This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Household Transport in 2002
20/01/2004
Differences in the transport patterns for different groups of people are shown in called Household Transport in 2002: some Scottish Household Survey results, which is published today.
Some of the main findings are listed below.
Travel to work
* 68 per cent of commuters said that they travelled to work by car or van (57 per cent as a driver and 11 per cent as a passenger), 13 per cent walked, 12 per cent went by bus, 3 per cent took a train and 1 per cent cycled. 62 per cent of men drove to work compared to 52 per cent of women.
* 47 per cent of those who travelled to work by car or van said that they could use public transport. The main reasons they gave for not doing so were "inconvenient" (53 per cent of this sub group), "takes too long" (36 per cent), "prefer to use own car" (32 per cent) and "no direct route" (23 per cent).
* 53 per cent said that they could not use public transport. The main reasons given why they cannot were: "no direct route" (36 per cent of this sub group), "lack of service" (33 per cent), "inconvenient" (28 per cent), "need a car for/at work" (21 per cent) and "work unsocial hours" (20 per cent).
Travel to school
* 56 per cent of pupils walked, 22 per cent were said to go by bus, 19 per cent went by car or van, and only 1 per cent cycled to school. 24 per cent of primary school age pupils travelled by car, as did 12 per cent of secondary school age pupils.
* 66 per cent of pupils who travelled to school by car or van could not use public transport: "no service available" was the main reason given why they cannot do so (given for three fifths) and about a third were "too young to travel on their own".
Availability of cars and bus services
* 65 per cent of households had one or more cars. Car availability rose with income, from about a third of households with an annual net income of under £10,000 to 98 per cent of those with an annual net household income of over £40,000. 56 per cent of households in large urban areas had a car, compared with 81 per cent of those in rural areas.
* 3.3 per cent of household had fewer motor vehicles than a year ago; 4.5 per cent had more. Under 2 per cent of households with an annual net income of up to £10,000 had more vehicles compared with 7 to 9 per cent of those in the "over £20,000" bands.
* 86 per cent of all households were said to be up to 6 minutes walk away from a bus stop. Overall, 22 per cent of householders said that there was a least one bus every 13 minutes: 40 per cent in large urban areas but only 0 to 2 per cent in small towns and rural areas.
Driving
* 64 per cent of people aged 17 and over were said to have a full driving licence in 2002: 76 per cent of men (but only 54 per cent of women) and over three quarters of 30 to 49 year olds.
* 46 per cent of people aged 17 and over were said to drive every day: 56 per cent of men compared with just over a third (36 per cent) of women.
About three-fifths of people aged between 30 and 49 drove every day.
* 9 per cent of male drivers and 3 per cent of female drivers said that they drove over 15,000 miles in the previous 12 months.
Public transport
* 41 per cent of adults had used a local bus service in the month prior to the interview, and 14 per cent had used a train. 12 per cent of women and 9 per cent of men said that they had used a local bus every day or almost every day, as did 17 per cent of adults living in large urban areas.
* 71 per cent of bus users and 59 per cent of rail users felt that fares were good value, and 69 to 70 per cent of both groups thought that the services ran on time.
Walking / cycling for pleasure / to keep fit
* 41 per cent of adults said that they had made a trip of more than a quarter of a mile by foot for pleasure or to keep fit (including walking a
dog) in the previous seven days: 44 per cent of men and 39 per cent of women.
* Only 3 per cent of adults said that they had cycled for pleasure or to keep fit in the previous seven days: 4 per cent of men and 2 per cent of women.
Household Transport in 2002: some Scottish Household Survey results costs
£2, and may be purchased from the Stationery Bookshop, 71 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9AZ.
The SHS involves interviews with about 15,500 households across Scotland
each year. While the aim is to obtain a representative cross section, like any such survey the results may vary from year to year depending upon the composition of the sample.
This is a National Statistics publication. It has been produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice and Release Practice Protocol.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about_ns/cop/default.asp
These statistics undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.