Statistical Bulletin Transport Series Scottish Household Survey: Travel Diary 2009/2010
5. Why are people travelling?
- Over a quarter of all journeys in 2010 were for commuting purposes - a slight increase from 24 percent in 2007. Twenty-three per cent were for shopping, consistent with other years.
Figure 9: Reasons for travel, 2010
5.1 Leisure activities, including eating/drinking, sport/entertainment, holidays, and going for a walk, represented 16 per cent of all journeys. A further 17 per cent came from other journeys, such as those for the purpose of escorting or other personal business. [Figure 9]
5.2 Car journeys, either as a driver or a passenger, were the most common mode of transport for most journey purposes, but business and escort journeys had the highest use of cars, with around 78 and 74 per cent being driver journeys respectively. [Figure 10]
Figure 10: Main mode of travel by purpose, 2009/2010
Gender and Age
5.3 A higher proportion of men's journeys were for commuting and business than women's (commuting: 28% vs 21%; business: 2% vs 0%). A quarter of women's journeys were for shopping compared to only 21 per cent of men's. Women were also more likely to travel for escort journeys and to visit friends/relatives. [Table 13]
5.4 Older respondents (over 60) recorded the largest percentage of journeys for the purposes of shopping, visiting hospital/health facilities, other personal and holiday, which is expected since the majority are no longer in employment. Also, unsurprisingly, 16-19 year olds were the most likely to undertake a journey for education purposes, the likelihood of which decreases with age. [Table 13]
Figure 11: Purpose of travel by gender, 2009/2010
Income
5.5 Generally, the greater the household income, the more likely it is that the journey is for commuting or escort purposes and the less likely it is for shopping or visiting friends/relatives. The figures for the lowest income households (up to £10,000 p.a.) compared to the highest income households (over £40,000 p.a.) respectively show commuting: 9% vs 31%, escorting: 4% vs 10%, shopping 31% vs 17% and visiting friends/relatives 16% vs 8%. [Table 13]
Area Type and Car Availability
5.6 Patterns for shopping and visiting friends/relatives were similar for SIMD quintiles, although the proportion of sport/entertainment journeys increased as levels of deprivation decreased. [Table 13]
5.7 There was little difference for purpose by urban/rural classification. [Table 13]
5.8 As household car availability increased so did the likelihood of carrying out journeys for commuting and business, escorting and sport/entertainment. The opposite was true of journeys for shopping and visiting friends/relatives. [Table 13]