Publication of travel survey for Northern Ireland 2007-2009 headline report

The Travel Survey for Northern Ireland (TSNI) headline report, containing statistics for 2007-2009, is now available. The publication is produced by the Central Statistics and Research Branch (CSRB) of the Department for Regional Development and contains information on journeys taken by Northern Ireland residents by mode of travel and purpose of journey. The publication is available on the CSRB website

KEY POINTS

The key points for 2007-2009 are:

• Over the time period 2007-2009, each person in Northern Ireland travelled on average 6,002 miles per year (approximately 16 miles travelled per day), similar to 2006-2008 (6,033 miles).
• On average, there were 914 journeys made per person per year over the period 2007-2009 (approximately 3 journeys per day).  There was no real difference when compared to 2006-2008 (926 journeys per person per year).
• The average journey length for the period 2007-2009 was 6.6 miles, similar to the journey length for 2006-2008 (6.5 miles).
• On average, 643 car journeys were taken per person per year in 2007-2009, 70% of all journeys made.  There were 160 walking journeys per person per year, 18% of all journeys made.  These results are similar to those over the recent time period covered in the report.
• During 2007-2009, the longest journey length was for train journeys, averaging 20.6 miles.  In contrast, the shortest journeys were walks which were 0.8 miles on average.
• In 2007-2009, 22% of journeys were made for leisure purposes (visiting friends at private home/elsewhere, entertainment/social activities, sports, holiday/day trip), 20% for shopping, 16% for commuting and 13% for personal business (for services such as bank, doctor or library).  This is in line with the previous recent years presented in the report.
• In terms of miles travelled, 31% of the distance travelled was for leisure purposes (see definition above), 20% for commuting, 14% for shopping and 11% for personal business.  As before, these results are similar to previous recent years published in the report.

Notes to editors:

Background to TSNI 2007-2009 Headline Report

The Travel Survey for Northern Ireland (TSNI) is a household survey and is the only source of information on how, over the region as a whole, people use different forms of transport to meet their travel needs as individuals. Only journeys within Northern Ireland are included.

TSNI reports are published annually and the earliest data available is for the 1999-2001 period.  This year is the first time that two reports, an early headline report and a subsequent in-depth report, will be published.  The headline report contains key figures on journeys taken by the NI population over the time period 2007-2009 and includes some trend comparisons back to 2004-2006. This report will be followed by the publication of an in-depth report in December 2010, which will contain a more detailed analysis of the TSNI 2007-2009 data.  

Official Statistics

This is an Official Statistics publication and therefore follows the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.  You can find further information about the Code of Practice at:

http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/assessment/code-of-practice/index.html

Further Information

For further information please contact:

Tel (press enquiries): 028 9054 0007

Tel (public enquiries): 028 9054 0799

Textphone: 028 9054 0642

E-mail: csrb@drdni.gov.uk

Fax: 028 9054 0782

Website: http://www.drdni.gov.uk/index/statistics.htm