likely to own a pass than men (84 and 79 per cent respectively) and were more likely to use it regularly (at least twice per week) than men (33 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively).
4.35 Sixty-eight per cent of employed respondents 60+ owned a concessionary fare pass in 2007 and 19 per cent used it on a regular basis.
4.36 Respondents in urban areas were the most likely to own a concessionary fare pass and to use it regularly than rural areas (43 per cent and 8 - 14 per cent use pass regularly, respectively), likely due to proximity to efficient bus services.
4.37 Respondents with a full driving licence were less likely to own a concessionary fare pass than those without a full driving licence (79 per cent and 86 per cent, respectively) and significantly less likely to use a pass on a regular basis than those without a licence (18 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively).
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