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Journey to Work by Usual Mode of Travel
2001

July 2003

The following article is based on results from the 2001 census of population. Tables 1 and 2 are already in the Lancashire Area profile, but this particular research monitor provides a more in-depth analysis of the tables and presents selected journey to work details for the wards in the Lancashire NUTS-2 area.

The National and County Perspective

Table 1 reveals that for travelling to work within the Lancashire NUTS-2 area, there is a higher reliance on using a car or van than the national average. A total of 67.4% of commuters in the broader Lancashire area either drive a car or van to work, or are a passenger. In comparison, the England and Wales average is 61.5%. This differential is partly due to the fact that, on average, 8% of people in Lancashire are passengers against a national average of 6.3%. Much time and effort is spent on promoting alternatives to private transportation for commuting, but the census figures reveal the dominant role of by private cars and vans. This is emphasised by the fact that the percentage of people commuting to work as passengers in cars or vans (8%) is higher than the total percentage of people travelling by bus, train, tram or metro.

The growing use of park and ride schemes, especially in central Preston, may in future slightly obscure the distinctions between different modes of travel as combinations of travel become more widespread.

The higher level of reliance on private transport in the County leads to lower levels of public transport use. Only 1% of people in the Lancashire NUTS-2 area usually commute to work by train (4.1% nationally), whilst the proportion using a bus, mini-bus or coach is only 6.3% against an England and Wales average of 7.4%.

Cycling in the Lancashire NUTS-2 area at 2.4% is less popular than the 2.8% average for England and Wales whilst, motorcycles, scooters or mopeds account for 1.0% in Lancashire and 1.1% across England and Wales.

One important figure in the County's favour however is that more people usually walk to work in the Lancashire NUTS-2 area (11.5%) than in comparison with the England and Wales average of 10%.

The number of people working mainly from home represents 9.0% of employed workers in Lancashire, which is marginally lower than the 9.2% average for England and Wales. Farming and the tourism industry appear to be two sectors where there are high levels of home working.

Finally, the 'other section' includes people with no fixed place of work: people working at an offshore installation, or those who are working outside UK.

Table 2 details car and van ownership in Lancashire. For the Lancashire NUTS-2 area, a total of 72.8% of households have at least one car or van, which compares with an England and Wales average of 73.2%.

At the district level, Burnley has highest percentage of households (34.1%) that have neither type of vehicle whilst only 14.6% of households in Ribble Valley district are without direct access to a car or van.

Ward-Level Analysis

Urban Areas within the Lancashire NUTS-2 Area

Figure 1 details the Lancashire NUTS-2 geographic area and the urban area boundaries to offer a reference point to help interpret the results displayed in Figures 2 to 6. It is not possible to label all urban areas, especially in the central Lancashire area, but the ones listed should help to identify other areas.

The ward information detailed in this article is for wards that were legally existing on 31 December 2002. A number of other research monitors contain ward information based on previous ward boundaries, in particular 1991 and 1998 boundaries. There have been a number of ward name and boundary changes over the years which inhibit comparisons between the full range of available ward data detailed in this and various other research monitors.

Figures 2 to 6 provide geographic analysis by ward of selected travel to work patterns. Not all forms of travel to work have been presented but the following figures detail most of the important methods of travelling to work.

Figure 2 presents information on the number of people who walk to work. Walking to work is more popular than all forms of public transportation combined. In total, there are 37 wards in the Lancashire NUTS-2 area where 19.5% or more of the employed workforce usually walk to work. Not surprisingly, these wards are predominantly found within inner-urban areas across the County.

Duke's Ward in Lancaster has the highest percentage of people who normally walk to work (35.3%) followed by Town Centre Ward in Preston (29.8%). On a broader level central Lancaster and Preston are the two most popular areas for walking to work. The eight wards with the highest percentages are found in these two towns. In Lancaster, the three additional wards of Bulk, Castle and John O'Gaunt present a combined area where 26.9% or more of the workforce walks to work. In Preston, St. George's, University, Deepdale and Town Centre form an area where 24.7% or more of the local population walk to work.

Both these central core areas are the most successful parts of the County for combining local job opportunities that meet the requirements of local residents.

At the other extreme, only 2.0% of the working residents of Wilpshire Ward in Ribble Valley District, which is on the outskirts of Blackburn, walk to work. The neighbouring wards of Clayton-le-Dale with Ramsgreave and Langho present a combined area where 3.0% or less walk to work. In Chorley District the neighbouring wards of Pennine, Brindle & Hoghton and Heath Charnock and Rivington form an area where only 2.5% or less walk to work.

Percentage Walking to Work, 2001 Source Census 2001

Figure 3 details the percentage of people usually working at home. Recent technological advances allow some people to work from home as an alternative to commuting to the office, but it is difficult to distinguish this trend at the ward level, especially if home-working is not the usual day-to-day option. The need to work from home has its traditional roots in the agriculture and tourism sectors, and it is these working practices that can be identified at the local level.

Figure 3 clearly reveals the high percentages in the rural areas in Lancashire. This is a reflection of the number of agricultural workers in rural areas who account for reasonably high proportions of relatively small local workforces. Also of note is the collection of wards in central Blackpool that reveal high percentages of home-workers as a result of the large number of privately run small hotels and guesthouses.

The Ribble Valley wards of Bowland (30.8%) and Gisburn (29.4%) have the highest proportion of residents who work from home, however the more densely populated urban ward of Bloomfield in Blackpool, with 25% of its population working from home, has the highest number (726) of people living and working from home.

Figure 3 also reveals the very low percentages of people working from home within the inner-urban areas (excluding Blackpool) of the broader Lancashire area.

Figure 3. Percentage Working From Home Source Census 2001

Figure 4 presents details of the most popular method of travelling to work: either by car, van or as a passenger in a car or van. The geographic analysis reveals how the rural hinterland surrounding the major population centres is the most popular area from where to commute to work by car or van. Langho Ward in the Ribble Valley has the highest percentage who travel by car or van (75.3%) followed by Newburgh in West Lancashire (74.8%) and Wilpshire in Ribble Valley (74.4%). At the other extreme, Bloomfield Ward in Blackpool, which has a high percentage of people working from home, recorded the lowest percentage of residents commuting to work by car or van (27.2%). Talbot Ward also in central Blackpool recorded the second lowest percentage (33.4%) whilst Duke's in Lancaster, which has the highest percentage of people who walk to work, recorded the third lowest figure of 33.6%.

Figure 4. Percentage Commuting By Car, Van (inc passengers), Taxi Source Census 2001

The percentage of people using public transport as the usual mode of travelling to work has declined with the growth in the number of private cars. Figure 5 highlights the large number of wards within Lancashire where commuting by bus accounted for 2.9% or less of the usual means of travelling to work. The Figure does however highlight a number of wards where bus patronage as a means of getting to work is relatively high. In particular, Preston stands out as a town where bus commuting to work is common in a number of inner-urban wards. Blackpool and Burnley also appear to high relatively high percentages, but not all densely populated urban areas are within the top two bands. Blackburn and Lancaster and have relatively few wards where bus travel accounts for 8.5% or more of usual commuting patterns whilst in Skelmersdale, there are no wards with high percentages of commuters using buses.

Of the 11 wards with the highest percentages of people travelling to work by bus, 10 of the wards are in Preston. Shadsworth with Whitebirk (13.6%) on the outskirts of Blackburn is the only non-Preston ward within the top 11. Ribbleton Ward in Preston has the highest percentage of commuters using the bus (19.5%) followed by Fishwick (18.6%) and St. Mathew's (16.9%). At the other extreme, eight rural wards in Ribble Valley, Fylde, West Lancashire and Wyre Districts recorded bus patronage levels amongst commuters of less than 1%.

Percentage Travelling By Bus Source Census 2001

Figure 6 details the percentage of people travelling by Train Tram or Metro (a small number of Lancashire residents use the Manchester Metro network to get to work). Only eight wards within Lancashire recorded 3.5% or more of employed residents using a train, tram or metro to get to work. Of these eight wards, seven are in West Lancashire district. The pattern suggests that the electrified railway line between Ormskirk and Liverpool underpins these results. Aughton Park Ward in West Lancashire (5.5%) is the only ward in Lancashire where more than 5% of the resident workforce usually commute by rail transport. In comparison, the nearby wards of central Skelmersdale cover an urban area that is particularly badly served by rail and show virtually no reliance on rail transportation.

Adlington and Anderton Ward in Chorley District is the only non-West Lancashire ward in the top eight. This is likely to be as a result of people commuting from there to central Manchester. Figure 6 reveals that wards in the South of Lancashire, with rail access to either Liverpool or Manchester have the highest percentages of rail-based commuting. However the Rossendale area reveals the lack of a commuter rail service to the Manchester area. This could change if a commuter service was introduced on the privately operated East Lancashire railway.

The 11-mile tram network between South-Shore in Blackpool and central Fleetwood underpins rail usage along the Fylde coast. The West Coat mainline appears to attract commuters from the Preston and Lancaster areas but rail services in the East Lancashire fail to account for 2.5% or more of commuters to work in any ward in the area except for North Turton with Tockholes from where people can access the Clitheroe-Blackburn-Manchester service.

Figure 6. Percentage Travelling by Train, Tram or Metro

This page was compiled by Bryan Moulding .

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