Statistical Bulletin - National Travel Survey 2011/2012: Scotland Results

3. Commentary

3.1. This section identifies key points from the National Travel Survey web tables for the two-year period 2011/2012 and compares the figures, where possible, to the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) and Travel Diary 2012 and any other relevant publications.

Trips and Distance

  • The average number of trips per Scottish resident in the two-year period 2011/2012 was 1,010, an increase of 5% on 2009/2010 and the highest level since 2006/2007 (Table 1)
  • Scottish residents travelled an estimated 19.6 miles per day (or 7,161 miles per year) in 2011/2012, an increase of 2% on the 2009/2010 figure (Table 1)
  • Scottish residents spent an average of 15.3 days (or 367 hours) travelling per year, almost 3% higher than in 2009/2010 (Table 1)
  • In 2011/2012, the average trip length remained around 7.1 miles and the average speed at around 20 miles per hour (Table 1)
    - The SHS Travel Diary 2012 reports an average journey distance of 5.2 miles (SHS Travel Diary 2012, Table 5), however the methodology used means longer trips are less likely to be included

Mode of travel

Analysis by mode of travel is also available through the SHS Travel Diary.

Car, Van or Lorry:

  • In 2011/2012, travel by car or van, whether as a driver or passenger, accounted for almost three quarters of the average distance travelled per Scottish resident per year (Table 3)
  • Almost two thirds of all trips made per person per year in 2011/2012 involved travel by car, van or lorry (as a driver or passenger) as the main mode. (Table 4)
    - The SHS Travel Diary 2012 reported that 61% of trips were as a car/van driver or passenger (SHS Travel Diary 2012, Table 2)
  • Driver trips alone in 2011/2012 reached the highest level in a decade of 427 trips per person per year, and were 9% higher than in 2007/2008 (Table 4)

Public Transport:

  • Public transport accounted for 20%, or 1,458 miles, of the average distance travelled per person per year (Table 3)
  • 12% of trips per person per year were by public transport as the main mode, of which 8% were by local bus and 2% by surface rail (Table 4)
    The SHS Travel Diary 2012 showed that 8% of journeys were by bus and 2% by rail (SHS Travel Diary 2012, Table 2)
  • The average distance by local bus fell by 17% on the 2009/2010 figure, from 485 miles to 403 miles whereas there was an increase in average surface rail distance of 26%, from 362 miles to 455 miles (Table 3)

Active Travel:

  • Walking trips continued to account for around 3% of the average distance travelled in 2011/2012 (Table 3)
  • The average walking distance has decreased from 223 miles per year in 2002/2003 to 184 miles in 2011/2012
  • Trips where walking was the main mode accounted for around 23% of all trips, or 235 per person per year, the highest number since 2005/2006. (Tables 3 & 4)
    - The SHS Travel Diary showed that walking accounted for 26% of journeys by main mode in 2012 (SHS Travel Diary 2012, Table 2)
  • Bicycles accounted for 0.5% of the average distance travelled per person per year and just under 1% of all trips as the main mode (Tables 3 & 4)
    - The SHS Travel Diary showed that cycling accounted for 1.2% of journeys by main mode in 2012 (SHS Travel Diary 2012, Table 2)
  • The average distance by bicycle per person per year has been increasing since 2005/2006, from 23 miles to 36 miles in 2011/2012 (Table 3)

Short Trips:

  • In 2011/2012, 78% of all trips under one mile were made by foot, 19% by car, van or lorry, and 2% by public transport (Table 7)
    - The SHS Travel Diary 2012 showed that 68% of all journeys under one mile were walking, 29% by car, van or lorry, and 1.3% by public transport (bus or rail) (SHS Travel Diary 2012, Table 2a)

In June 2013, the RAC Foundation published the report 'On the Move: Car, rail and bus travel trends in Scotland' which used data from the NTS and SHS. The NTS distance figures by mode presented in the report were averaged across 2008 to 2010. In this period, average annual car driver mileage was 3,525 miles, compared to 3,603 miles in 2011/2012, and average annual car passenger mileage was 1,920 miles, against 1,752 in 2011/2012.

Purpose of travel

Information on why people are travelling is also collected through the SHS Travel Diary.

  • The most frequent trip purpose in 2011/2012 was to go shopping, which accounted for 20% of all person trips. Of these, almost two-thirds were as a driver or passenger of a car, van or lorry, and 22% were made by walking (Tables 10 & 12)
  • 15% of all trips made in 2011/2012 were commuting trips and 14% visiting friends (Table 12)
    - The SHS Travel Diary reported that in 2012 23% of all journeys were commuting trips, 22% shopping trips and 10% visiting friends/relatives (SHS Travel Diary 2012, Table 3)
  • Of the total distance travelled per person per year in 2011/2012 19% was spent commuting (or 1,330 miles), followed by 17% visiting friends (1,225 miles) and 13% shopping (955 miles) (Table 13)
  • The longest trip lengths were holiday or day trips at 27.0 miles, followed by business trips at 21.3 miles. These purposes also had the longest average trip time at 50 minutes and 36 minutes respectively (Tables 14 & 16)
  • The purpose with the greatest number of hours travelled per person per year in 2011/2012 was commuting at 65 hours, although this was the lowest figure seen in the last ten years. This was followed by shopping trips at 60 hours (Table 15)

Travel to Work

Information on how commuters travel to work is also collected through the SHS and published in Transport and Travel in Scotland (TATIS).

  • Almost three quarters of commuting and business trips were made by car, van or lorry, whether as a driver or passenger. 15% were by public transport and 9% were walking trips. (Table 10)
    - The SHS 2012 showed that 67% of commuting trips were as a driver or passenger, 14% were by bus or rail, and 14% were walking trips (Transport and Travel in Scotland 2012, Table 7)
    - The 2011 Scotland Census reported that 69% of commuting trips were as a driver or passenger in a car or van, 16% were by public transport and 11% were on foot (Scotland's Census 2011 - Table QS701SC)
    - The variation by mode reflects the differences in methodology used in each survey
  • The average commuting trip was 9.0 miles, up from 8.4 miles in 2009/2010, with the average trip length across all trips being 7.1 miles (Table 14)

Travel to school

Travel to school data is also available through the SHS and also the Hands Up Survey Scotland.

  • 47% of children walked to school in 2011/2012, compared to 43% in 2009/2010 (Table 34)
  • The percentage of children travelling to school by bus has fallen from 27% in 2009/2010 to 22% in 2011/2012 (Table 34)
  • Just over a quarter of children were driven to school, similar to 2009/2010 (Table 34)
    - The SHS 2012 reported that in 2012 51% of children in full-time education walked to school, 24% were driven and 21% travelled by bus (Transport and Travel in Scotland 2012, Table 15)
    - The Hands Up Scotland Survey 2012 showed that of children travelling to school, 45% walked, 22% were driven and 18% took the bus (Scottish Transport Statistics 2013, Table 11.23a)

Frequency of Walking

Adult walking data is also collected through the SHS Travel Diary.

  • Over half of children said they walked for at least 20 minutes three or more times a week, and almost three quarters said at least once per week (Table 33)
  • 43% of adults said they walked for at least 20 minutes three or more times a week (Table 33)
  • 37% of all adults said they walked for 20 minutes or more less than once a week, compared to 49% of those aged 60 and over (Table 33)

Demographics - Economic Status

Analysis by income is also available through the SHS and published in TATIS.

Household Income Quintile

  • Only 45% of trips made by those in the lowest real income level category were by car, van or lorry in 2011/2012, compared to 72% in the highest income category and 63% on average (Table 18)
  • 16% of trips made by those in the lowest real income level category were by local bus, compared to 3% in the highest income category and 8% on average (Table 18)
  • Those in the lowest income category made 16% fewer trips in 2011/2012 than the average for all households (Table 18)
  • The average distance travelled in 2011/2012 by those in the highest income category was 58% above the average household, whereas for those in the lowest category it was 36% below average (Table 19)

Socio-Economic Classification

  • The average distance travelled in 2011/2012 by those in managerial and professional occupations was 45% higher than the average household, compared to those in routine and manual occupations which was 29% below average (Table 17)
  • Those in managerial and professional occupations made 17% more trips in 2011/2012 than the average person, compared to 13% fewer trips than average by those in routine and manual occupations (Table 27)

Demographics - Driving Licences and Car Ownership

Data on driving licences and car ownership is also collected through the Scottish Household Survey and published in TATIS.

Driving Licences

  • 70% of adults in 2011/2012 had a full driving licence, a 1% increase on 2009/2010 - 78% of men and 62% of women (Table 2)
    - The SHS Travel Diary 2012 reported that 68% of adults held a full driving licence - 76% of males and 62% of females (Transport and Travel in Scotland 2012, Table 19)
  • The biggest change in full driving licence holders occurred in the 17 to 20 age group where full licences have fallen from 41% in 2007/2008 to 29% in 2011/2012 (Table 2)
  • In the 70 and over age group, full licence-holders have increased from 39% in 2002/2003 to 55% in 2011/2012 (Table 2)

Car Availability

  • In 2011/2012, 29% of households had no car or van (Table 1)
    - The SHS Travel Diary 2012 reported that 31% of households had no cars available for private use (Transport and Travel in Scotland 2012, Table 18b)
  • Since 2002/2003, the number of cars/vans per household has increased from 0.95 to 1.06 in 2011/2012 (Table 1)
  • Households with no cars available made 28% fewer trips in 2011/2012 than the average for all households, compared to 5% and 11% above the average for one car and two or more car households respectively (Table 20)
  • 44% of trips made by those in a household with no car were walking trips, compared to 19% of trips in a household with a car (Table 25)
  • 29% of trips made by those in a household with no car were on local bus, compared to 4% of trips in a household with a car (Table 25)

Demographics - Gender and Age

Information on gender and adult age is also available in TATIS through the Scottish Household Survey.

Gender

  • Females made more trips than males in 2011/2012 (1,013 vs. 981) but men travelled around 29% further (Tables 28 & 29)
  • Men took 58% of trips as car, van or lorry drivers compared to 43% for women (Table 28)
  • Women took more than twice as many trips as car, van or lorry passengers than men (Table 28)
  • Men travelled almost 90% further as a car driver than women (Table 29)

Age

  • The average distance travelled by children fell by 3% from 2009/2010 to 4,378 miles, however the number of trips increased by 2%, from 913 to 932 trips (Table 31)
  • The average distance travelled by children between 2008 and 2012 was 37% less than the overall average, with those aged 60 and over being 19% below the average and those aged 30-59 29% above the average (Table 29)
  • The number of trips taken by those aged 60 and over between 2008 and 2012 was 14% below the average for all ages, compared to 6% below average for children and 13% above average for those aged 30 to 59 (Table 28)
  • The average distance travelled by females aged 60 and over increased by 25% from 2009/2010 to 5,169 miles (Table 31)
  • Males aged 60 and over made more than twice as many driver trips as females in this age group (Table 35)
  • Those aged 60 and over who held a concessionary pass made more than seven times as many local bus trips as those without a pass (though samples are small), with these bus trips making up 13% of all journeys made by concessionary pass holders (Table 35)