Chapter 11 Personal and Cross-Modal Travel
Chapter 11 Personal and Cross-Modal Travel
Figure 11.1 Calls to Traveline Scotland in 2012
Figure 11.2 Traveline Scotland - Web & App hits in 2012
1. Introduction
1.1 This chapter includes information collected from individuals via surveys like the National Travel Survey (NTS) and the Scottish Household Survey (SHS). Such surveys provide person-based cross-modal information, in contrast to most of the earlier chapters, which tend to be based on particular modes of transport.
1.2 The NTS is a Great Britain survey (up until 2013) with a very small Scottish sample (see section 4.1) and so results from two years of the survey are combined but may still be subject to large percentage sampling errors (see section 3.6). Therefore NTS results should be regarded as broad indications only of the relative use of different modes of transport. The Scottish Household Survey has a larger sample size and therefore smaller sampling errors.
Key points
- People make an average of 2.8 trips and travel for an hour each day
- Cars, vans and lorries account for three quarters of mileage travelled. Public transport accounts for 21 per cent.
- Of the 554 million public transport journeys made in 2011, 79 per cent were by bus, 15 per cent were journeys by rail, air accounts for 4 per cent and ferries 2 per cent.
- Thirty per cent of journeys to work and 74 per cent of journeys to school are by public and active travel
2. Main Points
Trips
2.1 The National Travel Survey's estimated average number of trips, within Great Britain, per Scottish resident per year was 1,010 in the two-year period 2011/12, equivalent to an average of 2.8 trips per person per day. The estimated average number of trips per person per year has fallen by 11 per cent between 1998/99 and 2011/12, (some of which could be due to sampling variability; see section 3.6). Since 1998/99, the estimated number of trips by car has fallen by 4%, walking by 26% and bus by 12%. Rail is up by 60% but this increase is based on small sample sizes, the increase is reflected in passenger numbers figures shown in the Rail chapter of Scottish Transport Statistics which show a 30% increase in journeys. (Table 11.1)
2.2 European comparisons are shown in Chapter 12. Comparing just the main modes of motorised transport (car, rail and bus), 86 per cent of distance travelled in Scotland is by car, 8 per cent by bus and 6 per cent by rail. These proportions are similar to those for Great Britain, though 85 per cent of journeys are by car with the remaining 1 per cent by tram / metro. The average for European countries is also similar, though car use is slightly lower and bus use slightly higher. (Bottom part of Table 12.1)
Distance travelled
2.3 Cars, vans and lorries accounted for three quarters (75%) of the average 7,161 miles travelled, within Great Britain, per year per Scottish resident in 2011/12. Half of the total distance was as a driver, and a further 24% (1,752 miles) as a passenger. Local bus accounted for 6% (405 miles) and Surface rail for 7% (483 miles) of the total distance travelled respectively. Other public transport (e.g. air, ferry, non-local bus) for 8% (580 miles). (Table 11.2)
2.4 The estimated average distance travelled per person per year has decreased by 7% between 1998/99 (7,713 miles) and 2011/12 (7,161 miles), with some fluctuations during the period, possibly sampling variability. Car journeys as a passenger accounted for most of the reduction, falling 19 per cent from 2,139 miles to 1,730 miles. (Table 11.2)
2.5 The average length of a car trip has remained around 8 or 9 miles since 1998/99, local bus trips around 5-6 miles and train trips around 25-30 miles. (Table 11.3)
2.6 In 2011/12, shopping (20%) was the most frequent purpose of a trip followed by: commuting (15%), other personal business (11%), these proportions are similar to those reported in the SHS Travel Diary, though the proportion of commuting journeys is higher. (Table 11.4)
2.7 Commuting journeys accounted for the largest share of the total distance travelled in 2011/12 (19%: 1,330 miles). This was followed by shopping (955 miles), visiting friends at home (925 miles) and holiday/day trip (887 miles) each representing around 13% of all journeys. (Table 11.5)
Duration travelled
2.8 In 2011/12, Scottish residents spent an average of 367 hours per person per year travelling within Great Britain: an average of an hour per day. This figure has not changed much since 1998/99, remaining between 357 hours and 386 hours. In 2011/12, 18% of the average hours travelled per person were for commuting. Shopping accounted for 16%. (Table 11.7)
2.9 Since 1998/99, the average duration of travel per trip has remained between 20 minutes and 23 minutes. Average duration is highest for holiday/day trip (50 minutes in 2011/12) and business trips (36 minutes), and lowest for escort to education trips (around 12 minutes). Generally, the figures have been fairly constant since 1998/99. (Table 11.8)
2.10 People in households with two or more cars made an average of 1,124 trips per person per year in 2011/12, 11% more than the overall average of 1,010 trips per person per year; those in no car households averaged 726 trips per person per year, 28% fewer than the overall average. Residents of households with cars made most of their journeys by car, van or lorry: Over two thirds of journeys for one car households and three quarters for 2+ car households. People in households without a car averaged nearly twice as high a proportion of trips per person by foot compared to all households (44% compared to 23%). The proportion of trips by public transport was three times as high (37% compared to 12%). (Table 11.9)
Driving
2.11 The Scottish Household Survey (SHS) provides information about how often people aged 17 or over drive. In 2012, 48% of men, 37% of women and 42% of all people aged 17+ said that they drove every day. A further 19% stated they drove at least once a week (but not every day), 3% drove less frequently, 4% had a full driving licence but never drove, and 32% did not have a full driving licence. (Table 11.10)
2.12 Since 2008, the percentage who drove every day has fallen 3 per cent, but those who drove at least once a week has risen by 3 per cent. (Table 11.12)
2.13 The frequency of driving varied with age. In 2012, over half of people aged 30 to 59 said they drove every day. As age rises this falls (to 12% for people aged 80 and over). The frequency of driving also varied with the annual net income of the household. Around two thirds of people aged 17+ living in households with an annual net income of £40,000 or more said they drove every day, compared with around a fifth of those living in households with an annual net income of up to £10,000. Around a third (34%) of people aged 17+ in large urban areas drove every day compared to 57% in accessible rural areas. (Table 11.10)
Walking
2.14 In 2012, 66% of adults made a journey of more than a quarter of a mile by foot to go somewhere in the last seven days - the highest level since 2002. Young adults (aged 16-19) were the most likely to have walked to go somewhere (82%), compared with 71% of those aged 30-39, just under two thirds of those in their 40s, 50s and 60s, and over a third of those aged 80 or above (35%). (Tables 11.11 & 11.13)
2.15 In 2012, 55% of adults said that they had walked for pleasure or to keep fit at least once in the last seven days - also the highest since 2002. There was some variation with age: the percentage was highest for those aged 16 - 19 and 30-39 (61%) and lowest for those aged 80 or above (24%). There was less variation with household income, although those with net annual incomes of over £30,000 were more likely than those with lower incomes. (Tables 11.11 & 11.13)
Travel to Work (SHS data)
2.16 SHS travel to work statistics underpin Scotland's National Indicator on travel to work and should be the starting point for Travel to Work analysis in Scotland. More information on National Indicators can be found on the Scotland Performs website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/scotPerforms/indicators/publicTransport
2.17 SHS data can be used in more detailed analysis of travel to work patterns. The SHS shows that 13% of employed adults worked from home in 2012, an increase from 2002 (9%). Almost two thirds (63%) of self-employed people worked from home, though this is based on a relatively small sample size and therefore large confidence intervals. Data for earlier years showed nearer 50 per cent working from home so the actual figure is likely to be somewhere between the two. (Tables 11.17 & 11.21)
2.18 Overall, the SHS found that the majority (67%) of employed adults who did not work from home travelled to work by car or van in 2012. This percentage varied with age (16-20: 55%, Over 40: around 70%), type of employment (only 60% of those who work part-time) and annual net household income (rising to 77% of those in the £40,000+ band). (Table 11.18)
2.19 Other usual means of travel to work were: walking (14%); bus (10%); rail (4%); bicycle (2%) and other modes (3%). Use of such modes of transport also varied. For example: in general, the greater the income of the household, the less likely a person was to walk or use the bus to travel to work; the percentage who walked to work was highest in remote small towns (28%) and the percentage who commuted by bus was highest in large urban areas (16%). Since 2002, the percentage travelling to work by car or van (as driver or passenger) has remained around two thirds. Within this overall figure, the percentage travelling to work as a car passenger has fallen since 2002 (from 11.0% to 6.0%). Walking journeys have remained relatively stable around 13%, and little change in the use of other modes of transport (Tables 11.18 & 11.22)
Travel To Work (non-SHS data)
2.20 Other data sources show a similar pattern to the Scottish Household Survey data and also enable comparison with the rest of Great Britain.
2.21 Labour Force Survey results suggest that, between 2002 and 2012, there has been little change in the percentage for whom a car or a van is the usual means of travel to work (70% in 2002 and 68% in 2012). There was also little change to walking which was 13% in 2002 and has been 12% for the past 4 years. People who work at home are excluded from these figures. These figures are similar to the findings from the SHS shown in table 11.18 (Table 11.14)
2.22 There appears to have been little change in recent years in the average times taken to travel to work by the main modes of transport (in 2011: 23 minutes by car; 35 minutes by bus and 13 minutes by foot). (Table 11.15 b)
2.23 The longer-term trends are shown by statistics from the population censuses, which have collected information about travel to work since 1966. Excluding those that worked at home, the percentage of the working population using cars to travel to work has increased from 21% in 1966 to 69% in 2011 and the percentage using buses has fallen from 43% in 1966 to 11% in 2011. There has also been a significant fall in the proportion of the working population who walk to work, from 24% in 1966 to 11% in 2011. (Table 11.16)
Travel to School
2.24 In 2012, 51% of children in full-time education at school usually walked to school, 21% usually went by bus, 24% by car or van, 1% cycled. There was little difference between the sexes, but varied greatly with age: 59% of primary school age pupils (those aged up to 11) usually walked to school compared with only 43% of those of secondary school age (those aged 12 and over); 29% of primary pupils went by car or van compared with only 18% of secondary pupils; and only 8% of primary pupils usually travelled by bus compared with 36% of those of secondary age. (Table 11.19)
2.25 Those usually travelling by car/van tended to rise with household income, to 26-30% of pupils from households with an annual net income of £30,000 or more, reflecting patterns seen elsewhere in this chapter eg travel to work and car use more generally. Walking to school was lowest (28-30%) in rural areas. The survey suggests those walking to school has remained relatively stable whilst those going by car has risen since 2002. This is consistent with findings from Sustrans Hands Up Scotland Survey (Table 11.23a) and the National Travel Survey's Scottish sample results. (Tables 11.19, 11.20 & 11.23)
Travel Abroad
2.26 According to the International Passenger Survey (IPS), Scottish residents made an estimated 3.6 million visits abroad in 2012 with about 3.5 million visits (95%) being made by air. Glasgow was the main airport used and accounted for about 1.2 million visits (32% of all visits abroad), followed by Edinburgh (1.0 million or 29%), Prestwick (364,000 or 10%) and Aberdeen (197,000 or 5%). Around 113,000 visits abroad (3%) were made by sea, and roughly 64,000 (2%) were made using the Channel Tunnel. (Table 11.24)
2.27 Around 70% of Scottish residents' visits abroad were made for holiday purposes. Of these, just under a half (1.2 million) were on a package holiday whilst the rest travelled independently. There were 673,000 (18%) visits abroad to visit friends or relatives and 334,000 visits abroad for business purposes (9%). (Table 11.24)
2.28 Seventy eight per cent (2.8 million) of Scottish residents' visits abroad were made to EU countries and visits to other European areas totalled 50,000 (1%). Visits to Canada and the USA together totalled about 297,000 (8%). (Table 11.25)
2.29 The estimated number of visits abroad by Scottish residents fell slightly from 3.8 million in 2002 to 3.6 million in 2012, a fall of 4%. This hides an increase of 26% between 2002 and 2006 and a fall of a quarter between 2008 and 2012. Between 2004 and 2012 there has been a steady decline in the number of package holidays while those travelling independently have increased, though are currently below the 2007 peak. Other holidays increased by 75% between 2002 and 2008 but has since fallen back 27%. There was also a large increase in the number of visits to friends and relatives over the same period, with numbers more than doubling between 2003 and 2008 and falling 26% since. One should not read too much into some of the apparent year-to-year changes, which may be due to sampling variability but the general trends reflect patterns elsewhere in this publication. (Table 11.26)
Transport Model for Scotland
2.30 Some information on travel between different parts of Scotland is available from the Transport Model for Scotland (TMfS). The base year of TMfS is 2007 and as the data within the model has not been updated the tables have been dropped from this version of Scottish Transport Statistics. The tables and analysis of TMfS data can be found in STS 2012 on the Transport Scotland website.
Concessionary Travel
2.31 152 million passenger journeys were made under all types of concessionary fare schemes in 2012-13, 2% less than in 2011-12. Concessionary travel schemes have varied over the years: a national minimum standard of free off-peak local bus travel for elderly and disabled people in Scotland was introduced from 30 September 2002, The scheme was extended to men aged 60-64 from 1 April 2003. In 2006 this was superseded by the introduction of the National Concessionary Travel Scheme for the elderly and disabled which allowed free bus travel across Scotland. Including the young persons scheme bus travel accounted for 146 million passenger journeys (96% of the total) in 2012-13. (Table 11.29)
Traveline Scotland
2.32 In 2012 Traveline Scotland received 403,000 telephone calls which was 21% less than the previous year. Its Web site and smart phone app recorded 10.2 million hits in 2012, up 37% from the previous year. (Table 11.30).
3. Notes and Definitions
National Travel Survey (NTS) [Tables 11.1 - 11.9]
3.1 The averages given in the tables are averages per head of population, and they will vary greatly from person to person: for example, there will be many people who do not travel on business at all, and others who travel thousands of miles on business.
3.2 A trip is defined as a one-way course of travel having a single main purpose. Outward and return halves of a return trip are treated as two separate trips. If a single course of travel involves a mid-way change of purpose then it is split into two trips (but trivial subsidiary purposes, such as a stop en route to buy a newspaper, are disregarded).
3.3 Main mode of transport: the mode that was used for the longest stage of the trip, where a trip involves more than one mode of transport (e.g. a bus and then a train). In the text, references to car trips include a few by van and lorry.
3.4 Length of a trip: the distance actually covered by the traveller, as reported by the traveller and not the distance as the crow flies.
3.5 Other personal business: includes - e.g. - trips to the bank, doctor, hairdresser, library and church.
3.6 Sampling variability: Because the NTS's Scottish sample is small (see section 4.1), its results may be affected by large percentage sampling errors. Chapter 8 of the NTS Technical Report 2000 provides information about the possible scale of the sampling errors for the survey's estimates for the three-year period 1998/2000. Tables on page 85 show the estimated per person per year averages, and their associated 95% confidence ranges, for different parts of Great Britain. The figures given for Scotland for 1998/2000 were:
- average trips per person per year - 1,058, with a 95% confidence range of +/- 56 trips (i.e. +/- 5%);
- average distance travelled per person per year - 7,210, with a 95% confidence range of +/- 583 miles (i.e. +/- 8%).
(These may have changed slightly following the Department for Transport's retrospective revision, in 2006, of the estimates back to 1995/1997 to use weighted results.)
Estimates based on smaller samples tend to be subject to larger sampling errors, all else being equal. The estimated numbers of trips made and distances travelled for some modes of transport could be subject to proportionately much greater sampling variability (because those modes were used by only a few people in the sample). Therefore, some of the apparent changes in some modes' figures in Table 11.2 may be due to sampling variability: for example, the apparent fluctuations in the surface rail figures (268 miles in 1995/97, 525 miles in 1998/2000, 339 miles in 2002/2003, 465 miles in 2004/2005 and 408 miles in 2005/2006) are inconsistent with the changes in the overall figures for rail passenger numbers for the same period. It is likely that the fluctuations in the NTS results reflect the inclusion (by random chance) in the sample of more rail users, or greater rail users, in some years than in other years. Similarly, some of the NTS results in other tables may be affected noticeably by sampling variability.
Scottish Household Survey (SHS)
3.8 Annual net household income: this is the net income (i.e. after taxation and other deductions) which is brought into the household by the highest income householder and/or his/her spouse or partner, if there is one. It includes any contributions to the household finances made by other members of the household (eg dig money). In the case of households for which any of the main components of income were not known (for example, because of refusal to answer a question), the SHS contractors imputed the missing amounts, using information that was obtained from other households that appeared similar.
3.9 SHS urban / rural classification: the urban / rural classification shown in some tables was developed for use in analysing the results of the SHS. It is based on settlement size, and (for the less-populated areas) the estimated time that would be taken to drive to a settlement with a population of 10,000 or more. Each postcode in Scotland was classed as either urban or non-urban, then clumps of adjacent urban postcodes, which together contained more than a certain total number of addresses, were grouped together to form settlements. Six categories were then defined:
- Large urban areas - settlements with populations of 125,000 or more. These are around - but not the same as - Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. This category may (a) include areas outwith the boundaries of these four cities, in cases where a settlement extends into a neighbouring local authority, and (b) exclude some non-urban areas within the boundaries of these four cities.
- Other urban areas - other settlements of population 10,000 or more.
- Accessible small towns - settlements of between 3,000 and 9,999 people, which are within 30 minutes drive of a settlement of 10,000+ people.
- Remote small towns - settlements of between 3,000 and 9,999 people, which are not within 30 minutes drive of a settlement of 10,000+ people.
- Accessible rural areas - settlements of less than 3,000 people, which are within 30 minutes drive of a settlement of 10,000+ people.
- Remote rural areas - settlements of less than 3,000 people, which are not within 30 minutes drive of a settlement of 10,000+ people.
3.10 Full driving licence and frequency of driving: the SHS asks whether the person currently holds a full driving licence (car or motorcycle). For those who are said to hold a licence, the SHS asks how often the person drives nowadays. The interviewer records whichever of the categories shown in the table is the most appropriate, in the light of the answer. Prior to April 2003, these questions were asked of the head of the household, or his or her spouse/partner, about each adult member of the household. Since April 2003, these questions have been asked of a randomly-selected adult member of the household about themselves. Hence, results for previous years may not be entirely comparable with results for 2003 onwards.
3.11 Frequency of walking: the SHS asks on how many of the last seven days the person made a trip of more than quarter of a mile by foot. The interviewer asks about walking for the purpose of going somewhere, such as work, shopping or to visit friends. The interviewer then asks about walking just for the pleasure of walking or to keep fit or to walk the dog.
3.12 Frequency of cycling: the SHS asks on how many of the last seven days the person made a trip of more than quarter of a mile by bicycle. The interviewer asks about cycling for the purpose of going somewhere, such as work, shopping or to visit friends. The interviewer then asks about cycling just for the pleasure or to keep fit.
3.13 Sampling variability: as with the NTS, the SHS is a sample survey so results will be subject to sampling variability. More information including a look up table to calculate confidence intervals can be found in the background section of the Transport and Travel in Scotland or SHS: Travel Diary publications.
International Passenger Survey
3.14 The International Passenger Survey is designed to be representative of all people travelling in and out of the UK in terms of: the usage of air, sea and tunnel; UK residents going abroad and foreign residents coming to the UK; different types of traveller (e.g. holiday, business, etc); and travel to and from different parts of the world. However, it is not designed to produce results which are representative for different regions of residence within the UK. While the survey's procedures should not lead to any major bias in the estimates for Scottish residents, the sample-based nature of the survey may result in their being over-represented in the survey in some years, and under-represented in other years.
3.15 Visits abroad: The figures include all tourists who make trips which last no more than a year, those travelling to Eire have been included in the IPS since 1999.
3.16 Miscellaneous and other purposes: includes visits for study, to attend sporting events, for shopping, health, religious or other purposes, and multi-purpose visits for which no one purpose predominates.
3.17 Area visited: in cases where two or more countries are visited, a person is counted on the basis of the one country in which he or she stayed for the longest time.
4. Sources
4.1 Travel (within GB) by Scottish residents (Tables 11.1 to 11.9, and 11.20)
4.1.1 The National Travel Survey (NTS) collects travel diary details from a sample of households across Great Britain and includes travel for all private purposes. Trips in the course of work are included if the main reason for the journey is for the traveller to reach the destination whereas travel in the course of work (to convey passengers or to deliver goods) is excluded (e.g. by bus drivers, lorry drivers and postmen). Trips off the public highway, such as country walks, are excluded.
4.1.2 Prior to 2002, the NTS was not designed to provide reliable estimates for Scotland for single years: the sample included only a few hundred Scottish households each year. Therefore, the samples for a number of years had to be combined in order to produce Scottish results, and even they could be subject to considerable sampling variability. In 2002, the NTS's sample size was increased greatly, enabling the production of results for individual calendar years with effect from 2002. However, the sample size was less in 2002 than in the previous three years taken together, and therefore the results for 2002 alone could be subject to greater sampling variability than those for 1999/2001 taken together. The tables therefore give results for the two-year periods 2002/2003, 2004/2005, 2006/2007 and 2008/2009 as they should be more reliable, being based on a larger sample. Section 3.6 provides some information about sampling variability.
4.1.3 In 2006, the Department for Transport (DfT) revised retrospectively NTS results for 1995/1997 onwards, following its introduction of a method of weighting the data to adjust for differential response rates among different sections of the population (in order to reduce the effects of non-response bias) and to adjust for the drop off in the reporting of journeys during the course of the seven days covered by the NTS Travel Diary (which is done separately for each journey purpose, using their weighted total numbers, assuming that the reporting on the first day of the travel week is the most accurate). In order to allow analysis of trends in recent years, DfT developed retrospectively weighting factors for the NTS data back to 1995. Greater weight was given to respondents from sub-groups which had lower response rates. The weighting process was also used to adjust the balance of the sample to correspond to the population estimates by age and sex for Scotland and other parts of Great Britain. The use of the weights increased the overall number of trips and average distance travelled per person by 4-5 percent for GB as a whole.
4.1.4 From 2013, the National Travel Survey has become an England only survey.
4.2 Frequencies of driving, walking and cycling; and usual main methods of travel to school and travel to work (Tables 11.10 to 11.13 and 11.17 to 11.19 and 11.21 to 11.23)
4.2.1 Information on these and some other transport-related topics is collected by the Scottish Household Survey, which started in February 1999. The SHS collects information on a wide range of topics, to allow exploration of the relationships between different sets of variables. Interviewing takes place throughout the year.
4.2.2 The SHS is a survey of private households. For the purposes of the survey, a household is defined as one person or a group of people living in accommodation as their only or main residence and either sharing at least one meal a day or sharing the living accommodation. A student's term-time address is taken as his/her main residence, in order that he/she is counted where he/she lives for most of the year. The sample was drawn from the Small User file of the Postcode Address File (PAF) which does not include many nurses' homes, student halls of residence, hostels for the homeless, other communal establishments, mobile homes, and sites for travelling people.
4.2.3 Each year, SHS interviews are conducted with a randomly-chosen sample of (on average) over 15,000 households across Scotland. Within each Council area, the sample is stratified using a geo-demographic indicator in order that it will be representative across that Council's area. A higher sampling fraction is used in the areas of the Councils with the smallest populations, in order that (in each two-year period) there is a minimum of 550 household interviews per Council. The results are then reweighted so that they will be representative of Scotland as a whole.
4.2.4 The SHS interview is conducted in two parts. The first part is with the highest income householder, or his/her spouse/partner (if any), who answers questions about the household and its members. This provides household members' age and gender , and the annual net household income. Prior to April 2003, it included questions about the type of driving licence (if any) held by each adult member of the household, and the frequency of driving. Main method of travel to school was also collected (for one randomly-chosen schoolchild member of the household). As the information is collected for one schoolchild per household, proportionately greater weight is given to cases with greater numbers of schoolchildren in the household.
4.2.5 The second part of the SHS aims to obtain results which are representative of Scottish adults by interviewing a randomly-chosen adult (aged 16+) member of the household (who may happen to be the person who answered the questions in the first part of the interview - for example, this is always the case for single pensioner households). This part has fewer respondents as not all randomly-chosen adults are available. Information on the frequency of walking, place of work , usual method of travel to work etc are collected Questions are also asked about journeys made on the previous day (the Travel Diary). These include the start and end times of each stage of the journey, the mode of transport used, the purpose of the journey, and experiences of congestion. As one adult is interviewed per household, proportionately greater weight is given to cases with greater numbers of adults in the household. For the Travel Diary questions, further weighting is given according to the day of the week and the economic status of the adult.
4.2.6 Although the SHS's sample is chosen at random, respondents will not necessarily be a representative cross-section of the people of Scotland. E.g. the sample could include disproportionate numbers of certain types of people, in which case the survey's results would be affected. In general, the smaller the sample from which an estimate is produced, the greater the likelihood that the estimate could be misleading. SHS publications (see sections 5.3 and 5.4) provide examples of the 95% confidence limits for estimates of a range of percentages calculated from sub-samples of a range of sizes.
4.2.7 The above information relates only to sampling variability. The survey's results could also be affected by non-contact / non-response bias: the characteristics of the (roughly) one-third of households who should have been in the survey but who could not be contacted, or who refused to take part, could differ markedly from those of the people who were interviewed. If that is the case, the SHS's results will not be representative of the whole population. Without knowing the true values (for the population as a whole) of some quantities, one cannot be sure about the extent of any such biases in the SHS. However, comparison of SHS results with information from other sources suggests that they are broadly representative of the overall Scottish population, and therefore that any non-contact or non-response biases are not large overall. Of course, such biases could be more significant for certain sub-groups of the population. In addition, because it is a survey of private households, the SHS does not cover some sections of the population - for example, it does not collect information about many students in halls of residence. The SHS technical reports (see section 5.4) provide more information on these matters.
4.3 Travel to work (Tables 11.14 to 11.16)
4.3.1 The information about the usual means of travel to work and the time taken to travel to the usual place of work shown in tables 11.14 and 11.15 is obtained from the Labour Force Survey using questions which have been included in those survey interviews which have been conducted in the Autumn each year since 1992. The tables include the self-employed, those on Government training schemes and unpaid family workers as well as employees, but exclude those working at home, and those whose workplace or mode of transport to work was not known. The LFS is a household survey covering 60,000 households each quarter in GB, and about 6,000 households per quarter in Scotland.
4.3.2 Table 11.16 provides some Census of Population information about travel to work. There have been some changes in the categories used - for example, the 1966 Census had a category described as none which was included in the 1971 Census under its On foot and none category; the 1971 Census had a category described as Public Transport which was separate from the categories for Train and Bus; and the 1966 and 1971 Census travel to work figures did not identify separately those who were working at home, so they are included in the figures for those years. However, the effect of such differences on the statistics will be small compared to the scale of the changes in the shares of the main modes of travel.
4.3.3 Information about travel to work is also collected by the SHS (see section 4.2 above), which is the source for tables 11.17 and 11.18.
4.4 Hands Up Scotland Survey (Table 11.23a)
4.4.1 Established in 2008, the Hands Up Scotland Survey is the largest national dataset to look at travel to school across Scotland. The project is funded by Transport Scotland and is a joint survey between Sustrans and Scottish local authorities.
4.4.2 Schools across Scotland complete the survey by asking their pupils 'How do you normally travel to school?' The responses are then sent to local authority officers who collate the data and return it to Sustrans' Research and Monitoring Unit for overall collation, analysis and reporting.
4.4.3 A Parliamentary Order was passed designating Sustrans as Official Statistics Providers in the production of Hands Up Scotland on 1st June 2012. Sustrans is currently looking to acquire National Statistics status for the survey.
4.4.4 The Hands Up Scotland 2013 survey took place between 9th and 13th September 2013 - with results due to be published in May 2014.
4.5 Scottish residents' visits abroad (Tables 11.24 to 11.26)
4.5.1 This information is collected by the International Passenger Survey (IPS), from a sample of passengers returning to the UK by the principal air, sea and tunnel routes (excluding some routes which are too small in volume or which are too expensive to be covered). Travellers passing through passport control during the day are randomly selected for interview (interviewing is suspended at night). A weighting procedure takes account of the non-sampled routes and time periods. For example, the figures for certain airports are uplifted to take account of the passenger numbers at the other UK airports which are not covered by the survey. Prior to 2005, Edinburgh and Glasgow were the only Scottish airports at which interviewing took place. Prestwick airport was added to the survey in 2005 and Aberdeen has been collected since 2009. These are uplifted to take account of the non sampled airports. Rosyth was included in quarters 2, 3 and 4 of 2007 and quarters 2 & 3 of 2008.
4.5.2 The figures in the tables are based on interviews with Scottish residents who returned to the UK. This is the Office for National Statistics' standard practice for producing such estimates, as it can then also analyse other information that is collected in the interviews (such as the amount that people say that they spent while on holiday).
4.5.3 The survey covers both adults and children, and is voluntary - for example, the response rate was 80% in 2003, and the results reported in these tables for that year are based upon interviews with about 2,000 Scottish residents.
4.5.4 The IPS data used in the tables are adjusted to take account of the fact that not all people respond to questions regarding area of residence. This means that tables produced by area of residence will not always exactly match other published data regarding trips abroad by UK residents.
4.6 Trips made on an average weekday (Table 11.27 and 11.28)
4.6.1 Figures included in previous versions of STS used the Transport Model for Scotland 2007. This model covers the Scottish Strategic Transport Network, and also includes representation of travel patterns between Scotland and England. A summary of TMfS can be found in Chapter 11 of STS 2012 and more in-depth information about the Transport Model for Scotland can be found at the LATIS (Land Use and Transport Integration in Scotland) web site http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/latis The tables in this publication are out of date and we will be publishing more up-to-date information in due course.
4.7 Passenger journeys made under concessionary fare schemes (Table 11.29)
4.7.1 The figures for the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel scheme were supplied by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT); the figures for other schemes were collected from Transport Scotland (national schemes) and from local authorities using the Local Financial Returns form LFR5.
4.7.2 The National Concessionary Travel bus scheme was introduced on 1st April 2006, which allows elderly and disabled free travel on all scheduled bus services in Scotland. This is administered by Transport Scotland and replaced any local bus schemes. The Young People's Concessionary bus Travel Scheme started in 8 January 2007, aimed at 16 to 18 year olds (inclusive) and full time volunteers (aged under 26).
4.7.3 Local authorities were asked to provide numbers of passenger journeys on the same basis as the expenditure on concessionary fares that they report in the LFR5. This relates to concessionary fares for elderly people, for people with visual or other disabilities, and for children (but exclude school transport).
4.7.4 SPT was able to provide passenger numbers from its records for the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel scheme for several years; figures for the passenger numbers for other schemes are only available for 2000-01 onwards because that was the first year for which that information was requested from local authorities using the LFR forms.
5. Further Information
5.1 National Travel Survey statistics for Scotland are available on the TS website. This includes web tables and an accompanying background note.
The National Travel Survey is also described in the Department for Transport website.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/statistics/series/national-travel-survey/
5.2 National Travel Survey statistics: nationaltravelsurvey@dft.gsi.gov.uk
5.3 Labour Force Survey - lfs.dataservice@ons.gsi.gov.uk
5.3 There are a number of transport specific publications on the Scottish Household Survey available at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Transport-Travel/Publications
5.4 SHS publications include Scotland's People, a detailed Annual Report and can be accessed at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/16002/Publications General Enquiries regarding the Scottish Household Survey should be directed to the SHS Project Manager: Nic Krzyzanowski (tel: 0131 244 0824). Enquiries relating to SHS Transport and Travel data should be directed to Transtat@transportscotland.gsi.gov.uk.
5.6 Enquiries regarding the International Passenger Survey should be directed to Luke Thwaites of the Office for National Statistics (tel: 01633 45 6032).
5.7 Further information or guidance on the detailed application of the Transport Model for Scotland can be obtained from Alison Irvine, Transport Scotland Strategy and Investment (tel: 0141 272 7571). See also http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/analysis/latis/models/national
5.8 Further information about the numbers of passenger journeys made under concessionary fare schemes can be obtained from Maureen Fisher in Transport Scotland (tel: 0131 272 7533).
5.9 Further information about the number of telephone calls and Web site hits for Traveline Scotland can be obtained from Peter J Cullen, Travel Information Manager, Trunk Roads and Network Management, Transport Scotland, (tel: 0141 272 7381).
6. Other data sources
Official Statistics data sources
Within Scottish Transport Statistics:
Chapter 1 - Road vehicles,
Chapter 5 - Road Traffic (including congestion)
Chapter 12 - International Travel (includes modal share comparisons)
Other Transport Scotland Publications:
Transport and Travel in Scotland - includes more detailed analysis of SHS data, in particular:
Table 11 - car sharing
Table 16 and 17 - Reasons for choice of travel to school mode
Table 18a - bicycle access
Table 21 - Park and ride
Table 28 - Frequency of bus and train use
Tables 31 and 32 - Concessionary pass use
Scottish Household Survey Travel Diary - includes detailed tables using the Travel Diary dataset, in particular:
Table 2 - journeys by mode of transport
Table 2a&b - journey and stage distance by mode of transport
Table 3 - Purpose of travel
Table 4a & 5a - mode of transport by journey distance
SHS Local Authority Results - provides breakdowns of SHS data by Local Authority, Regional Transport Partnership and Urban Rural Classification. In particular:
Table 1& 2 - Travel to work and school by mode of transport
Table 11 - Frequency of bus and train use
Table 12 - Convenience of public transport
Table 15 - Concessionary pass use
Table 16 - journeys by mode of transport
Table 17 - purpose of travel.
National Travel Survey: Scotland Results - to be published in March 2014, will include more detailed analysis of the NTS results for Scotland.
Department for Transport produce a number of related publications, including:
National Travel Survey
Non Official Statistics sources
Transport Scotland
On the Move: Car, rail and bus travel trends in Scotland (Charilaos Latinopoulos, Scott Le Vine, Peter Jones & John Polak)
Non Transport Scotland data sources:
On The Move (Scott Le Vine and Peter Jones), provides analysis of NTS data on personal travel in GB
Eurostat statistics on modal share (See chapter 12 for further detail)
* Some of the results are based upon a small number of trips in the sample, and so may be subject to large percentage sampling errors. As a result, there may be some apparently large, and potentially misleading, percentage changes between periods. As mentioned in the text, NTS results for Scotland should be regarded as broad indicators rather than precise measures. The figures for 1995/97 onwards are based on weighted data, so are not directly comparable with earlier results (which are based on unweighted data) which can be found in the previous edition or in the Travel by Scottish residents bulletin.
1. Short walks are believed to be under-recorded in 2002/03 and short trips in 2007-08 compared with earlier years.
* See footnotes for table 11.1
Note: This table uses journey distance for mode rather than stage distance which DfT use in their published tables .
* See footnotes for table 11.1
Note: This table uses journey distance for mode rather than stage distance which DfT use in their published tables .
* See footnotes for table 11.1
* See footnotes for table 11.1
* See footnotes for table 11.1
* See footnotes for table 11.1
* See footnotes for table 11.1
* See footnotes for table 11.1
*The frequency of driving is shown only for those who hold a full driving licence
1. The number of days in the previous seven days on which the person made a trip of more than a quarter of a mile by foot for the specified purpose.
1 For holders of full licences.
2 From April 2003, the questionnaire changed such that information on possession of driving licences and frequency of driving was no longer collected from the head of the household, or his / her spouse/partner, about all adults in the household, but instead from one randomly chosen adult member of the household about him or herself.
1. The number of days in the previous seven days on which the person made a trip of more than a quarter of a mile by foot for the specified purpose.
3. This category includes jogging and walking a dog.
Note: This table is no longer being updated. Henceforth, information about average times taken to travel to work will be given in Table 11.15 (b), which is on the basis that is used to produce such figures for DfT's "Regional Transport Statistics".
* Sample size for this cell is too small for reliable estimates.
Source: Oct-Dec, Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Force Survey.
Notes: Some of the figures shown in table 11.15 (b) differ slightly from those in 11.15 (a) due to differing methodology used to extract. Results are weighted using population estimates to ensure they are representative of the population at large.
1. Data are for males and females in employment aged 16-99.
2. Maximum recorded value of usual travel to work time = 180 minutes.
3. The large fall between 2010 and 2011 is due to a small sample size with a small number of very extreme values that are very sensitive to change
~ Less than half a per cent but greater than zero.
1. Excluding those who worked at home in 1981, 1991 and 2001 (who were not identified separately in the 1966 and 1971 Census travel to work figures)
2. Includes 'none' in 1971
3. Includes 'none' in 1966; unspecified means of 'Public transport' in 1971, and 'not stated' in all years apart from 2001 (when there was no "not stated" category).
1. Those whose current situation was described as self-employed, employed full-time or employed part-time.
Figure 11.3: Travel to work a) 2002 and b) 2012
Figure 11.4: Driver experience of congestion and bus passenger experience of delays 2003-2012
1. Those in full-time employment, part-time employment and self-employed only.
2. Including the Glasgow Underground.
3. e.g. motorcycle, lorry, taxi, ferry, etc.
1. For those in full time education at school. The Main method of transport is recorded if there is more than one method.
2. Including those who were said to travel by private bus, and a few who went by works bus.
3. Including the Glasgow Underground.
4. e.g. motorcycle, lorry, taxi, ferry, etc.
1. Source: National Travel Survey. The figures are for pupils aged 5 to 16, as this is the normal basis for such NTS figures. The purpose of this table is just to give a broad indication of the longer-term trends in travel to/from school. The small sample sizes mean that sampling variability could have a noticeable effect on the figures for each period. Results are based on combined years, e.g. 2009 / 2010 uses NTS data from 2009 and 2010.
2. Data from 1995/97 onwards are based on weighted data and are not directly comparable with earlier data which were based on unweighted data
3. The number of short walks is believed to have been under-recorded in 2002/03
Note - this table excludes trips of 50 miles or over to correspond with NTS published results.
1. Those whose current situation was described as self-employed, employed full-time or employed part-time.
1. The main method of transport is recorded if the journey involves more than one method.
2. Including the Glasgow Underground.
3. e.g. motorcycle, lorry, taxi, ferry, etc.
1. For those in full time education at school. The main method of transport is recorded if there is more than one method.
2. Including those who were said to travel by private bus, and a few who went by works bus.
3. Including the Glasgow Underground.
4. e.g. motorcycle, lorry, taxi, ferry, etc.
Source: Hands Up Scotland Survey - Not National Statistics
1. All schools excluding nursery
1. These estimates are based on information from samples of passengers using the principal routes- see sections 3.14 and 4.4 of the text.
2. “Other UK ports” includes information collected from Rosyth in 2008 Q2 & Q3. There are minor differences between Tables 11.26, 11.27 and 11.28, due to totals being calculated by adding separately-rounded numbers.
1. These estimates are based on information from samples of passengers using the principal routes: the International Passenger Survey does not provide any information about passengers using other routes (e.g.Rosyth) - see sections 3.14 and 4.4 of the text. Prestwick airport was added to the International Passenger Survey sample in 2005, so there are no figures for it prior to then. The results for 2003 and earlier years differ from those published previously because ONS has revised the series retrospectively - for example, the EU/Other Europe breakdown now reflects the position following the enlargement of the EU in 2004.
Source: Transport Scotland & Strathclyde Partnership for Transport - Not National Statistics
1 Figures include a degree of estimation (e.g. allowances for claims not yet been processed) and may incur some small revisions to previously published data.
2 The National Concessionary Travel bus scheme was introduced on 1st April 2006, which allows elderly and disabled free travel on all scheduled bus services in Scotland. This replaced any local schemes.
3 2001-02 & 2002-03 figures do not include Eilean Siar.
4 The Young People's Concessionary Travel Scheme started in 8 January 2007, aimed at 16 to 18 year olds (inclusive) and full time volunteers (aged under 26).
5 The Reimbursement Rate for the National Concessionary Travel bus scheme changed from 73.6% applicable in 2006/07 to 2009/10 to 67% applicable from 2010-11.
6 A small charge was introduced for ferries in 2010.
Source: Transport Scotland - Not National Statistics
1. Traveline Scotland went live for telephone calls on 3 January 2001. Its internet service became operational on 27 October 2002, and was formally launched on 16 December 2002, but statistics of its use are only available from the start of 2003.
2. The figures relate to the weeks which ended on Fridays which were in the specified calendar year - for example, the figures for "2003" cover the 52 weeks from the one ending on Friday 3 January 2003 to the week ending on Friday 26 December 2003, inclusive.
3. Ring Tone No Reply is when there is available line bandwidth to a call centre, but no answer
4. Engaged Tone is when there is insufficient line bandwidth to route calls to the call centre: the caller does not get as far as its queuing system.
5. All other reasons
6. Daily averages are calculated by dividing the total for all the weeks ending in the year by the number of days in those weeks (e.g. 52 x 7 = 364). Therefore, they may differ slightly from the result that would be obtained if one divided by the actual number of days in the year (365 or 366).
7. HIts are the record of unique visits to the web site. The web site supplier changed on 1 January 2006 and the new supplier defined hits in a more robust way than the previous supplier so the figures for 2006 onwards are not on a like for like basis with previous years.
8. Total number of hits now includes visits to bus departure boards on the Traveline Scotland app Consists of 6,211.7 unique web visits and 1219.2 app departure board visits (thousands)