Part 1: 2011 Census data
We’ve looked back at the 2011 data comparing Scotland, Edinburgh and four local wards.
Car ownership
First up, car ownership (includes vans):
Colinton & Pentlands have high levels of car ownership: 35%+ of homes with 2 or more cars. In Sighthill/Gorgie meanwhile 56% of homes have no car at all and only c8% have 2+. There's a large disparity in number of cars per household.
Here's how it compares nationally:
Scotland: 2.4m homes, 2.5m , 1 car /home
Edinburgh: 223k homes, 180k , 0.8 cars / home
Pentlands: 9k homes, 11k , 1.2 cars / home
Sighthill: 19k homes, 10k , 0.5 cars / home
Colinton: 10k homes, 12k , 1.2 cars / home
Craiglockhart: 12k homes, 9k , 0.8 cars / home
What about commuting?
High levels of car ownership correlate with more driving to work. Your distance to the city is a factor no doubt, likely wealth is too. Edinburgh driving commutes are lower than the Scottish average, as you’d probably expect. and walking is higher, the closer you are to town.
Commutes as passengers in cars are low - shows how many commute alone, which is inefficient for society, but maybe not them? Note the disparity in bus use: despite access to good city bus services Sighthill/Gorgie has a higher rate of bus use than Craiglockhart. Is wealth at play?
How far do people commute?
Commute distance varies too, understandably for different suburbs:
A 5km leisurely cycle is about 15-20mins. There’s a map here with 5km radius from Longstone - a huge section of the city:
Does gender matter?
Proportionally, 9-10% more women have commutes of less than 5km. Men commute further, are more likely to drive and therefore emit more carbon. Better local public transport and walking, wheeling and cycling routes would benefit women disproportionately.
Men are a more likely to drive, but at least twice as likely (usually more) to cycle, despite women have more local commutes. It’s more complex than the ‘commute’, but could be down to lack of a safe network?
Dutch Women and 65-75s are more likely to cycle than other groups:
What about wealth?
Across Edinburgh, data varies about socio-economic status and transport - but typically you are a little more likely to drive and less likely to get public transport the wealthier you are.
This suggests car-based taxation, like the workplace parking levy or a congestion charge, is probably progressive
That's all folks! For now.
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