1 Main Points

National Indicators

1.1 Thirty one per cent of journeys to work are by Public or Active travel, a similar proportion to 2012. This figure provides an update to the Travel to Work National Indicator, number 48, which will show performance maintaining. Thirteen per cent of journeys to work are on foot, eleven per cent are by bus and 2.5 per cent are by bicycle.

1.2 9.7 per cent of driver journeys are delayed due to congestion, a similar proportion to 2012 (9.9%) but the lowest figure recorded in the survey and three percentage points below the 2006 baseline. This figure provides an update to National Indicator 4 which will show performance maintaining.

Personal Travel

1.3 Modal share: The car remains the most popular mode of transport. Half (50%) of journeys are made as a car driver, an increase from 48 per cent in 2012. A further 14 per cent are made as a passenger an increase from 13 per cent in 2012. Public transport is used for ten per cent of journeys (of which bus is 9% and rail 1%). Walking (23%) and cycling (1%) together account for almost a quarter of journeys.

1.4 People travelling: The number of people travelling the previous day has increased from 73 per cent of respondents in 2012 to 76 per cent in 2013.

1.5 Journey duration: Most journeys are short. Seventy per cent of journeys last less than 20 minutes. Forty two per cent last less than ten minutes.

1.6 Journey distance: A quarter of journeys are under 1 km and half are under 3 km. Walking journeys have the shortest average length (1km) then bicycle (4.4km). The average car journey is 10.8km and rail journeys have the longest average length at 33km.

1.7 Travel to school: Around half of children (52%) walk to school. Twenty per cent travel by bus.

1.8 Multi-stage journeys: Four per cent of journeys are multi-stage. Most users (84%) reported no difficulties changing between modes of public transport. Seven per cent reported that they had to wait too long, whereas four per cent reported not having enough time to change modes.

1.9 Perceptions of congestion: The main reason for delay in driver journeys is volume of traffic (80%, up from 73% in 2012). Delays as a result of road maintenance have fallen from 26% in 2012 to 18% in 2013.

Motor vehicles, traffic and driving

1.10 Driving Licences: Sixty eight per cent of the population (17+) have a driving licence, a proportion unchanged in recent years.

1.11 Access to cars / vans: Seventy per cent of households have access to one or more cars / vans for private use. A quarter (24%) of households have access to two or more cars. These proportions are similar to 2012.

1.12 New registrations: There were 241,000 new vehicles registered in Scotland in 2013, the highest number of new registrations since 2007.

1.13 Traffic volumes: The estimated volume of traffic on Scotland's roads was 43.8 billion vehicle kilometres in 2013, an increase of one per cent on 2012 but still two per cent below the 2007 peak of 44.6 billion.

1.14 Frequency of driving: Sixty per cent of those aged 17+ drive at least once a week with 42 per cent driving every day.

1.15 Car occupancy: The average car occupancy is 1.5 people but the proportion of single occupancy journeys has been increasing and now accounts for around two thirds (65 per cent) of car journeys, an increase from 60 per cent in 2008 / 2009.

1.16 Spend on fuel: The average amount households spent a month on fuel fell slightly between 2012 and 2013, from £134.50 to £129, however the median figure remains at £100.

Public Transport

1.17 Satisfaction: Seventy one per cent of people are very or fairly satisfied with public transport, a similar proportion to 2012 (72%). The proportion of people that are very satisfied has increased from 21 per cent to 24 per cent.

1.18 Bus use: There were 423 million bus passengers in 2012 (the latest year available). Thirty per cent of adults used the bus at least once a week. Fifty-five per cent had not used it in the past month. When asked what discourages them from using the bus more, 20 per cent of respondents said they used their own car and 19 per cent said they had no need to use the bus more.

1.19 Concessionary travel: There were 148 million concessionary travel journeys in 2012 (the latest year available), accounting for 35 per cent of all bus journeys. Eight-six per cent of adults age 60+ hold a National Concessionary Travel pass, a similar figure to previous years.

1.20 Rail use: There were 86.3 million passengers carried by ScotRail in 2013, an increase of four per cent from 83.3 million in 2012, and an increase of 13 per cent over the last five years. Eight per cent of the population (16+) use the train at least once a week. When asked what discourages them from using the train more, the main reason given, other than nothing (56%), was cost (17%).

1.21 Air passengers: Air terminal passengers increased by five per cent between 2012 and 2013, from 22.20 million to 23.25 million. In 2013, 47 per cent of people had flown for leisure purposes in the previous 12 months and 8 per cent had flown for business. Most leisure flights are to Europe whilst most business flights are to the rest of the UK.

1.22 Ferries: There were 7.83 million ferry passengers carried on routes within Scotland in 2013, a reduction of one per cent from 7.89 million in 2012. Less than five per cent of respondents had used the ferry in the last month.

Walking and cycling

1.23 Bicycle access: A third (34%) of households have access to a bicycle for adult use.

1.24 Cycling journeys: One per cent of journeys have cycling as the main mode of transport, a similar proportion to 2012. The average cycling journey is 4.4 km in length.

1.25 Walking journeys: Twenty three per cent of journeys have walking as the main mode of transport. The average walking journey is 1 km in length. When asked what discourages them from walking more, the main reason given, other than nothing (60%) was health (16%) and weather (11%).