Publication of road and rail transport statistics January to March 2010

The latest edition of the NI Road and Rail Transport Statistics, containing statistics for January to March 2010, 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 vehicle registrations, use of public transport, deliveries of petrol and diesel for use in NI and driver and vehicle tests.

 The publication is available on the CSRB website

The key points for the quarter January to March 2010 are:

• There were 27,834 new and used cars registered for the first time during the quarter of which new cars accounted for 71% of the total.
• The number of new and used cars registered for the first time during the quarter has increased by 9% since the corresponding quarter last year.  This is the third consecutive quarter to show an increase when compared to the corresponding time period in the previous year.
• Ford was the most popular make of new car during January to March 2010, accounting for 12% (2,470) of all new cars registered.  The second and third most popular makes of new car were Volkswagen (1,871) and Vauxhall (1,787) respectively.
• Of the 701 heavy goods vehicles registered for the first time in Northern Ireland, almost four in five (77%) were previously used vehicles.
• There was a weekly average of 1.36 million public bus passenger journeys made during the quarter, a decrease of 4% from 1.41 million in the corresponding quarter of 2009.  During the same time period, weekly average bus passenger receipts increased by 1% to £2.33 million from £2.30 million.
• The weekly average rail passenger journeys are the same as the corresponding quarter of 2009 (0.19 million).  During the same time period, weekly average rail passenger receipts decreased by 2% to £0.55 million from £0.56 million.
• Over the period April 2009 to March 2010, the pass rate for car ‘L’ driver tests was 56% for males and 46% for females in Northern Ireland, compared to 49% for males and 43% for females in Great Britain.

Notes to editors:

1.Background to Road and Rail Transport Statistics Publication: Road and Rail Transport Statistics is a quarterly publication and contains a variety of transport information.  The data are collated from a number of sources including the Driver and Vehicle Agency and Translink.

2.Official Statistics: This is a National Statistics publication and therefore follows the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.  You can find further information about the Code of Practice at: Statistics Authority website

3.For further information please contact:

Tel (public enquiries): 028 9054 0981
Textphone: 028 9054 0642
Fax: 028 9054 0782

E-mail
website

4. Media queries to: Department for Regional Development Press Office, Tel 028 90 540007.