High Level Summary of Statistics Trend Last update: Friday, September 23, 2011
Travel to School
In 2010, 50 per cent of pupils walked to school according to the Scottish Household Survey (SHS). Twenty-four per cent went by bus, 23 per cent by car/van, 1 per cent cycled and 2 per cent used other modes of transport.
Pupils aged 4-11 (broadly, primary school ages) were more likely to walk (58 per cent against 41 per cent for 12-18 year olds) or go by car (28 per cent against 18 per cent). Pupils aged 12-18 were three times more likely to go by bus (37 per cent against 12 per cent). The chart shows how the use of the different modes changes with age (the apparent year-to-year fluctuations may reflect sampling variability).
The percentage travelling by car rose with the income of the household: from 19 per cent for pupils from low-income households (annual net household income of up to £10,000) to 26 per cent of those from high-income households (annual net household income over £40,000). The percentage walking fell from 57 per cent in low-income households to 51 per cent in high-income households; the percentage using the bus did not vary greatly with income.
Around half of pupils living in remote rural areas went by bus, and 30 per cent walked. Fifty-five per cent of pupils in large urban areas walked to school, and 18 per cent went by bus. The percentage travelling by car did not vary greatly with area type.
Since the SHS started in 1999, the percentage of pupils travelling by car has risen, the percentage who walk has fallen slightly and those who go by bus has remained stable. Sampling variability may cause some apparent year-to-year fluctuations.
Over the longer term, National Travel Survey results (reported in Scottish Transport Statistics) show that the percentage walking to school has fallen (it was around 69 per cent in 1985/86), that travel by car has risen (from about 6 per cent in 1985/86), and that there has been little change in the use of the bus.
View chart data
Source: Scottish Household Survey
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