TRPG and SHS Topic Report

1
TRPG and SHS Topic Report

• Long Distance Commuting

2
Background

• Transport Research Planning Group (TRPG) SHS
  Topic Report on long distance commuting in
  Scotland
• The Scottish Executive has long term objectives
  to
• reduce traffic volumes
• decrease number of casualties
• reduce traffic congestion
• promote rail bus travel
• Influencing the behaviour of LDC will help
  achieve these aims
• Research uses
• SHS (household and travel diary)
• Census data (1991 and 2001) and
• transport modelling techniques (TMfS)

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Overview of Presentation

• Definition of long distance commuting and
  distance calculations
• Current geographic pattern of LDC
• Impacts of LDC on the Scottish transport network
• Trends in LDC
• Understanding the long distance commuter (SHS
  analysis and focus group research)
• Next steps

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Definition of Long Distance
actual road based estimates OS roads and DZ in
Edinburgh West Lothian

• crow-flies under-estimates distance
• Ignores curves/bends in roads
• Ignores detours due to geographic features (eg
  estuarial crossings)
• actual road-based estimates - calculate
  shortest route between origins destinations
  (using OS road networks)
• road based estimates were attached to SHS and
  census travel to work data
• long distance gt15km
• SHS long distance
• crow-flies 18
• road-based 24

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Geographic Pattern of LDC (Census 2001)

• LDC number of working people commuting out
  from their DZ area of residence / total number of
  employed people living in the DZ
• Proportion LDC higher outside main urban areas
  (eg Aberdeenshire)

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Geographic Pattern of LDC (Census 2001)
15km
20km
25km
30km
7
SHS Travel Diary 1999-2004

• 7am to 10am 13 long distance commuting
  4pm to 7pm 8 long distance commuting

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Impacts of LDC on Scottish Transport Network

• Transport modelling techniques (TMfS) used to
  estimate LDC contribution to traffic volumes,
  vehicle emissions, vehicle speeds and PT revenue
• Inter-urban routes have significant percentages
  (often exceeding 50) of AM Peak traffic made up
  of LDC.
• Proportions LDC lower in main urban areas
• The highest volumes of LDC on key trunk road
  routes (eg M8, M9/A9, Forth Road Bridge, M77/A77,
  M80)

of AM peak traffic (TMfS)
AM peak absolute numbers LDC (TMfS)
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Trends Over Time (SHS 1999 to 2005)

• SHS no significant growth in LDC (as of all
  commuting trips) over time
• NTS (Scotland) average commute distance increased
  from 5.4 miles (1980s) to 8 miles (2000)

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Understanding the Long Distance Commuter

• SHS personal variables
• age - commuting distance first increases and then
  decreases with age
• female - females have an shorter average commute
  than men
• employment status - full time workers commute
  further than part time workers
• social class grouping - professional/ managerial
  technical occupations commuter furthest
• SHS household variables
• household income - commuting distance increases
  as household income rises
• household structure - two parent household
  generate longer average commuting distances than
  single adult and single parent households
• urban/rural classification - commuting distance
  varies significantly by urban/rural/remoteness
  classification of home address (less so by
  classification of employment location)
• SHS transport variables
• mode - train commuters travel further than car
  and bus commuters
• household car availability - commuting distance
  increases with car ownership
• good public transport those who rate their
  neighbourhood as having good PT commute shorter
  distances this may be urban/rural affect again

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Factors influencing LDC

• Classification Tree detect differences between
  LDC SDC

• ANOVA Inter-relationships between variables.
• Interaction between pairing of gender and other
  variables significant

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Gender and Age

• females commutes less than males across age
  groups
• males 35-39 commute furthest (15km)
• for females, those aged 25 to 29 travel furthest
  (11km)

13
Gender and Income

• general trend is longer distance amongst higher
  earners
• females commute shorter average distance than
  males for all income bands
• males with incomes gt40K travel furthest (21km)
• for females, incomes gt40k travel furthest (13km)

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Gender and Urban/Rural Classification

• females commute shorter distance than males for
  each urban/rural category
• males from accessible towns (17km) and accessible
  rural areas (17km) travel furthest
• for females, those from accessible rural areas
  commute the furthest (13km)

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Gender and Social Class Groupings

• females commute shorter distance than males for
  each social class grouping
• males from managerial and technical occupations
  travelled the furthest (16km)
• for females, those from professional occupations
  travelled the furthest (13km)

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Gender and Household Structure

• males from families with children commute the
  furthest (15km)
• no significant difference between commuting
  distance of male and female single parents

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HH Income and Household Structure

• Average commuting distance tends to increases
  with HH income (with the exception of households
  with children very low incomes)
• this kink is probably due to the influence of
  house prices

18
Car user reasons for not using PT

• 37 LDC car commuters stated they had a PT
  option (compared to 49 of SDC car commuters)
• LDC takes too long 54 (compared to SDC 37)
• LDC no direct route 31 (compared to SDC 20)
• LDC cost (14) (compared to SDC 8)

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Mode Share (SHS)
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Mode Change

• changed mode over the previous year 8 SDC
  (N7,373) 9 LDC (N2,854 )
• SDC (N612) 11 switched to car, 2 switched to
  train 9 switched from bus
• LDC (N209) 19 switched to car, 11 switched to
  train 2 switched from bus

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Reason for mode change

• Most frequent reasons were changed job or
  moved home
• No significant difference between long and short
  distance commuters

22
Travel to Education (SHS) Classification Tree

• 3 of children travel further than 15km to school
• a higher percentage of children from rural areas
  travel more than 15km compared to children from
  towns or urban areas

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Focus Group Research

• SHS was used to identify/select potential
  participants
• took part in the SHS survey between 2003 to 2005
• at the time of SHS traveled 15km to work
• agreed to take part in follow up work
• workplace location in Stirling, Edinburgh,
  Glasgow, Aberdeen or Dundee
• Focus groups covered
• ve and -ve aspects to LDC
• changes over time
• factors affecting residential location
• work and workplace choices
• alternatives (diff mode, working from home, car
  sharing)

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Work/Home location

• many factors involved in why people live/work
  where they do
• near family
• important at diff life stages, partners
  requirements, looking after elderly parents
• rural location
• nice scenery, less stressful than city
• house prices
• important in initial decision prevents from
  moving, get more for money further from work
• schools
• not major factor, but discourages relocating if
  child is settled in a school
• commute
• not major factor, but some participants
  considered the commute when purchasing a new home
  eg drove the route to work at peak times or
  looked for houses within close proximity to a
  rail station
• little/no choice available
• financial constraints, lived in area whole life,
  commitments to extended family

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Next Steps

• complete comparison of 1991 2001 census
• policy implications
• LDC postal/telephone survey

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Questions and Discussion

• I wouldnt say I enjoy the commute. I would
  rather not do the commute. I would rather it was
  just five minutes away where I wouldnt have to
  spend an hour a day or two hours a day actually
  travelling. (female train commuter, Glasgow)
• I dont like to live on top of my work. I
  have always lived 15 or 20 miles away from where
  I work. I do like to feel as if Ive got a sense
  of getting out of there you know, away from it.
  (male train commuter, Edinburgh)