Tracking travel behaviour (Wave Four)

Hampshire Perspectives is the County Council's residents' forum

This report summarises key findings from the 35th Hampshire Perspectives survey, which focused on understanding people’s travel habits around Hampshire.This survey was a fourth wave of an annual study which has run since 2021 and results from this time were compared back against the previous three waves of data captured during the same period in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The learning from these surveys helps the County Council to monitor and understand any changes in transport patterns over time to inform future strategic planning.

The survey was completed by 759 people between 09 and 23 July 2024.

The response base is not fully demographically representative of the Hampshire population so results should be taken as indicative, rather than conclusive. For example, respondents were more likely to be female, white and older on average (a higher proportion of those aged 55+ responded to the survey) compared to the Hampshire population overall. Some areas within Hampshire are also better represented than others. The implication of this is that there is likely to be a lower proportion of full-time workers, and of parents of school aged / very young children completing the survey compared to the Hampshire average. This will influence types and times of travel reported, however the demographic profile for this survey is consistent with previous waves of this study so trend data for comparisons with previous years will not be affected.

Key findings were as follows:

Overall, travel patterns remain consistent with those seen in 2023; suggesting that we may now be seeing people’s travel habits starting to settle down after the disruption of COVID-19 in 2021 (and to a lesser extent in 2022).

Mode of transport:

Car / van travel remain the most common mode of transport, and there are no notable differences across the different travel modes since 2023.

The number of people walking or cycling remains consistent with 2023 but lower than what was seen in 2021 and 2022. The proportion of journeys reported as being made by bus remains consistent with 2023 and 2022, and higher than seen in 2021 (when safety concerns about COVID-19 were highest).

Key barriers to using public transport are lack of service and convenience, with a slight increase in those citing inconvenience reasons in this wave.

Key barriers to active travel on short journeys also centre around convenience and constraints such as time, mobility, bad weather and needing to transport large or bulky items.

Vehicles used most:

Small, petrol cars remain the dominant choice for private vehicles but there has been a very slight increase in use of diesel vehicles in this wave, and a corresponding decrease in petrol. Electric/ cleaner fuel/ hybrid vehicle use increased in 2023 but has remained stable in 2024.

Journey details:

Shopping, leisure and social use continue to make up the largest proportion of reasons for travel. A slight decrease has been seen for travel for commuting and education this wave.

There has been a notable decrease in those travelling in town/city centres and suburbs compared to 2023, and a slight increase in those travelling to a village / rural area. Weekday travel (particularly in the morning) remains the most common time for when respondents began their last journey.

Journey length and frequency:

Trip length and frequency remains fairly consistent with 2023 with an average of around 10 trips reported in the week prior to completing the survey. However, there was a slight increase in the number of trips taken by 18–44-year-olds in this wave, and a decrease among those with health or mobility challenges.

Costs and ease of travel:

Journeys were felt to be slightly easier overall compared to last year and the proportion of people who believe their travel has been affected by fuel and living costs seems to have gradually declined over the past two years.