Reduces inequalities

This chapter reviews the data on the following indicators:

Indicator 1A: Sustainable Mode Share by Individuals (primary indicator)
Indicator 1B: Performance Measures of Public Transport Mode (secondary indicator)
Indicator 1C: Barriers to Active Modes – Access and Self-reported (secondary indicator)
Indicator 1D: Barriers to public transport use and access (secondary indicator)

Geographic inequalities are discussed in the Chapter on Inclusive Growth.

Indicator 1A: Sustainable Mode Share by Individuals

Use of transport modes varies across equality groups and by socioeconomic factors.

Sustainable mode share refers to travel using buses, trains, cycling, walking and wheeling. This section uses data from the Scottish Household Survey to examine differences between groups in the use of these modes. In terms of the numbers below, the results that have been selected reflect those where samples sizes are the largest and we are, as a result, most confident in the results. This means that certain demographic breakdowns are not highlighted, but are available within the full breakdown of the available data that can be found in the accompanying dataset.

Additional data on comparisons of modal share by disability has also been published. However, this report pools data across multiple years and so does not refer to an individual year in the same way that the Scottish Household Survey does.

Walking

Walking as a means of transport

In the last week, was reported by 67% of the population in 2019. It is most common among those in large urban areas (78%), those on higher incomes (70% among those earning between £40,000 p.a. and £50,000 p.a. and 71% of those earning over £50,000 p.a.) and living in the least deprived areas (71%). It is less common among those earning between £15,000 and £20,000 p.a. (61%, compared to 68% among those earning under £10,000 p.a.) and the those in the middle of deprivation distribution (63%, compared to 68% in the most deprived 20% of areas). It is more common among men (68%) than women (65%). Comparing by age, the highest rate is amongst those aged 16-19, at 78% of those aged 16-19 having walked as a mode of transport in the last week, compared to 40% of those over 80. It is less common among those in remote rural areas (45%) and those in accessible rural areas (53%).
- It is more common among non-disabled people than disabled people, with 73% of non-disabled people doing this in the last week, compared to 48% of disabled people.

Walking just for pleasure/to keep fit

In the last week, was reported by 62% of the population in 2019. It is most common among people on higher incomes (75% of those earning over £50,000 p.a.) and in the least deprived areas (70%). It is more common among men (64%) than among women (60%). Comparing by deprivation, it is least common among those in most deprived areas (51%).
It is more common among non-disabled people than disabled people, with 69% of non-disabled people doing this in the last week, compared to 41% of disabled people.

Walking as a means of transport has changed little over time, with 67% of respondents doing this in the last week in both 2014 and 2019. Walking just for pleasure/to keep fit appears to have increased slightly, to 62% of respondents in 2019 from 55% in 2012.

Cycling

Cycling as a means of transport

In the last week, was reported by 5% of all people in 2019. It is most common among men (7%) than women (3%), those on higher incomes (6% of those earning between 40,000 p.a. and 50,000 p.a. and 7% of those earning over £50,000 p.a.) and those in the least deprived areas (8%). The relationship to rurality is ambiguous, with 5% of those in remote rural areas and 6% of those in large urban areas reporting cycling in the last week.
It is less common among those on lower incomes (2% of those earning up to £10,000 p.a.) and those in the most deprived areas (3%).
It is more common among non-disabled people (6%) than among disabled people (2%).

Cycling just for pleasure/to keep fit

In the last week, was reported by 6% of the population in 2019. It is more common among men (8%) than women (4%), those on higher incomes (10% of those earning over £50,000) and those in least deprived areas (10%). It is more common in remote rural areas, at 10%.
It is less common among those in more deprived areas (3% in most deprived areas) and those on low incomes (2% of those earning up to £10,000 p.a. and 3% of those earning between £10,000 p.a. and £15,000 p.a.).
It is more common among non-disabled people (7%) than among disabled people (2%).

We also have data for how these trends have changed over time. Cycling as a means of transport has remained relatively unchanged over time: 6% of respondents did this at least once a week in 2012, 2014 and 2016, compared to 5% in 2019. The situation with cycling just for pleasure/to keep fit is similar. This activity remained at around 6% between 2016 and 2019.

Bus use

Among the population as a whole, in 2019, 39% reported using the bus in the last month, with 8% using it every day or almost every day. It is more common among people who do not possess a driving licence (62% having used it in the last month), those in large urban areas (54%), those on lower incomes (51% of those earning less than £10,000 p.a. and 50% of those earning between £10,000 p.a. and £15,000 p.a.) and those in the most deprived areas (49%). Bus use is slightly higher among women than men, with 40% of women travelling by bus in the last month, compared to 37% of men.
It was less common among those who hold a full driving license (29% having used it in the last month), those aged 50-59 (29%) those on higher incomes (27% of those earning over £50,000 p.a.), those in small remote towns (19%), accessible rural areas (22%) and remote rural areas (20%). Comparing across deprivation quintiles, 40% of those in the least deprived quintile had used the bus in the past month, while 30% of those in the fourth quintile - the least deprived 40% to 20% - had done so.
Bus use was slightly more common among disabled people, with 41% having used it in the last month, compared to non-disabled people, with 38% having used it in the last month.
Bus use has fallen overall in the last ten years, with journeys declining by from 484 million in 2008-09 to 375 million in 2018-19. Similarly, journey kilometres from 386 million in 2008-09 to 331 million in 2018-19. Overall proportions of those using the bus in the last month have declined slightly between 2014 and 2019, with 61% of people having not used the bus in the last month in 2014 compared to 58% in 2019.

Train use

In 2019, 30% of the population reported using the train in the last month, with 9% using it once a week or more. It is more common among those on higher incomes (43% of those earning over £50,000 p.a.), those in ‘other’ urban areas (34%), those aged 20-29 (41%) and those in the least deprived areas (36% among those in the least deprived areas). Train use did not differ between men and women in a statistically significant way, with 29% of men and 30% of women having used it in the last month.
It was less common among those in remote rural areas (12%), accessible rural areas (24%) and small remote towns (18%). It was also lower among those on lower incomes (23% of those earning less than £10,000 p. a. and 22% of those earning between £10,000 and £20,000 p.a.). It also tended to be lower among older age groups, with 24% of those aged 60-69 reporting using in the last month, along with 16% of those aged 70-79 and 8% of those aged over 80.
Train use in the last month was less common among disabled people, with 17% having used it in the last month, compared to non-disabled people, 34% of whom had used it in the last month.
Train use has slightly increased over time. Between 2008-09 and 2018-19, ScotRail passenger journeys increased from 76 million to 98 million, as reported in Scottish Transport Statistics. Overall, the number of people that report using the train in the last month has remained relatively unchanged, with 31% using the train in the last month in 2014 and 30% doing so in 2019.

Indicator 1B: Performance Measures of Public Transport Modes

Overall satisfaction with public transport is 68%. Satisfaction is lowest regarding fares.

Data on satisfaction with public transport in general and with the specific components of buses and trains is provided by the Scottish Household Survey, with bespoke breakdowns provided by Transport Scotland for the purposes of this analysis. Specific data is collected on the following aspects of buses and trains: the bus/train runs to timetable, the bus/train is stable and not regularly changing, the bus/train is clean, buses are environmentally friendly (only asked for buses), the bus/train feels safe/secure on bus during the day, It is simple deciding what type of ticket I need on the bus/train, finding out about routes and times on the bus/train is easy, easy to change from buses/trains to other forms of transport, bus/train fares are good value and feel safe/secure on bus/train during the evening. Additional data reported below comes from Public Performance Monitoring as reported in Scottish Transport Statistics.

In addition to the data published here, further data about satisfaction with public transport modes among those using the services for the UK as a whole and in relation to specific Scottish services can also be sourced from Transport Focus – an independent user watchdog – for both rail services and bus services. In addition, data on the views of those living on Scotland’s islands about ferries has been collected in the National Islands Survey, which took place in late 2020. Detailed results can be accessed via the results explorer published alongside the survey.

Additional data on comparisons of modal share by disability has also been published. However, as this report pools data across multiple years, it does not refer to an individual year in the same way that the Scottish Household Survey data does.

Satisfaction with Public Transport

In 2019, overall satisfaction with public transport was 68%, compared to 75% in 2009. Overall satisfaction has changed over time, as displayed in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Overall Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction with Public Transport, by year
Year	All Satisfied	All Dissatisfied
2009	75%	14%
2010	74%	14%
2011	76%	14%
2012	72%	14%
2013	71%	17%
2014	75%	12%
2015	74%	14%
2016	72%	13%
2017	69%	16%
2018	65%	20%
2019	68%	16%

Source: Scottish Household Survey

Looking at satisfaction by group, in 2019, satisfaction was comparable between men (67%) and women (68%) and between disabled people (69%) and non-disabled people (68%). Comparing across income groups, satisfaction was higher among those in the lowest 30% of incomes (72%) compared to those in the highest 30% of incomes (64%).

Specific Components of Satisfaction

Looking at specific components of the services, satisfaction is lowest regarding fares. Overall, 55% of respondents agreed that bus fares were good value, as did 48% regarding trains.
Comparing across groups on buses, differences related to feeling safe and secure in the evening are mainly discussed in section four of this report.
In terms of value of fares, agreement that bus fares were good value was most common among people aged over 60 – who are entitled to free bus travel – when compared to those in younger age groups.
Those in the lowest income group were less likely to agree that it was ‘easy to change from buses to other forms of transport’ (66%) than those in the highest income group (76%).
Looking at variation between disabled and non-disabled passengers in 2019, on buses, disabled passengers were less likely to agree that they feel safe and secure in the evening (58%) compared to non-disabled passengers (72%). Disabled passengers were also less likely to agree that they found it easy to change from one service to other transport (60%) compared to non-disabled passengers (74%).
Comparing across groups on trains, differences related to feeling safe and secure in the evening are mainly discussed in section four of this report.
In terms of views on the value of fares on trains, agreement that fares were good value was higher among those in urban areas (49%) than those in rural areas (42%) and among those in lower income groups (56% among the lowest 30% of incomes) compared to those with higher incomes (40% of those among the highest 30% of incomes).
Agreement that trains ran to timetable was higher in urban areas (75%) compared to rural areas (69%) and higher among those on the lowest 30% of incomes (78%) compared to those in the middle 40% or higher 30% (73% and 72%, respectively).
On trains, in 2019, disabled people were less likely to agree that they feel safe and secure in the evening (64%) compared to non-disabled passengers (78%).

Punctuality of trains

During the year 2018-19, data sourced from the Office of Rail and Road and published in Scottish Transport Statistics shows that 87.4% of ScotRail services arrived within five minutes of the planned arrival time, while 94.2% arrived within ten minutes. By comparison, 1.6% of the services in 2018-19 were twenty minutes or more over their scheduled arrival time and 2.4% of services were cancelled.

Indicator 1C: Barriers to Active Travel – Access and Self-reported

Barriers to walking were limited, while the most prominent barrier to cycling to work related to distance.

Data for this section comes from the Scottish Household Survey and uses a breakdown of the statistics specifically developed for this analysis.

Barriers to Cycling to Work

The most prominent barrier to cycling to work was ‘too far to cycle’, reported by 40% of respondents. An additional 21% reported that there were ‘concerns about cycling in traffic’, and that the weather was too cold/wet/windy. In addition, 19% reported it would be inconvenient.
The biggest differences in barriers related to the answer ‘too far to cycle’. This was reported by only 21% of those aged 16-19, but was between 36% and 45% for all other age groups. It was also higher in rural areas, at 52%, compared to urban areas, at 38%.
Lack of access to bikes – reported by 14% overall – was higher among the lowest income group, at 24%, compared to 10% of the highest income group. This was also higher for women, at 18%, compared to men, at 9%.
Concerns about cycling in traffic were higher among women (24%) compared to men (17%) and highest among those aged over 60 (32%). They were also higher in urban areas (23%) than in rural areas (13%). Women were also more likely to be concerned about personal safety on dark/lonely roads (16%) compared to men (8%)

Barriers to Walking

Over half of respondents (55%) said there was no barrier to walking. Health reasons were mentioned by 16% and the weather was mentioned by 13%.
Comparing across groups, the biggest differences were among those answering ‘Health reasons/unable to walk far’. This was higher among disabled people, at 53%, compared to 4% of non-disabled people. This also increased with age, from 2% of those aged 16-19 to 61% of those aged over 80. In addition, more women (18%) reported this than men (13%).
Answering ‘Nothing’ was highest among those aged 20-29, at 64%. By comparison, it was 45% among those aged 70-79 and 27% among those aged over 80. It was also higher among non-disabled people, at 62%, compared to 31% of disabled people and higher among those in the lowest 30% of incomes, at 50%, compared to those in the highest 30% income group, at 40%. More men gave this answer (58%) than women (52%).

Indicator 1D: Barriers to public transport use and access

Data for this section comes from the Scottish Household Survey, with a breakdown of the statistics specifically developed for this analysis. Owing to the structure of data collection, data about barriers to bus use is from 2018 as 2019 data is not available.

Barriers to Bus Use

Regarding data on barriers, it should be noted that many participants only choose one response, although they had the option to choose more. Therefore, a participant may select the barrier that is most relevant to them to the exclusion of others. For example, a participant for whom buses are ‘inconvenient’ but also experiences ‘cost’ as a barrier may have chosen the former and excluded the latter. The statistics below should be interpreted in this context.
The data indicates that ‘use my own car’ is the most common reported reason for not using the bus more often, at 26%. The reasons ‘no need’ and ‘nothing discourages’ were chosen by 20% and 13% respectively. The reasons ‘inconvenient’ and ‘takes too long’ were reported by 10% of the respondents each respectively, while ‘cost’ was a barrier for 7% of respondents,
As a barrier, health reasons were more common among older age groups and less common among younger ones. They were least common, at 1%, among those aged 16-19. By comparison they were reported by 9% of those aged 60-69 and 32% of those over 80. This barrier was more common among women (8%) than men (5%) and those in the lowest 30% of incomes (13%) compared to the highest 30% of incomes (2%). In addition, health reasons were reported as a barrier by 27% of disabled people compared to 1% of those who were not disabled.
The barrier ‘Lack of service’ varied by location, with 22% of those in rural areas saying this relative to 4% of those in urban areas. This was also the case for the barrier ‘Too infrequent’, which was reported by 12% of those in rural areas, compared to 4% of those in urban areas.

Barriers to Train Use

Among those who had used the train in the last month, over a third of respondents (37%) said that nothing discouraged them from using the train more often. A further 20% in this group reported ‘no need’ to use the train. With regard to specific barriers, 15% reported cost and 13% reported ‘no nearby station’ as things which discouraged them from using the train more often. No other reason was reported by more than 6% of respondents.
Among those who had not used the train in the last month, 34% reported ‘no need’, while 22% reported ‘nothing’ as things which discouraged them from using it more often. However, 24% of this group reported ‘no nearby station’ as a reason, compared to 13% of those in the group who had used the train in the last month.
Among those who had used the train in the last month, the biggest differences were associated with having ‘No Nearby Station’. Here, 22% of those in rural areas reported this as a barrier compared to 11% of those in urban areas. Among those who had not used the train in the last month, 41% of those in rural areas reported this barrier compared to 20% of those in urban areas.
Among those who had not used the train in the last month, health reasons were reported as a barrier by 15% of disabled people, compared to 0% of non-disabled people.

Note on Transport Spending Household and Individual

Data from Scottish Transport Statistics indicates that, averaged across 2017-2019, 14.3% of weekly household expenditure in Scotland was on transport (Table 10.8 of the linked report). This equates to £72.80 per household. Of this, an estimated £19.90 was on transport services, compared to £28.80 on the operation of personal transport and an average of £24 on the purchase of vehicles.

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