Travel by Scottish residents: some National Travel Survey results for 1998/2000 and earlier years
3.4 Trips per person per year by purpose and by main mode of travel(Table F)
3.4.1 Shopping was the most frequent purpose of travel in 1998/2000, accounting for 22% of trips (234 out of the average of 1,058 trips per person per year). The other main purposes of travel were "commuting or business" (19%), "other personal business ..." (18%) and "visiting friends (at home or elsewhere)" (16%). In the NTS, "business" trips include travel to or from their work by people who have no usual place of work, or who work from home ( see paragraph 4.4.3.). "Other personal business..." includes (eg) trips to the doctor, hairdresser, library and church, and escort trips other than escorting someone to a place of education. In travel terms these trips are, in some ways, similar to "shopping" trips: for example, often involving short trips to local destinations that are near shops (indeed, some shopping might be done as part of a trip to, say, a library).
3.4.2 In 1998/2000, 60% of commuting or business trips (119 out of 199) were made as a car driver. The other most frequently used means of travel for commuting or business purposes were as a passenger in a car (12%), walking (11%) and local bus (9%). Almost half of all trips to or from education (47%: 33 out of 70) were on foot, and almost a fifth (19%) were made as a passenger in a car. In the case of "escort education" trips, in 1998/2000, approaching half (44%: 11 out of 25) were made as a car driver, and these represented 3% of all trips made as a car driver (11 out of 407). Over half (55%) of shopping trips were made by car: 36% (85 out of 234) as a driver and 19% as a passenger. A third (33%) of trips to the shops were made on foot, and 9% using a local bus.
3.5 Average distance travelled per person per year by purpose and by main mode(Table G)
3.5.1 Commuting or business purposes accounted for the largest single proportion of travel in 1998/2000: 29% of the total (2,081 miles out of the average of 7,210 miles travelled per person per year), followed by visiting friends at home or elsewhere (17%). Shopping and "other personal business..." accounted for 15% and 14%, respectively, of the distance travelled, and holidays and day trips accounted for a further 12%.
3.5.2 Almost two-fifths (38%) of the total distance travelled as a car driver was for commuting or business purposes (1,344 miles out of 3,530 miles), and a further 17% for "other personal business ...", 15% was in order to visit friends, and 14% was for shopping.
3.6 Trends in Trips per person per year, Average distance travelled per person per year, and Average length of trip - all by purpose of travel(Tables H, I, J; Charts 5, 6)
3.6.1 Table H shows that, between 1985/86 and 1998/2000, the average number of trips per person per year increased by 86 (9%). The purposes for which there were the largest increases in the average numbers of trips were shopping (up 45 or 24%) and "other personal business ...." (up 29 or 18%). Chart 5 shows that most of these rises occurred at the start of the period, and that there has been little or no increase in the numbers of such trips since then. There was a 7% fall in the number of commuting trips. Sampling variability affecting the results for 1985/86 may have exaggerated the fall in the average number of trips to a place of education: a 31% reduction from 102 to 70 is unlikely (over the same period, the NTS's figures for Great Britain show only a 12% decline, from 77 to 68).
3.6.2 The average distance travelled per person per year increased by 55% between 1985/86 and 1998/2000, from under 4,700 miles to over 7,200 miles (Table I). The main reasons for this were the rises in the average distances travelled per head for shopping (up 511 miles or 94%), "other personal business" (up 492 miles or 92%), commuting (up 412 miles or 42%) and holidays and day trips (up 319 miles or 58%). Chart 6 illustrates this, for those purposes for which most trips were made.
3.6.3 The average trip length rose from 4.8 miles in 1985/86 to 6.8 miles in 1998/2000 (Table J), with increases in the length of trip for almost every purpose. For example, the average length of commuting trips rose from 5.4 miles to 8.3 miles, and for shopping trips the increase was from 2.9 miles to 4.5 miles.
3.7 Trips per person per year by distance and by main mode of travel(Tables K, L)
3.7.1 Table K shows that, in 1998/2000, over a quarter of all trips were of under a mile (27%: 287 of the average of 1,058 per person per year), 18% were of at least 1 mile but under 2 miles in length, and 23% were at least 2 but under 5 miles. So, in total, 68% of all trips were under 5 miles in length. Only 6% of trips involved a distance of 25 miles or over
3.7.2 Over three-quarters of walking trips were under a mile in length (77%: 233 out of 302). About 7-8% of car trips involved a distance less than a mile, and a further 18-19% were at least 1 mile but under 2 miles, so over a quarter of all car trips were under 2 miles in length.
3.7.3 Since 1985/86, there has been a fall in the number of trips of under a mile in length, little change in the number of 1-2 mile trips, and the numbers of trips involving longer distances have risen (Table L).
3.8 Trips per person per year by purpose and by age and then sex(Tables M, N and O; Chart 7)
3.8.1 Overall, in 1998/2000, the average number of trips per person per year was 1,058. Table M shows that, on average, people aged 60+ travelled less often: their average was 896 trips each, 15% fewer. Children also made fewer trips (943 each per year; 11% below the average); people aged 30-59 made the most trips (1,195 each, 13% more than the average). Men made an average of 1% more trips than women.
3.8.2 As would be expected, there were considerable differences between the age-groups and between the sexes in the modes of transport that they used. Table M shows that children made most of their trips either as a passenger in a car (44%: 419 of their 943 trips) or on foot (39%), whereas almost half of adults' trips were made as the driver of a car (46%: 504 out of 1,085), with far fewer by foot (26%) or as a passenger in a car (15%). For adults, the percentage of trips made as a driver of a car was highest for the 30-59 age group (54%: 646 out of 1,195) and for men (57%: 618 out of 1,091); and lowest for 16-29 year olds (33%: 351 out of 1,057) and women (38%: 405 out of 1,080). Women made slightly more of their trips on foot than men (28% compared with 25%); among adults, this percentage was highest for those aged 60+ (34%). The proportion of their trips made as a passenger in a car was considerably higher for women (21%) than men (8%), but did not differ much between the age-groups (varying from 13% for 30-59 year olds to 19% for those aged 16-29). The use of public transport was highest for people aged 16-29, who made 19% of their trips in this way (12% by local bus and 7% by other forms of public transport); women made 13% of their trips by public transport, men only 9%.
3.8.3 Table N shows that there were also considerable differences in the purposes for which trips were made. For children, education was the most frequent purpose, accounting for 30% of their trips (286 out of the average of 943 trips per child per year). The main purpose of travel for those aged 16-29, and for those aged 30-59, was commuting or business: it accounted for 27-28% of their trips. Shopping was the main purpose of travel for those aged 60+, accounting for 34% of trips (304 out of 896). For men, commuting or business was the purpose of 27% of trips (300 out of 1,091); for women, it was only 18% (191 out of 1,080). For women, the most frequent purpose was shopping, accounting for 28% of trips (297 out of 1,080); for men, it was only 21% (229 out of 1,091).
3.8.4 Table O shows that, from 1985/86 to 1998/2000, on average, men consistently made more trips per person per year than women - but the averages for the sexes did not differ greatly in the sample for 1998/2000. The overall rise in the number of trips per year appears to be due to increased travel by people aged 30+.
3.9 Distance travelled per person per year by main mode and by age and then by sex(Tables P, Q)
3.9.1 The differences between the age-groups and the sexes are greater when one looks at the average distances travelled per person per year (Table P). Overall, in 1998/2000, the average distance travelled per person per year was just over 7,200 miles. On average, people aged 60+ travelled around 5,600 miles per person per year (22% less). Children averaged under 4,000 miles each per year, 45% below the average. People aged 30-59 travelled furthest: an average of almost 9,300 miles each per year, 29% more than the average. The difference between the sexes was marked: the men's average of over 9,300 miles per year was 36% above the women's average of over 6,800 miles.
3.9.2 There were considerable differences between the sexes in the modes of travel which were used. Car driver was the main one for men, accounting for 69% of the distance they travelled (6,414 miles out of their average of 9,324 miles per man per year), whereas for women only 38% of their travel was as a car driver (averaging 2,630 miles out of 6,849 miles). Women travelled further as passengers in cars (35%: 2,420 miles out of 6,849), whereas only 10% of men's travel was as a car passenger (969 miles out of 9,324). Women averaged 474 miles each by local bus; men only 395. Looking now at the figures for the age-groups, as children are not car drivers, 70% of their travel was as a passenger in a car. On average, people aged 30-59 travel further as drivers of cars, and less by local bus, than those aged 16-29 and those aged 60+.
3.9.3 Table Q shows that the average distance travelled per person in 1998/2000 was higher than in 1985/86 for each age-group and for each sex, with apparently greater percentage increases for women than for men, perhaps reflecting the more rapid growth for women than men in the percentage of adults who have a full car driving licence. The percentage rise was also greater for those aged 60+ than for those in other age-groups.
3.10 Trips per person per year by main mode and by (GB) household income quintile(Table R; Chart 7)
3.10.1 The basis of the (GB) household income quintile groups is described in paragraph 4.6.2. In 1998/2000, there was a clear tendency for the average number of trips per person per year to increase with the level of the household income: people in the highest quintile household income group averaged over 1,200 trips per year, 15% more than the overall average of slightly over 1,050; people in the lowest quintile household income group averaged just over 800 trips per year, 23% below the overall average. The number of trips made as a car driver increased sharply with household income: those in the highest band averaged almost 700 such trips, whereas those in the lowest band averaged under 150. People in the lowest household income band made more trips on foot, and more trips by local bus, than those in the highest income band
3.11 Trips per person per year by main mode and by access to household car(Table S; Chart 7)
3.11.1 As would be expected, the average number of trips per person per year varied considerably with the availability of a household car (if any). People in households with access to cars averaged almost 1,150 trips per year, 8% more than the overall average of slightly over 1,050. People in households without a car averaged 800 trips per year, 24% below the overall average. In households which had cars, the average for people who were the "main" drivers of cars ( see paragraph 4.6.6) was almost 1,300 trips, compared with just over 950 for non-drivers (including children). People in households without a car averaged 60% more trips by foot, and more than four times as many trips by local bus, as those in households with cars.
3.12 Trips per adult per year by purpose and by working status(Table T; Chart 7)
3.12.1 On average, adults who were working made more trips in 1998/2000 than those who were not working. Adults who were working part-time averaged over 1,300 trips each per year (21% more than the overall average), and those working full-time averaged 1,200 trips per year (10% above the average). Retired people averaged about 870 trips each per year: 20% below the average. The sample numbers for the unemployed, students and those in the "home / other" category are small, so the results for them may not be particularly reliable. As would be expected, there was considerable variation between the groups in the reasons for their travel: for example "commuting or business" was the single most frequent purpose of travel for those who were working, and "shopping" was the main purpose of travel by retired people.
3.13 Average distance travelled per person per year by main mode and by socio-economic group(Table U)
3.13.1 The average distance travelled per person per year varied greatly with the socio-economic group of the head of the household. In 1998/2000, people in households headed by a professional person or a manager averaged over 10,700 miles each per year (49% more than the overall average of 7,200 miles per head) whereas people in households headed by someone who was retired, or otherwise economically inactive, tended to travel much less: for example, those in households headed by a retired person averaged only 4,700 miles each per year (35% below the average). The differences between the socio-economic groups were greatest for the average distance travelled per person as a driver: this averaged over 5,200 miles per year for people in households headed by a professional or managerial worker, and only slightly over 2,000 miles per year for people in households headed by a retired person.