The total number of vehicles on the road in Scotland rose by three per cent last year making it the highest level ever recorded, according to transport statistics published today by the Scottish Executive.
The Statistical Bulletin Main Transport Trends, which describes some of the main transport trends in Scotland over the past ten years, found that the number of licensed vehicles has grown by 32 per cent since 1996. Two thirds of people over the age of 17 hold a full driving license, while 68 per cent of households had a least one car available for private use in 2006, while 24 per cent of households had two or more cars, compared with 18 per cent in 1999. However, the number of vehicles per head of population is consistently lower in Scotland than in the rest of Great Britain, at 51 vehicles per 100 population in Scotland, compared with 57 in GB.
The statistics also show a marked increase in the total volume of traffic in 2006, which has grown by 16 per cent in the last ten years to 44 bn vehicle kilometres.
The trends show that public transport usage has also increased. The number of air terminal passengers per head of population is consistently higher for Scotland than for the UK, increasing by 85 per cent in the last ten years, compared to 73 per cent for the UK as a whole, to 24.4m passengers.
Rail travel usage has also increased in the last ten years, with 77.3m passengers using ScotRail services in 2006-07, a growth of 46 per cent.
Bus passenger numbers dipped slightly, down six per cent from the 1995-96 total to 477m in 2005-06, however local bus usage remains high in Scotland with 94 journeys made per head of population in 2005-06, compared with 81 in GB.
Overall, however, car travel remains the most common method of personal travel, with more than two thirds of commuters traveling to work by car or van, compared with 14 per cent on foot, 12 per cent by bus, four per cent by train, and two per cent by bike. In addition, just over half of pupils walk to school, while 24 per cent travel by bus, 22 per cent by car, one per cent by rail and one per cent cycle.
More detailed figures will be published on the Scottish Executive Transport Statistics Web site, at: www.scotland.gov.uk/transtat/stsupdate .
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