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Personal Travel (Transport, State of the South West 2011)

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5.3.1 The number of journeys people in the region make, and the way they travel, reflects a whole range of factors - the relative levels of income, the distribution of employment and key services, the availability of different modes of
travel, and the geography of the region. A further issue of particular importance is the impact of transport on the environment. Although South West per capita emissions from road transport declined from 2.4 tonnes CO2 in 2005 to 2.2 in 2008, they were still above the English average of 2.1 (Department of Energy and Climate Change).
5.3.2 According to regional estimates from the DfT, residents of the South West made an annual average of 1,047 journeys (trips per person per year) over the period 2008/09, more than the England annual average of 984
journeys. The number of trips per person have remained broadly stable since 1998-2000. South West residents travelled 7,726 miles on average in 2008/09; more than the national average and similar to the value of the previous year (DfT Regional Transport Statistics, Table NTS9903).

Table 5.3.1 Average Distance Travelled (per person / per year)


(Per person per year) South West England
Total number of trips Average distance travelled (miles) Total number of trips Average distance travelled (miles)

2008/9

1,047

7,726

984

6,798

2007/8

1,061

7,736

983

7,010

2005/6

1,108

8,073

1,044

7,137

2004/5

1,096

8,117

1,037

7,113

2003/4

1,056

7,919

992

6,787

2002/3

1,050

7,957

1,002

6,884

1999-2001

1,005

6,826

1,018

6,819

1998-2000

1,001

7,592

1,031

6,842
Source:  DfT Regional Transport Statistics

5.3.3 Whilst many strategies (across the South West and its subregions) seek to support a more sustainable region by focusing on more efficient means of travel to work, commuting journeys account for only a relatively small proportion of all journeys in the South West. (see Figure 5.3.1).

5.3.4 About a third of journeys are made for leisure purposes; roughly 30% of journeys are made for shopping and personal business. Almost a fifth of trips made in the South West are for education purposes (including escorting
children to education), this has grown from under 16% in 1998-2000 (DfT, Regional Transport Statistics, Table NTS9906).

5.3.5 The proportion of trips related to education has been increasing, whilst the proportion of trips generated for other broad purposes has decreased. Due to the rural nature of the South West, there is a propensity for children to be driven to school in many areas. It is not clear why the number of commuting and business trips has declined to such an extent (down another 1.2 percentage points in 2008/09, to 16.8%), however the increasingly common practises of atypical working (e.g. home working, flexible hours, etc.) together with video-conferencing may have had an impact. This should be monitored in the future to see if it is part of a long-term trend.

Figure 5.3.1 Trips per person per year by broad purpose

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Trips per person per year by broad purpose (Fig 5.3.1)
Trips per person per year by broad purpose (Fig 5.3.1). Source Dft Regional Statistics.
5.3.6 The Labour Force Survey estimates that people who live in the South West took an average of 23 minutes to get to work at the end of 2007 (latest available data; ONS Regional Trends, Transport Chapter). Journey times
outside London are broadly comparable across all England regions.

5.3.7 Although half of the workforce in the South West spend 20 minutes or less travelling to their place of employment, as indicated by Figure 5.3.2 below, this proportion is decreasing as more people spend a longer time travelling to work (down one percentage point again last year, from 50 to 49%). This trend is similar across the commuting time ranges depicted in the graph, and reflects the tendencies of increased congestion on many road corridors as well as people travelling further to work (DfT Regional Transport Statistics, Personal Travel Dataset).

Figure 5.3.2 Time Taken to Travel to Work in the South West

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Time Taken to Travel to Work in South Somerset (Fig 5.3.2)
Time Taken to Travel to Work in South Somerset (Fig 5.3.2). Source: DfT Regional Transport Statistics.