The Travel Survey for Northern Ireland (TSNI) In-depth Report, containing statistics for 2016-2018, is now available.
The publication is produced by the Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch (ASRB) of the Department for Infrastructure and contains information on a variety of travel modes including walking, cycling, public transport, cars, a variety of journey purposes including travelling to work and shopping and key tables by urban–rural.
The publication is available on the ASRB website at: Travel Survey for Northern Ireland
The key points for 2016-2018 are:
- Each person travelled, on average, 5,868 miles per year during 2016-2018 - around the same as 10 years ago (6,032 miles per person per year in 2006-2008).
- On average, there were 903 journeys made per person per year over the period 2016-2018 - a decrease from 2006-2008 (926 journeys per person per year).
- In 2016-18, the average time each person spent travelling was 304 hours per year - around the same as in 2006-2008 (306 hours per person per year).
- On average, people living in urban areas made around the same number of journeys each year as people living in rural areas (urban: 908; rural: 894). However, rural residents travelled further per year (urban: 4,813 miles; rural: 7,500 miles) and spent more time travelling per year (urban: 298 hours; rural: 312 hours) than urban residents.
- In 2016-2018, 70% of all journeys were made by car, 19% by walking, 5% by public transport (Ulsterbus, Metro, Other Bus, Northern Ireland Railways, Black Taxi) and 1% by cycling. Walking has increased from 17% in 2006-2008 to 19% of all journeys in 2016-2018. There has been no real change from 10 years ago for the other travel modes.
- Nearly one sixth (16%) of all journeys were less than one mile long. Just under two thirds (66%) of these short journeys were on foot and 31% were by car. The car was the dominant mode of transport (77%) for all journeys one mile or over.
- In 2016-2018, 29% of all journeys were made for leisure and other purposes (visiting friends, entertainment, social activities, sports activities, holiday, day trips, just walking, other), 20% for commuting and business and 17% for shopping. Shopping has decreased from 21% in 2006-2008 to 17% of all journeys in 2016-2018. Leisure and other has increased from 26% in 2006-2008 to 29% of all journeys in 2016-2018.
- Just under two thirds (66%) of all respondents took a walk lasting at least 20 minutes once a week or more.
- One in ten (10%) of all respondents in 2016-2018 cycled once a week or more.
- Just under one sixth (16%) of all respondents travelled on a bus once a week or more. Around 1 in 30 (3%) of all respondents travelled on a train once a week or more.
Notes to editors:
Background to TSNI 2016-2018 In-depth 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. Detailed user information, definitions and guidance are included in the report.
- TSNI reports are published annually and the earliest data available are for the 1999-2001 period. This is the second of the two reports to be published covering the 2016-2018 reporting period. A headline report (containing key figures) was published in July 2019. This in-depth report contains more detailed analysis on journeys taken by a representative sample of the population over the time period 2016-2018 (including breakdowns by age and gender) and more trend comparisons with earlier years.
- This report has been completely redesigned for this edition to make it more user-friendly and accessible, with information reorganised into themed sections so users can easily identify the data they are most interested in.
Official statistics
- This is a National Statistics publication and therefore follows the Code of Practice for Statistics. You can find further information about the Code of Practice at: Statistics Authority.
Additional information
For more information relating to this publication, including alternative formats, please contact:
Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch,Room 4.13C,
Clarence Court,
10-18 Adelaide Street,
Town Parks
BELFAST
BT2 8GB
- Telephone: (028) 9054 0799
- E-mail: arsb@nisra.gov.uk
- Website: Statistics and research
- For media queries please contact the DfI Press Office on 028 9054 0007 or email press.office@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk
- For media follow the Department on Twitter @deptinfra and on Facebook @DepartmentforInfrastructure
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