Of persons aged 18 and over who used public transport (bus/rail) less than monthly, nearly eight in ten had made a journey by car at least three times a week – 63.6% had travelled by car at least five times a week, while 15.1% had made a journey by car (as driver/passenger) three to four times a week. See Table 6.1.
Analysis by degree of urbanisation shows that in thinly populated areas, where there may be less availability of and less frequency of public transport, nearly half (46.8%) of respondents who use public transport less than monthly or never, reside in these areas, compared with one quarter (25%) residing in intermediate populated areas and 28.2% who live in densely populated areas. Nearly six in ten (59.8%) persons who live in thinly populated areas and use public transport less than monthly, say that they use a car as there is no other alternative, more than double that of persons residing in densely populated areas (27.7%) and nearly twice as much as for those living in intermediate density areas (33.2%). See Tables 6.1, 6.2 and Figure 6.1.
| All Persons | |
| Densely populated area | 28.2 |
| Intermediate density area | 25 |
| Thinly populated area | 46.8 |
Analysis of the survey data for persons who use public transport infrequently (less than monthly) or never use it, by frequency of active travel shows that 43.1% walked at least five times a week, while one in six (15.9%) walked three to four times a week, over one fifth (21%) walked once or twice a week, and just 2.9% walked less than monthly. Note that active travel solely for the purpose of exercise or leisure was excluded from this analysis. See Table 6.3.
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