Scottish Government

5. Transport and travel

A high proportion of adults (63%) travel to work/education in a car or van, either as a driver or passenger. In addition, 16% walk and 13% travel by bus, while only 2% cycle and 4% travel by rail. Car use is higher in rural than urban areas (Table 5.1). There are differences in modes of transport by income. Among those adults in households with an income of over £40,000 per year, just over three quarters (76%) travel by car compared with 29% of those in the lowest income group. The reverse is true for bus travel, just under a quarter (23%) of adults in the lowest income group travel to work or education by bus compared with only 7% of those with an income of over £40,000 (Table 5.2).

Around half of all school pupils (51%) walk to school. Twenty-four per cent travel by bus, while 21% travel to school in a car or van. Children in rural areas are more likely to travel to school by bus, and less likely to walk, compared with children in urban areas (Table 5.3).

Just over two-thirds of households (68%) have access to at least one car for private use. Almost all (99%) households with a net annual income over £40,000 a year have access to a car for private use, compared with only 37% of households with a net annual income of £6,000 or less (Table 5.4).

Households with cars in rural areas spend more each month on fuel for cars; 37% of households with cars in accessible rural areas and 31% of households with cars in remote rural areas spend £100 or more on fuel for their cars each month compared with 20% of households with cars in large urban areas (Table 5.5).

Men are more likely than women to have a driving licence; 77% of men compared with 58% of women. Just over a third of women have never held a UK driving licence (Table 5.6).

Table 5.1: How adults usually travel to work/education by urban/rural classification
Column percentages, 2006 data, Adults in work or education, excluding those who work from home

Table 5.2: How adults usually travel to work or education by net annual household income
Column percentages, 2006 data, Adults in work or education, excluding those who work from home

Table 5.3: How school children normally travel to school by urban/rural classification
Column percentages, 2006 data, Pupils in full-time education at school

Table 5.4: Whether any cars normally available to the household for private use by net annual household income
Column percentages, 2006 data, Households

Table 5.5: Total expenditure on fuel for cars per month by urban/rural classification
Column percentages, 2006 data, Households with access to at least one car

Table 5.6: Type of driving licence (if any) held by sex
Column percentages, 2006 data, Adult population aged 17 and over