Summary Transport Statistics
Summary Transport Statistics
Figure 2: New registrations of vehicles
1. Introduction
1.1 This chapter provides some main points from the statistics on transport in Scotland, and some comparisons with the figures for Great Britain (or the UK as a whole) contained in the summary tables of this publication, including longer term trends than are included in individual chapters.
2. The content of this chapter
2.1 The summary is arranged as follows (based on the summary tables):
- Section 3 - provides a brief overview of travel in Scotland
- section 4 - motor vehicles, the road network, traffic and road casualties;
- section 5 - public transport (bus, rail, air and ferry);
- section 6 - personal travel (possession of driving licences; frequency of driving, walking and cycling; travel to work and travel to school);
- section 7 - freight;
- section 8 - cross-border transport;
- section 9 - environment and emissions
- section 10 - notes, sources and further information
Comparisons with the figures for GB/UK are included within sections 3 to 6.
2.2 The charts show some of the main trends in transport in Scotland since 1975, and some comparisons with GB over the past ten years. The tables, which appear at the end of the chapter, provide:
- a summary of the trends for each mode of transport in Scotland over the past ten years -Tables S1 and S2;
- a summary of the main trends shown by the Scottish Household Survey - Table S3;
- a summary of cross-border transport for some different modes over the past ten years - Table S4;
- a comparison of some key figures for Scotland and Great Britain (or, in a few cases, the UK as a whole) - Tables SGB1 to SGB3; and
- a summary of the longer-term trends in passenger and freight transport, traffic estimates and some other vehicle-related statistics, back to 1960 in some cases - Tables H1 to H4.
3. Overview of travel in Scotland
3.1 Over the last five years, travel in Scotland has fallen as reported by the Scottish Household Survey travel and administrative data. Summary data for the main modes of transport are included below, showing a small fall in car traffic, whilst the distance cycled is estimated to have increased. There have been falls in the numbers of bus and air passengers, whereas rail passengers have increased.
| 2007-08 | 2012-13 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car Traffic (m/veh km) on all roads | 34,545 | 33,777 | -2% |
| Pedal Cycles (m/veh km) on all roads | 240 | 310 | 29% |
| ScotRail Passengers (millions) | 74.5 | 83.3 | 12% |
| Bus Passengers (millions) | 488 | 423 | -13% |
| Air Passengers (millions) | 25,132 | 22,207 | -12% |
| Ferry Passengers (millions) | 10.7 | 9.7 | -9% |
Source: STS 2013, Table S1 except Traffic estimates from table 5.3. Note pedal cycle estimates are based on small sample sizes, see chapter for more detail.
Figure 3: Traffic (vehicle kilometres)
Figure 4: Reported road casualties
3.2 There were 554 million public transport journeys made on bus, rail, air and ferry in 2011-12 (the latest year for which ORR rail data is available for cross border journeys, and including trips abroad by ferry or air). Of these 79% were journeys by bus and 15% were journeys by rail, air accounts for 4% and ferries 2%. (Table H1)
3.3 In 2012, two-thirds of commuters said that they travelled to work by car or van, 14 per cent walked, 10 per cent went by bus, 4 per cent took a train and 2 per cent cycled. There has been little change in modal choice since 2002. (Table S3)
4. Motor vehicles, traffic and road casualties
4.1 Motor vehicles
4.1.1 The number of motor vehicles licensed in Scotland in 2012 was 2.7 million, a similar level to the previous year, 17 per cent higher than the number in 2002 and the highest figure ever recorded. Over the longer-term, the number of vehicles licensed has increased from an estimated 0.8 million in 1962. Figure 1 shows the trends since 1975: there have been increases in almost every year.
4.1.2 There were around 216,000 new vehicle registrations in Scotland in 2012, an increase of 7 per cent on 2011. This figure is higher than the two previous years and a similar level to 2009. It is still 18 per cent lower than the 2004 peak, and over two times the number (86,000) in 1962. Figure 2 shows that the number of new registrations of vehicles has risen and fallen a number of times during the period since 1975.
4.1.3 In 2012, there were 51 vehicles per 100 people in Scotland compared with 56 in Great Britain. Figure 7 shows that the number of vehicles per head of population rose steadily to 2009 in Scotland and GB and has since flattened and reduced slightly, remaining consistently lower in Scotland than in Great Britain.
4.1.4 The Scottish Household Survey (SHS) shows that, in 2012, 69 per cent of households had at least one car available for private use - up from 65 per cent in 2002. Twenty six per cent of households had two or more cars in 2012, compared with 21 per cent in 2002.
4.1.5 2011/12 is the latest year for which one can compare the availability of cars to households in Scotland and GB as a whole, using the results from the National Travel Survey. In 2011/12, around 70 per cent of households in Scotland had the regular use of a car compared to 72 per cent in Great Britain as a whole. Any year-to-year fluctuations, and differences between these results and those of the SHS, are likely to be due to sampling variability.
4.2 The road network
4.2.1 Figures show there were 55,906 kilometres of public road in Scotland in 2012 with the trunk road network accounting for 6 per cent of this. Relative to the size of the population, the length of the road network is greater in Scotland than in Great Britain: in 2012, Scotland had 10.5 kilometres of road per 1,000 population; GB had only 6.4 kilometres per 1,000 population.
Figure 5: Passenger numbers: local bus and rail
Figure 6: Passenger numbers: rail, air and ferry
4.3 Road traffic
4.3.1 The estimated total distance travelled on Scotland's roads in 2012 was 43.5 billion (thousand million) vehicle kilometres - 3 per cent less than the peak in 2007 and 5 per cent more than the figure for 2002. The increases in total volume of traffic have levelled off after a peak in 2007 with a small fall over the last 5 years.
4.3.2 The pattern in Scotland was similar to that for Great Britain as a whole, both peaking in 2007. The total volume of traffic for Great Britain fell by 0.3 per cent between 2011 and 2012, and is a similar level to 2002 but below the 2007 peak.
4.3.3 Figure 3 shows the longer-term trends in Scotland. It is estimated that the volume of car traffic on major roads (Motorways and A roads) has more than doubled, from an estimated 9,300 million vehicle kilometres in 1975 to around 22,000 million vehicle kilometres in recent years. Figure 3 shows an increasing trend from 1983 to 2006 and 2007 before levelling out.
4.3.4 Per head of population, there is less traffic on Motorways, more traffic on A roads, and more traffic on all roads taken together (including B, C and unclassified roads) in Scotland than in Great Britain. This will partly reflect the difference in road networks i.e. Scotland contains 22 per cent of the GB A road network and 11% of the GB motorway network. (Table SGB3)
4.4 Road casualties
4.4.1 The number of road deaths in Scotland in 2012 (174) was 6 per cent less than in 2011, and the lowest figure since records began over 50 years ago. 1,974 people were seriously injured in road accidents in 2012, 5 per cent more than in 2011. Over the past ten years, the number of people injured in road accidents fell by 34 per cent to 12,676 in 2012. Figure 4 shows that there have been falls in most years since 1979. Although in some years the drop appeared to be levelling off, over the longer-term the number of casualties injured in road accidents has fallen steadily. (Table S1)
4.4.2 Since 2002, the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents has fallen by 39% in Scotland and 37% in Great Britain. The number of people killed or seriously injured was 0.4 per thousand population for both Scotland and Great Britain in 2012. (Table SGB3)
5. Public transport: bus, rail and air and ferry
5.1 Local bus services
5.1.1 In the 2012-13 financial year there were 423 million passenger journeys on local bus services in Scotland, a decrease over the previous year of 3.6 per cent. (Table S1) A third of bus journeys are made under the National Concessionary Travel scheme. See chapter 2 for more detail.
5.1.2 Over the longer-term, there has also been a fall in bus passenger journeys. There were almost 1,700 million passenger journeys on local bus services in 1960. The number had almost halved by 1975. Since then, it has roughly halved again, from 891 million in 1975 to 423 million in 2012-13. There was a steady fall in numbers between 1960 and 1999. Figure 5 shows the trends since 1975; it and Figure 6 show that local bus passenger numbers are much higher than other modes of public transport, accounting for around 80% of all public transport journeys. (Table H1)
Figure 7: Vehicles licensed per 100 population
Figure 8: Passenger numbers per head of population: local bus and rail
Figure 9: Passenger numbers per head of population: rail and air
5.2 Rail passenger services
5.2.1 There were 83.3 million ScotRail passenger journeys recorded in 2012-13, 2.2 million (2.7%) more than in the previous year, and an increase of 30% since 2004-05, the period of the current rail franchise. (Table S1)
5.2.2 Over the longer-term, the number of rail passenger journeys originating in Scotland (including cross-border journeys) fell from a peak of 73 million in 1964 to a low of 50 million in 1982. Figure 6 shows that, from 1982 until 1994-95, passenger numbers levelled out. Latterly, rail patronage has been rising since 1994-95 reaching a peak of 83 million in 2012-13 (based on ORR data, see chapter for details). (Table H1)
5.3 Air passengers
5.3.1 There were around 22 million air terminal passengers at airports in Scotland in 2012, a slight increase on 2011 but still 12% below the 2007 peak. Figure 6 shows the rise since 1975. Over the longer-term, terminal passenger numbers grew from 1.2 million in 1960 to 25 million in 2007. (Table H1)
5.3.2 Between 2002 and 2007, the number of air terminal passengers increased by 27 per cent for both Scotland and the UK as a whole. Scotland has since seen a 12% fall compared to an 8% fall in the UK as a whole. Over the past ten years, the number of passengers per head of population has been higher for Scotland than for the UK. (Table SGB1 and SGB3)
5.4 Ferry services
5.4.1 In 2012, 9.7 million passengers travelled by ferry, 1 per cent less than the previous year. Of these, 7.9 million (81%) were carried on routes within Scotland, the remainder were carried on routes between Scotland and Northern Ireland. Of the passengers carried on routes within Scotland, 5.2 million (65%) were carried on routes subsidised by the Scottish Government. Three million vehicles were carried on all routes in 2012, a similar figure to the previous year. Of these, 2.6 million were carried on routes within Scotland. Figure 6 shows the long-term trends, which were affected by the reduction in traffic that followed the opening of the Skye Bridge in 1995. (Tables S1 and H1)
6. Personal travel (e.g. driving, walking and cycling; travel to work and school)
6.1 Possession of driving licences, and frequency of driving
6.1.1 68 per cent of people aged 17 or over had a full driving licence in 2012: 76 per cent of males and 62 per cent of females. Since 2002, the proportion of males who have a driving licence has remained steady at almost three-quarters, whereas the percentage of females aged 17+ who have a full driving licence has increased eight percentage points since 2002. (Table S3)
Figure 10: Freight lifted: road and coastwise shipping
Figure 11: Freight lifted: coastwise shipping, pipelines, inland waterway, rail
6.1.2 People are driving less. In 2012, 42 per cent of people aged 17+ said that they drove every day. A decrease from 45 per cent in 2007. The percentages who said that they drove at least 3 times a week (but not every day) rose from 8 per cent in 2002 to 13 per cent in 2012. (Table S3)
6.3 Travel to work and travel to school
6.3.1 In 2012, two-thirds of commuters said that they travelled to work by car or van (61% as a driver and 6% as a passenger), 14 per cent walked, 10 per cent went by bus, 4 per cent took a train and 2 per cent cycled. There has been little change in modal choice since 2002. (Table S3)
6.3.2 The Labour Force Survey (LFS) shows that the percentage of people travelling to work who go by car is similar in Scotland and Great Britain as a whole, as is the percentage using public transport, when sampling variability is taken into account. According to the LFS, in Autumn 2011, 68 per cent of people travelling to work in Scotland did so by car, the same as Great Britain and 16 per cent used public transport, the same as Great Britain). The year-to-year fluctuations, and any differences from the results of the SHS, are likely to be due to sampling variability. (Table SGB1)
6.3.3 51 per cent of pupils walked to school in 2012, 21 per cent went by bus, 24 per cent by car, 1 per cent cycled, and 0.4 per cent went by rail. While there have been year-to-year fluctuations in the results, there has been little change in modal choice since 1999. (Table S3)
7.1 Freight lifted - tonnes
7.1.1 Freight lifted by road in Scotland in 2010 was 132 million tonnes. The figures for 2004 onwards should not be compared with the statistics for earlier years because there is a break in the series following changes to DfT's survey methodology and processing. Prior to that, there had been little change from year to year in the ten years up to 2003. Over the longer-term, the amount of freight carried by road fluctuated between 1975 and 1987 (see Figure 10), rising to 172 million tonnes in 1976 and falling to 128 million tonnes in 1986. After 1988, it was more stable, varying between 149 million tonnes (in 1991) and 162 million tonnes (in 1996). The total of 153 million tonnes in 2003 was the third lowest in the period since 1988. Figures 10 and 11 show that, in terms of tonnes lifted, much more freight is carried by road than by any other mode of transport. Per head of population, the amount of freight which is lifted by road is slightly higher in Scotland than in Great Britain. (Table H2 and SGB3)
7.1.2 The volume of rail freight traffic lifted in Scotland fell from 29.8 million tonnes in 1960 to 5.4 million tonnes in 1994-95. Figure 11 shows that since then it has increased in most years to 14 million tonnes in 2005 when it started to fall again to just below 8 million tonnes in 2011-12. (Table H2)
7.1.3 Coastwise freight traffic lifted in Scotland rose from 24 million tonnes in 1987 (the first year data is available) to 40 million tonnes in 1998. The figures from 2000 are on a different basis from those for earlier years (see Chapter 10). Since 2000 the amount of freight lifted has fallen from 25 million tonnes to 16 million tonnes, The annual amount of freight lifted for inland waterways has remained between about 9 and 12 million tonnes since 1982. Figure 11 shows the trends since 1980 (inland waterway) and 1987 (coastwise traffic). Per head of population, much more freight is lifted by coastwise shipping in Scotland than in Great Britain. (Table H2 and SGB3)
7.1.4 The amount of oil carried in Scottish pipelines rose rapidly to 23 million tonnes in 1977, and has fluctuated since then between 21 million tonnes and 30 million tonnes per year, levelling out at 28 million tonnes in 1998. Figure 11 shows the trends since 1975. Per head of population, the amount of freight which is lifted by pipeline is significantly greater in Scotland than in Great Britain. (Table H2 and SGB3)
7.2 Freight moved - tonne-kilometres
7.2.1 Figures 10 and 11 showed that, in terms of tonnes lifted, much more freight is carried by road than by any other mode of transport. However, a different picture can be seen when account is taken of the distance that freight is carried. Table H2(b) shows that, in terms of tonne-kilometres, coastwise shipping accounted for the largest amount of freight moved in most years, with road coming second (in 2004 the position was reversed). Rail and pipeline still move smaller amounts of freight than road. However, they represent a higher proportion of the total for road freight when they are measured in tonne-kilometres, because of the greater distance (on average) for which freight is carried by rail and by pipeline.
8.1 Table S4 summarises the information about cross-border transport which is available from national statistical systems. Their coverage is incomplete - for example, they have no figures for the number of cross-border journeys made by car, bus or coach (estimates of these are produced by the Transport Model for Scotland - see Chapter 11).
8.2 Passengers to / from other parts of UK: In 2011, there were 19.6 million rail, air or ferry passenger journeys between Scotland and other parts of the UK (a return trip counts as two passenger journeys). A fall of 6% from the 2007 peak but an increase of 5 per cent since 2002, when there were 18.7 million such passenger journeys. (Table S4)
8.3 Passenger journeys to / from other countries: In 2011, there were 10.21 million passenger journeys to or from Scotland to other countries, all by air. This was a decrease of 2% from the 2007 peak. The number of passenger journeys has increased by a half since 2002 when the figure was 6.74 million. (Table S4)
8.4 Freight to / from other parts of UK: In 2010, the latest year for which data is available for all modes, 34.5 million tonnes of freight were lifted by either road, rail or water and delivered to other parts of the UK. This was decrease of 22 per cent from the 2005 peak when 44 millions of tonnes of freight were lifted. Freight delivered to Scotland from other parts of the UK in 2010 was 25.0 million tonnes. This was an increase of 13 per cent on 2009 when 22.1 million tonnes were delivered. (Table S4)
8.5 Freight to / from other countries: In 2010, 40.7 million tonnes of freight were delivered outside the UK, almost all of which was carried by water. This was an increase of 4 per cent on 2009 when 39.2 million tonnes of freight were lifted. Freight delivered to Scotland from outside the UK in 2010 was 13.8 million tonnes, again almost all by water transport - a decrease of 3 per cent from 14.2 million tonnes in 2009. (Table S4)
9.1 This is a new chapter within STS 2013. It includes new tables for Low Carbon Vehicles and car emissions, additional tables for carbon emissions and tables on emissions previously included in previous versions of the traffic chapter.
9.2 Transport accounts for a quarter of Scotland's greenhouse gas emissions under the definition set out in the Climate Change Scotland Act. Scotland's emissions account for 8.1% of UK transport emissions.
9.3 Newly registered cars are becoming more efficient in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. Figure 13.2 shows the trend in average CO2 emissions for newly registered cars in Scotland. Average CO2 emissions in Scotland for new car registrations has fallen by 23% over the last ten years and by 4 per cent in the last year.
9.4 More detailed statistics can be found in chapter 13 of this publication.
10. Notes, Sources and Further Information - historical
10.1 In general, notes, definitions and sources appear in the relevant chapters. Information here relates to historical trends.
10.2 Occasionally, figures given for Great Britain (or the UK) are on a different basis from the figures for Scotland. Such differences in the bases of the figures for Scotland and GB/UK should not prevent their use in a broad comparison of the trends.
10.3 Motor vehicles, the road network, traffic, toll bridges and road casualties
10.3.1 Vehicles Licensed: (Chapter 1). The figures for 1962 to 1974 represented the numbers of licences current at any time during the third quarter. They were derived from an annual census which used the records held by local licensing authorities. The method underlying the census then changed as vehicle records were gradually transferred from local taxation offices to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Centre. Consequently, the figures for 1974 to 1978 are not comparable. No census results were available for 1977. Censuses based entirely on the record of licensed vehicles at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) began on 31 December 1978 and subsequent counts were taken on the last day of each year up to and including 31 December 1992.
Thereafter, the source of this information changed to the Vehicle Information Database (VID) held by what is now the Department for Transport (DfT). The results conform to the same definitions as earlier vehicle censuses, but, for technical reasons, are considered slightly more reliable than earlier estimates. Some vehicles have complicated licensing histories that may include incidents such as cheques failing to clear, changes of taxation status, late payments, and one or more valid or invalid refund claims. The VID undertakes a more detailed examination of licensing history than earlier vehicle census analyses and is therefore able to provide better estimates of licensed stock. The net effect of the change to the VID as the main source of statistics on currently licensed stock was to produce a small reduction in the estimated levels of licensed stock. The difference between the two sources can be broadly estimated from statistics for 1992 which are available from both the old and new sources.
The VID figures for all vehicles licensed at the end of 1992 are 2.4 per cent lower for Scotland, and 3.1 per cent lower for England and Wales, than the DVLA figures for the same date. For example, the VID figure for Scotland for 31 December 1992 is 1,840,000 compared with the DVLA figure of 1,884,000. To estimate the growth in the number of licensed vehicles over the longer term, these changes should be used to adjust the apparent vehicle growths calculated from figures which are on different bases pre- and post-1992.
10.3.2 Car Traffic on major roads: Chapter 5 describes the methods used to estimate the volume of car traffic on major roads in Scotland for 1983 and subsequent years. As those methods cannot be used to estimate car traffic in Scotland for earlier years, the then Scottish Executive had to make ad-hoc estimates for the years from 1975 to 1982. These ad-hoc estimates were calculated using the rate of change in the volume of traffic for Great Britain as a whole, adjusted to take account of changes in the number of vehicles licensed in Scotland relative to the number for Great Britain as a whole. The estimates for 1975 to 1982 therefore indicate the likely level of car traffic on major roads in Scotland in those years, and may well be considerably less accurate than the estimates for later years.
10.4 Public transport (bus, rail, air and ferry)
10.4.1 Bus Passengers: Chapter 2 describes the method used to collect these statistics with effect from the 1985-86 financial year. A different method was used for 1984 and earlier years: the figures for 1975 to 1984 relate to calendar years and, prior to 1986, the term stage services was used (rather than local services). The figures for 1960 to 1974 are on a different basis: they were produced by adding together the total numbers of passenger journeys reported by the Scottish Bus Group (for calendar years) and the four city corporations (for financial years). They therefore include any non-local services run by these operators, and exclude any local (or stage) services that were run by other operators. In addition, it appears that the figures reported by the Glasgow city corporation may have included passenger journeys on trolley buses and on the Glasgow Underground. The method used to collect the data has been changed and data prior to 2004 are not comparable.
10.4.2 Rail Passengers: See Chapter 7. The statistics relate to financial years with effect from 1985-86. The figure for 1984 is derived from a total for the fifteen-month period 1 January 1984 to 31 March 1985, by scaling this down to an estimate for a twelve-month period. The figures for 1983 and earlier years are for calendar years. The figures for 1990-91 and earlier years were provided by British Rail after the end of each year; those for 1991-92 to 1999-2000 were provided by the Association of Train Operating Companies in Spring 2001. See also paragraph 4.2.2 for details of changes to Scotrail methodology.
10.5 Freight
10.5.1 Road Freight: Chapter 3 describes these statistics and freight more generally as well as making comparisons between modes. There is a small discontinuity for road freight between the figures for 1986 and 1987: the former excludes freight whose destination is Northern Ireland, and the latter includes such freight. As Table 3.1 shows, the amount involved is a very small percentage of the total.
10.5.2 Rail Freight: See Chapter 7. The statistics relate to financial years with effect from 1985-86. The figure for 1984 is derived from a total for the fifteen-month period from 1 January 1984 to 31 March 1985, by scaling this down to an estimate for a twelve-month period. The figures for 1983 and earlier years are for calendar years.
10.5.3 Coastal shipping: The figures for Scotland cover freight on coastwise voyages for which either the origin or the destination (or both) is in Scotland - i.e. all coastwise freight lifted in Scotland plus the coastwise freight lifted elsewhere in the UK which is discharged in Scotland. This definition of coastal shipping excludes foreign, one port and inland waterway freight shipping. For historical reasons, the definition used for the coastal shipping series differs from the definitions which are used for the water transport statistics in chapter 9. There is a small discontinuity between 1981 and 1982, due to a change in definitions. The figures were provided by the Department for Transport - Margaret Talbot (Tel: 0207 944 4131).
10.5.4 Coastwise Shipping: See Chapter 9. These figures are lower than the figures for coastal shipping, because the latter includes freight lifted elsewhere in the UK which is discharged in Scotland.
10.5.5 Pipelines: Figures from 1993 onwards estimate the total carried by on-shore pipelines which are at least 50 km in length and which carry crude oil or products. Figures for Scotland relate to pipelines originating in Scotland. Estimates are produced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, based on pipeline operators information. The estimates were supplied by DTI and Charanjit Ransi (Tel: 0207 215 2718) can provide further information about them.
1 DfT has revised the figures for the light goods and goods body types back to 2001. DfT does not have the underlying data to revise earlier years' figures.
2 Financial years
3 The DfT have revised figures from 2004/05 onwards as a result of methodological improvements. Figures prior to this period are not directly comparable. See Chapter 2 for more detail. Figures from 2006 include Government support for buses which is not available for the two previous years.
4 Freight lifted in Scotland by UK-registered hauliers, regardless of whether the destination is in Scotland, elsewhere in the UK or outwith the UK. The figures for 2004 onwards are not compatible with those for earlier years due to changes in methodology and processing system for the survey.
5 The estimated amounts of crude oil and products carried by pipelines over 50km in length. 2012 figures are provisional.
6 ScotRail introduced a new methodology which better estimates Strathclyde Zonecard journeys from 2009/10. Figures from 2003/04 onwards present the impact of this on previously reported data to provide a more meaningful year on year comparison.Note that this has no impact on actual journeys undertaken.
7 The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) produce total passenger figures. These are not adjusted to reflect ScotRail's revised methdology and are therefore not comparable with ScotRail figures. There is a series break between 2007-08 and 2008-09 due to a change in the methodology. From 2008-09 estimates of PTE travel (zone cards) are included.
8 Services to Europe, Northern Ireland and within Scotland (Previous versions of STS only included services where data is availabla back to 1975, this can still be found in Table H1).
9 Domestic freight estimates for 2006 to 2009 were revised on 27 October 2011. Data for later years has not been published by DfT.
10 Totals have been revised in 2012 to include slip roads on Trunk A roads which had previously excluded. See Road Network chapter for more information. Data for 2012 were extracted from the database on 10 October 2013.
11 Changes in the layout of the M74/M77/M8 during 2012 are likely to have affected the traffic data for motorways.
1 DfT has revised the figures for the light goods and goods body types back to 2001. DfT does not have the underlying data to revise earlier years' figures.
2 Financial years
3 The DfT have revised figures from 2004/05 onwards as a result of methodological improvements. Figures prior to this period are not directly comparable. See Chapter 2 of Scottish Transport Statistics for more detail. Figures from 2006 include Government support for buses which is not available for the two previous years.
4 Freight lifted in Scotland by UK-registered hauliers, regardless of whether the destination is in Scotland, elsewhere in the UK or outwith the UK. The figures for 2004 onwards are not compatible with those for earlier years due to changes in methodology and processing system for the survey.
5 The estimated amounts of crude oil and products carried by pipelines over 50km in length. 2012 figures are provisional.
6 ScotRail introduced a new methodology which better estimates Strathclyde Zonecard journeys from 2009/10. Figures from 2003/04 onwards present the impact of this on previously reported data to provide a more meaningful year on year comparison. Note that this has no impact on actual journeys undertaken.
7 The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) produce total passenger figures. These are not adjusted to reflect ScotRail's revised methdology and are therefore not comparable with ScotRail figures.
8 Services to Europe, Northern Ireland and within Scotland (Previous versions of STS only included services where data is availabla back to 1975, this can still be found in Table H1).
9 Domestic freight estimates for 2006 to 2009 were revised on 27 October 2011. Data for later years has not been published by DfT.
10 Figures for 2012 are provisional.
1. The apparent year-to-year fluctuations in some of the figures may be due to sampling variability. A confidence Interval look up table can be found in Transport and Travel in Scotland 2012.
2. Employed adults (aged 16+) not working from home
3. Those who had made a trip of more than quarter of a mile for the specified purpose on at least one of the previous seven days
1 England, Wales or Northern Ireland - for the purposes of this table, UK offshore is not counted as another part of the UK.
2 Scotland / Northern Ireland ferries
3 Figures for 1999 and earlier years are available on the website. They are approximate as they include an element of estimation.
4 The Rosyth / Zeebrugge service started in May 2002, there was a drop in the frequency of service from November 2005 and the passenger service ceased in December 2010. Figures for services between Lerwick and other countries are available from 1998.
5 Freight lifted by UK HGVs only - does not include freight carried by other HGVs or by other types of vehicle (such as light goods vehicles) The figures for 2004 onwards are not directly comparable with earlier years, due to changes to the survey's methodology & processing.
6 The Rail figures for "outwith UK" include freight taken to Scottish, English or Welsh ports for export.
7 Figures relate only to exports/imports from major ports only. Note these have increased over the years.
8 The Rail figures for "outwith UK" include freight imported at an English or Welsh port, then brought into Scotland by rail.
9 Domestic freight estimates for 2006 to 2009 were revised on 27 October 2011. There have been delays to DfTs publication of freight data, the latest available figures are included here.
1 Figures are for combined years e.g. 2011 covers 2011/12.
2 DfT revised its methodlogy from 2004, causing a break in the series.
3 The GB figures relate to motor vehicle traffic only, and therefore exclude a small amount of pedal cycle traffic.
4 Financial years
5 Total passenger figures are produced by the ORR and have not been adjusted to reflect ScotRail's revised zonecard methdology.
6 Figures are based on the origin and destination of trips and do not count stages of these trips separately.
7 The estimated amounts of crude oil and products carried by pipelines over 50km in length. 2012 figures are provisional.
8 These figures are for freight lifted by Heavy Goods Vehicles. The GB figures are for freight transported within GB; the Scottish figures include small amounts of freight destined for Northern Ireland and outside the UK.
9 Domestic freight estimates for 2006 to 2009 were revised on 27 October 2011. Later years have yet to be published by DfT.
10 Figures for 2012 are provisional.
11 Figs for 2008-09 onwards have been revised due to an error in the LENNON calculation of journeys between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
1 DfT revised its methodology from 2004, causing a break in the series.
2 The GB figures relate to motor vehicle traffic only, and therefore exclude a small amount of pedal cycle traffic.
3 Financial years
4 Total passenger figures are produced by the ORR and have not been adjusted to reflect ScotRail's revised zonecard methdology.
5 Figures are based on the origin and destination of trips and do not count stages of these trips separately.
6 These figures are for freight lifted by Heavy Goods Vehicles. The GB figures are for freight transported within GB; the Scottish figures include small amounts of freight destined for Northern Ireland and outside the UK.
7 The estimated amounts of crude oil and products carried by pipelines of length 50+ km. Pipeline figures for 2012 are provisional.
8 Domestic freight estimates for 2006 to 2009 were revised on 27 October 2011
9 Figures for 2012 are provisional.
1 The GB figures relate to motor vehicle traffic only, and therefore exclude a small amount of pedal cycle traffic.
2 Bus patronage figures are provisional and should be treated with caution. See note 1 of Table S1.
3 Financial Year
4 Rail patronage trend presented here does not incorporate Scotrail's revised methodology. See notes to Table S1.
5 Pipeline figures for 2012 are provisional.
6 Figures for 2012 are provisional.
1 The figures for Car and Air are for calendar years; latterly, the figures for Bus and Rail are for the financial years which start in the specified calendar years (eg the 1996 figures are for 1996-97)
2 Pre-1975, the figures are the totals of passenger journeys for the Scottish Bus Group and the four city corporations. Therefore, they include any non-stage (non-local) services run by these operators, and exclude other operators' stage (local) services. Glasgow Corporation's figures may have included passenger journeys on trolley buses and the Glasgow Underground. Figures from 2004 onwards have been subject to revision due to methodological improvements
3 Figures from 1995 onwards were revised by ORR in 2013 due to improvements to methodology. There is a series break between 2007-08 and 2008-09 due to a change in the methodology. From 2008-09 estimates of PTE travel (zone cards) are included. Figures in 2001-02 and 2002-03 were affected by industrial action.
4 This grouping was used in STS until 2012 and includes those routes for which figures are available back to 1973: Caledonian MacBrayne, P&O Scottish Ferries / NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries, and Orkney Ferries. The figures from 1995 are affected by the reduction in traffic caused by the withdrawal of the Kyle-Kyleakin service when the Skye Bridge opened in October 1995.
5 All ferry routes within Scotland, between Scotland and Northern Ireland and between Scotland and Europe, for which passenger data is availabe (see chapter 9 for more detail)
1. The figures for 'road', 'rail', 'coastwise shipping' and 'inland waterways' are the total amounts lifted in Scotland. The category of 'coastal shipping' is shown for historical reasons. It is defined in a different way: the 'coastal shipping' figure is the total lifted in Scotland plus the total lifted elsewhere in the UK which is delivered in Scotland. The 'pipeline' figure is the estimated amount of crude oil carried by on-shore pipelines which are over 50km in length. This table does not show one port traffic to / from oil rigs and the sea bed.
2. The figures are all for calendar years except for the figures for "rail" from 1985, which are for the financial years which start in the specified calendar years (e.g. the rail figures for 1997 are for 1997-98).
3. The estimated amounts of crude oil and products carried by pipelines over 50km in length. 2012 figures are provisional.
4. A new system for collecting port statistics was introduced in 2000. Data prior to that are on a different basis.
5. Changes to the methodology for collecting road freight data mean that previous figures are not comparable.
6. Domestic freight estimates for 2006 to 2009 were revised on 27 October 2011
1. The figures for 'road', 'rail', 'coastwise shipping' and 'inland waterways' relate to freight lifted in Scotland; for 'pipeline' it is the estimated tonne-kilometres for crude oil carried by on-shore pipelines which are over 50km in length. This table does not show the tonne-kilometres for one port traffic to / from oil rigs and the sea bed or for coastal shipping (as defined in part [a] of this table).
2. The figures are all for calendar years except for the figures for rail, which are for the financial years which start in the specified calendar years (e.g. the rail figures for 1997 are for 1997-98).
3. Over 50km
4. A new system for collecting port statistics was introduced in 2000. Data prior to that are on a different basis.
5. Changes to the methodology for collecting road freight data mean that previous figures are not comparable.
6. Pipeline figures for 2012 are provisional.
1. The increase in motorway traffic in 2012 is the result of new motorway opening. More detail can be found in the road network chapter.
1. The figures for vehicles licensed for 1974 to 1978 are on different bases, due to the effect on the annual "census" of the transfer of licensing records from local offices to the then DVLC
2. For years up to 1992 estimates are taken from the DVLA annual vehicle census, from 1993 onwards estimates are taken from the Vehicle Information Database and are not consistent with previous years. The VID figure for 1992 was 1,840,000 compared with the DVLA figure of 1,884,000.
3. New registration results to 1994 are taken from geographical analysis provided by DVLA. Results for 1995 onwards are estimated using post town area data. The vehicle taxation system was subject to major revisions from July 1995.
4. DfT has revised the figures for the light goods and goods body types back to 2001. DfT does not have the underlying data to revise earlier years' figures.