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1 Introduction
1.1 The tables that follow provide a summary of the trends for each mode of transport in Scotland over the past ten years. To facilitate comparison of the trends for the different modes, the tables are repeated in index form.
1.2 A new table 'Summary of transport - comparisons between Scotland and Great Britain' has been added in this edition. In addition to the index version of this table, there is also a version showing the figures relative to the populations of Scotland and Great Britain.
2. Transport in Scotland: main points
2.1 The number of motor vehicles licensed in Scotland in 1998 was 2.1 million, 2% more than the previous year, and is estimated to be about 28% more than the number in 1988, when account is taken of the change in the basis of the figures in 1993 (see also chapter 1).
2.2 Passenger journeys on local bus services continued to fall. In 1997-98 there were 438 million passenger journeys on local services, 6% less than the previous year, and 32% less than in 1988-89 (see also chapter 2).
2.3 Goods lifted by road in 1997 totalled over 157 million tonnes, around 3% lower than in 1996, and 1% higher than in 1988 (see also chapter 3).
2.4 In 1998, 11.3 million vehicles were recorded as crossing the Forth Road Bridge northbound, and therefore, in total, around 22.6 million vehicles were estimated to have crossed the bridge in 1998 (over 62,000 per day), and more than in any previous year (see also chapter 4).
2.5 Trunk road constructed/opened in 1997-98 was the lowest in the past ten years, and was less than a third of that for the previous year, which was unusually high (see also chapter 5).
2.6 Over the past three years, the estimated volume of traffic on major roads (Motorways and A roads) has remained almost unchanged, at just under 25 thousand million vehicle kilometres. However, it has grown by almost a quarter since 1988 (see also chapter 6).
2.7 Over the past ten years, the number of injury road accidents has fallen considerably. In
1998, the number of fatal accidents was 32% lower than in 1988, and the total number of fatal
and serious and accidents was 40% lower (see also chapter 7).
2.8 Between 1988-89 and 1996-97, the number of rail passenger journeys originating in Scotland remained between 50 and 55 million per year. In 1997-98, it is estimated that the total number of passenger journeys increased by 6% over the previous year to almost 58 million (see also chapter 8).
2.9 There were 15.2 million air terminal passengers at airports in Scotland in 1998, 6% higher than in the previous year, and 79% more than in 1988 (see also chapter 9).
2.10 In 1998, passengers carried on selected shipping services within Scotland (those services for which at least ten years' figures are available) decreased by 5% on the previous year to 5.3 million. Over the same period the number of vehicles carried decreased by around 2% to 1.1 million. (The longer-term trends are affected by the reduction in traffic that followed the opening of the Skye Bridge in 1995) (see also chapter 10).
3. Comparison with Great Britain: main points
3.1 In 1998, there were 40 vehicles per 100 population in Scotland compared with 48 in
Great Britain. Historically, the number of vehicles per head of population has been lower in
Scotland than in Great Britain. In 1997 (the latest year for which figures are available), 65%
of households in Scotland had a car compared to 70% in Great Britain.
3.2 Relative to the size of the population, the length of the road network in Scotland is greater than in Great Britain: in 1998, there were 10.4 kilometres of road per 1,000 population in Scotland compared with only 6.5 kilometres per 1,000 population in Great Britain.
3.3 Per head of population, there is less traffic on Motorways, and more traffic on A roads, in Scotland than in Great Britain. However, in recent years, the volume of Motorway traffic has risen more rapidly in Scotland than in Great Britain.
3.4 Over the last ten years, the fall in the total number of injury road accidents has been
greater in Scotland than in Great Britain: the number of accidents in 1998 was 14% lower than
1988 in Scotland and 3% lower in Great Britain. Historically, the number of accidents per
head of population has been slightly lower in Scotland than in Great Britain.
3.5 Since 1988-89, the decrease in the number of passenger journeys on local bus services has been more rapid in Scotland (32%) than in Great Britain (17%). However, the usage of local bus services is still higher in Scotland than in Great Britain: in 1997-98, 86 journeys were made per head of population in Scotland compared with 76 journeys in Great Britain.
3.6 Per head of population, there are fewer rail passenger journeys originating in Scotland than in Great Britain: 11.3 per head in Scotland in 1997-98, compared with 14.8 per head in Great Britain.
3.7 In the last ten years, the increase in the number of air terminal passengers was slightly more rapid in Scotland than in Great Britain: between 1988 and 1998, the number of passengers has increased by 79% in Scotland and by 73% in Great Britain.
3.8 The amount of freight per head of population which is lifted by road is slightly higher in Scotland than in Great Britain, and the amounts lifted by coastal shipping and pipelines are significantly greater in Scotland.
3.9 The average household expenditure on transport and vehicles has continued to be lower in Scotland than in Great Britain. In 1997, the average weekly expenditure was £45.40 in Scotland and £54.70 in Great Britain.
3.10 Since 1992, the percentage of people travelling to work who do so by car has
increased more, and the percentage using public transport has decreased more, in Scotland
than in Great Britain. The Scottish figures are now almost the same as those for Great Britain:
in Autumn 1998, 70% of people travelling to work in Scotland did so by car (compared with
71% for Great Britain) and 14% used public transport (13% for Great Britain).
4. Notes, Sources and Further Information
4.1 In general, notes on and definitions of these statistics, and details of the sources of the statistics and where further information may be found, appear at the start of the chapter on each topic. This section, therefore, only covers matters which are not dealt with in the relevant chapters.
4.2 Coastal shipping: covers freight on coastwise voyages for which either the origin or the destination (or both) is in Scotland - i.e. all coastwise freight lifted in Scotland plus the coastwise freight lifted elsewhere in the UK which is discharged in Scotland. This definition of coastal shipping excludes foreign, "one port" and inland waterway freight shipping. For historical reasons, the definition used for the "coastal shipping" series differs from the definitions which are used for the water transport statistics provided in chapter 10. The figures were provided by Mr John Ryan, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (tel: 0171 890 4443) who can provide further information about them.
4.3 Pipelines: covers the total carried by all pipelines which are in excess of 50km in
length and which carry crude oil. Pipelines which are less than 50km long are excluded. The
figures were provided by Mr Ian Corrie, Department of Trade and Industry (tel: 0171 215
2714) who can provide further information about them
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