Statistical Bulletin Transport Series Scottish Household Survey: Travel Diary 2009/2010
4. How are people travelling?
- Just over half of all journeys in 2009/2010 were as a driver and over a third were by sustainable modes of transport, which includes walking, cycling and public transport.
Figure 5: Mode of journey, 2009/2010
4.1 Including short journeys in to the Travel Diary in 2007 caused an increase in the proportion of walking journeys, and subsequent decreases in the proportions of other modes. The proportion of travel modes has been fairly stable since 2007. [Table 2]
Gender and Age
4.2 Mode choice varied greatly by gender; 58 per cent of men chose driving as their main mode of transport, compared with only 45 per cent of women. This is reflective of the fact that more men than women hold a driving licence. Women were twice as likely to be a car passenger than their male counterparts (18 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively) and undertook more travel by sustainable modes of transport than men; in particular, walking and using the bus. [Table 12], [Figure 6]
Figure 6: Differences between the genders, 2009/2010
4.3 Driving a car/van was the most popular travel mode across all age groups, with the exception of 16 to 19 year olds (who will be the least likely to hold a full driving licence). At least half of all journeys made by those aged between 30 and 69 were as a driver. [Table 12], [Figure 7]
4.4 Journeys with a travel mode of walking and car or bus passenger were generally most common amongst the younger and older age groups. [Table 12], [Figure 7]
Figure 7: Main mode of travel by age, 2009/2010
Income and Employment
4.5 Seventy-one per cent of self-employed respondents reported driving as their main mode of transport, with only 16 per cent choosing to walk. In contrast, almost half (46 per cent) of those unemployed and seeking work stated walking as their main mode of transport, with 28 per cent driving. [Table 12]
4.6 Annual net household income is correlated with choice of travel mode. The higher the annual net household income, the greater the percentage of respondents who reported driving and the lower the percentage who reported walking or travelling by bus. In particular, households with an income up to £10,000 p.a. were nearly three times more likely to walk and 4 times more likely to take the bus than those earning over £40,000 p.a. As shown in section 3, those with higher household incomes were more likely to have greater car availability. [Table 12]
Area Type
4.7 The same general pattern can be seen within the SIMD quintiles - the more deprived the area, the lower the percentage of driver journeys, and the higher the percentage of walking and bus journeys. [Table 12]
4.8 Respondents in large urban areas and small remote towns were most likely to make journeys by walking (27%). Those in large urban areas also made the lowest proportion of driver journeys and highest proportion of bus journeys - this is the opposite in rural areas. These findings reflect the differing nature of road networks and public transport availability within urban and rural areas. [Table 12]
Figure 8: Main mode of travel - large urban, remote rural and Scotland, 2009/2010
Car Access, Occupancy and Licence Possession
4.9 Availability of a car had a significant effect on mode choice. Fifty-two per cent of those with no car travelled by active modes (walking and cycling) with 27 per cent travelling by public transport (bus and train). In contrast, for those with one or more car available, only 16 per cent of journeys were using active modes and 6 per cent by public transport. The possession of a full driving licence had similar affects on mode choice. [Table 12]
4.10 Convenience was the most common reason given for respondents using their car. More specific reasons that featured highly were quickest, too far to walk and things to carry. [Table 20]
4.11 Average car occupancy decreased from 1.63 in 2000 to 1.57 in 2010. This is probably due to the increase in car availability over this period[2]. Car occupancy varies mostly with journey purpose. Commuting journeys reported the lowest car occupancy with 87 per cent of such journeys having only one occupant in the car. This is much higher than car journeys for education, holiday/day trip, eating/drinking, sport/entertainment or escort purposes where 25-37 per cent had at least 3 occupants. [Table 19]
4.12 Journeys starting before 9am had a lower car occupancy of 1.4. Day of travel was also a significant factor, with average car occupancy rising from 1.51 on weekdays to 1.81 at the weekend. Although, certain types of travel will be more likely in the morning and at the weekend so purpose will be linked to travel day and time. [Table 19]