The geographical unit for which addresses are sampled from, to ensure the selection of addresses is statistically sound. These are based on the postcode sectors from the Postcode Address File (PAF) for England. For further details please consult Chapter 2.
A dwelling unit is a living space with its own front door, which can be either a street door or a door within a house or block of flats. Moreover, a single dwelling unit may include just one household or multiple resident households, for example two families living as two separate households in one house.
A household is defined as one person or a group of people living in a dwelling unit, who (a) share cooking facilities and (b) share a living room, sitting room or a dining area.
These are addresses which are considered ineligible for selection in the survey, for a variety of reasons such as being derelict, vacant, or a non-residential address. For more details see section 2.10
A trip (or journey) is a one-way course of travel from one place to another with a single main purpose. For the NTS, the terms “trip” and “journey” are used interchangeably.
A journey (or trip) is a one-way course of travel from one place to another with a single main purpose. For the NTS, the terms “trip” and “journey” are used interchangeably.
If a respondent goes on a boat, train or plane just for the pleasure of doing so, their trip would be excluded from the survey. However, it would be included if this were how they were travelling to a specific destination for a particular purpose, such as crossing a lake in order to go shopping.
Travel off the public highway (for example, in private gardens, across open country, on private land) is excluded. Hence if someone were to drive their car on dirt tracks, cycle off-road or walk across fields, data about the off-road parts of their journey are not collected.
The NTS focuses on personal travel, although travel in the course of work is included. Some journeys made in the course of work are, however, excluded from the study as they are regarded as “commercial’ travel, such as:
trips made specifically to deliver or collect goods in the course of work (for example, driving a lorry to deliver goods)
trips made by professional drivers or crew in the course of their work (for example, buses, ambulances, cranes, refuse vehicles, and so on)
walking and cycling trips made in the course of work by employees who are paid to walk or cycle (for example, postmen and postwomen, police officers)
trips made by taxi drivers, if they are paid or charge a fare for making a trip
trips made by professional driving instructors whilst teaching or driving their vehicles in the course of their work
trips made in a commercial vehicle in the course of work (for example, cleaners, engineers, road repair workers) or road testing a vehicle in the course of work (for example, garage drivers)
A trip can also consist of a number of stages. A new stage is defined when there is a change in the form of transport or when there is a change of vehicle requiring a separate ticket.
A boarding is when someone changes from one vehicle to another of the same type, using the same ticket. If a new ticket is required then this would be a new stage of the trip.
A long-distance journey is a trip of 50 miles or more in one direction and with a single main purpose.
The public highway is defined as roads and footpaths that are “metalled” (that is, tarmac or paved) and have unrestricted access. Such roads and footpaths cannot therefore be on private land.
Round trips are split into two separate journeys, one outward trip and one return trip. The destination of the outward journey (and likewise the starting location of the return journey) is recorded as the midpoint of the round trip.
In order to reduce the burden on respondents, travel involving a number of stops for the same main purpose and using the same form of transport can be treated as one continuous series of calls (that is, recorded as one single trip) from the first such call to the last one unless there is a significant break at any stop. Only shopping and travel in the course of work are treated in this way.
The method of travel is coded for each stage of a trip. A distinction is made between public and private transport. The codes for each method of travel (and whether they are classified as public and private transport) are shown in Table 6.1.
“Mode” is another word used for “method of travel”. The two are interchangeable in the survey.
Table 6.1: Coding of method of travel
| Code | Method | Public or private |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walk | Private |
| 2 | Bicycle or pedal cycle | Private |
| 3 | Private (hire) bus | Private |
| 4 | Car | Private |
| 5 | Motorcycle | Private |
| 6 | Van or lorry | Private |
| 7 | Other private transport | Private |
| 21 | eBike | Private |
| 22 | eScooter | Private |
| 23 | Mobility scooter | Private |
| 19 | Unspecified (private) | Private |
| 8 | Ordinary bus - London | Public |
| 9 | Ordinary bus - elsewhere | Public |
| 10 | Coach or Express bus | Public |
| 11 | Excursion or Tour bus | Public |
| 12 | London Underground | Public |
| 13 | Train | Public |
| 14 | Light rail | Public |
| 15 | Aircraft (public) | Public |
| 16 | Taxi or minicab or private hire vehicle | Public |
| 18 | Other public transport | Public |
| 24 | Ferry | Public |
| 20 | Unspecified (public) | Public |
Modes of transport are defined as public if they are generally available for public use, such as trains, buses and taxis.
Transport modes are classified as private if they are restricted to a single person or household and their friends or relatives, such as a car or motorcycle. A mode of transport would also be classified as private if its use were restricted to a particular group of people, such as an ambulance or school bus.
“Walk” is used for all travel on foot. It is also used when respondents ride in non-motorised wheelchairs, prams or pushchairs, as well as when they ride on toy bicycles, roller-skates, skateboards, non-motorised scooters, or when they jog. For example, children who accompany their parents on a visit to the shops on toy bicycles or tricycles (where the parents are walking) are coded as having walked there
A short walk is a walk of less than one mile. Very short walks (of less than 50 yards) are always excluded. On the first day of the travel diary, details of all walks which are 50 yards or more are recorded. On the following six days of the travel diary, only walks of one mile or more are recorded.
This includes all forms of bicycle, with the exception of children’s toy bicycles or tricycles not primarily intended for use as a means of transport.
This includes buses, coaches and minibuses which are owned or hired (for example by clubs, employers or schools) and are not available for use by members of the general public except when hired for a particular occasion. If someone goes on an excursion or coach tour, their mode will almost certainly be coded as “private (hire) bus”.
This code includes all three- and four-wheeled cars. This includes estate cars, people carriers/MPVs, and four-wheel drive passenger cars. This also includes vans which have windows rather than panels to the rear of the driver’s seat, and which have seats where rear passengers can sit.
Hire cars are also included under “car”, as would be a taxi or minicab when it is used by its owner for private purposes rather than as part of their work.
If a driver is provided, the car is classified as public transport and coded as a taxi or minicab.
Motorised caravans or dormobiles, and motorised wheelchairs are not coded as “cars’, but as”other private transport’.
This category comprises all two-wheeled motorised vehicles used for private transport, which are capable of carrying only one or two persons including the driver.
Motorcycle or scooter combinations (such as with a sidecar) also fall into this category.
This code does not apply to electric bicycles, which are coded as “eBike” from 2021 onwards. Prior to 2021 these were coded as “Bicycle”.
A van or lorry is a three- or four-wheeled motorised vehicle with panels to the rear of the driver’s seat. Farm vehicles are included in this category, but motorised caravans and dormobiles are included as “Other private” transport.
If respondents travel in a van or lorry to deliver goods as part of their work, then their travel is outside the scope of the survey and are not included. However, if they use a van or lorry for personal travel, their trips are included.
“Other private” methods of transport include motorised wheelchairs, electric scooters, ambulances, hospital cars, caravans, dormobiles, quad bikes and minibuses (unless used as private hire).
This relates to electric bicycles, which is a bicycle that is assisted by an electric motor when you pedal, used for private transport, and which are capable of carrying only one or two persons including the driver.
Bicycles that have no electric motor or electric assistance are classified as “Bicycle”.
Prior to 2021, trips and stages using electric bicycles were coded as “Bicycle”.
An electric scooter (e-scooter) is a 2-wheeled scooter, designed to carry one person in a standing position, which is fitted with an electric motor.
A trip or stage made on a scooter without an electric motor is instead coded as “Walk”.
Prior to 2021, trips and stages using electric scooters were coded as “Other private transport”.
Mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs are single-seat vehicles with a battery and electric motor. Mobility scooters refer specifically to an electric mode of transport designed to help those with restricted mobility (for example for those who struggle to walk or are disabled).
Trips and stages made on wheelchairs without a battery or motor are instead classified as “Walk”.
Prior to 2022, trips and stages using mobility scooters were coded as “Other private transport”.
This is only used where the mode of transport was not clear, but it was certainly a private mode.
This mode covers regular bus services which provide short distance travel within a locality and which serve every place on the route. Local public service buses generally operate over fairly short routes within urban or suburban areas or link nearby towns with outlying villages. The intervals between stops are relatively short, and the speed of the bus is relatively slow.
This is split into two modes, “Ordinary bus - London” where the bus locality sits within Greater London, and “Ordinary bus - elsewhere” for all other local bus journeys.
If the origin of the bus trip is in a county outside London and the destination of the bus trip is in a county outside London then method of travel is coded as “Ordinary bus – elsewhere”.
If the origin of the bus trip is in a county inside “London’ and the destination of the bus trip is in a county inside”London’ then the method of travel is coded as “Ordinary bus - London”.
If the origin of the bus trip is in a county inside “London’ and the destination of the bus trip is in a county outside London, then the following rules apply:
if a single stage trip, the method of travel is coded as “Ordinary bus – London”
if two or more stages, the method of travel is coded as “Ordinary bus – elsewhere”
If the origin of the bus trip is in a county outside London and the destination of the bus trip is in a county inside London and there is more than one stage to the bus trip, then if the final stage of any bus trip concludes in London, it is coded as “Ordinary bus – London”
Coaches and express buses usually operate from town centres and connect only with a limited number of places en route. They are characterised by long intervals between a limited number of stops. The minimum fare is generally high and coaches will generally have a higher standard of comfort than ordinary buses. For example, this mode applies to National Express services, and express buses to and from airports.
Some bus companies run what they call ‘express buses’, which do not run between town centres and are essentially ‘ordinary buses’. Such buses are coded as “Ordinary bus”.
This category covers vehicles (usually coaches) used for excursions or tours for fare-paying passengers. They are usually arranged and publicly advertised for specified times and days. Normally these services are run for summer holiday trips, but they may also be used for trips to sports fixtures, exhibitions, or festivals. Excursion or tour buses are generally accessible to all members of the public. In contrast, if they have been arranged by and are restricted to a particular group of people, they are coded as “Private (hire) bus”.
This mode covers only those services operated by London Transport. Though most of these trains operate exclusively underground, there are some lines where trains travel both underground and on the surface. These are categorised as “London Underground” even so.
Journeys made on London Overground lines are coded as “Train”.
This mode includes all train services operated by National Rail companies and the underground service in the Merseyside conurbation which operates like a regular train line.
This does include the London Overground service.
It excludes services operated by London Transport, the services listed under “light rail” and other railway services such as steam trains (such as the Bluebell Line, Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch) which are categorised as “Other public transport”. Travel at fun fairs is excluded from the survey
With the exception of steam trains (which are coded as “Other public transport”, all rail services not included in the “London Underground” or “train” categories is coded as light rail. The following list shows examples of light rail:
Docklands Light Railway
Manchester Metro Link
Tyne and Wear Metro
Glasgow Underground System
Sheffield Supertram
Blackpool Tramway
Croydon Tramlink
Nottingham Express Transit
Midland Metro
This covers all domestic public air travel where the trip begins and ends within the area covered by the survey. This means that flights with an origin or destination outside Great Britain are excluded. For example, flights to or from Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man are excluded, whereas flights to the Orkney and Shetland Islands are included.
Private air travel is coded “Other private transport”. Trips made simply for the pleasure of going in a plane, rather than in order to get to a particular destination, are excluded from the survey.
This mode is applied to all journeys made as a passenger via taxis and minicabs. This includes taxis hailed in the street or hired from a taxi rank, and minicabs which can be booked in advance and may or may not have a meter. This also includes all hire vehicles where a driver is provided, with the exception of buses hired for private use.
This mode is used for trips on a ferry as a means of getting from one place to another. Trips made simply for the pleasure of going on a ferry, rather than in order to get to a particular destination, are excluded from the survey altogether.
Prior to 2022, travel via ferry was classified as “Other public transport”.
This mode covers means of public transport which are not specified elsewhere. Travel by trains other than those covered by “London Underground”,“Train” or “Light rail” such as steam trains like the Bluebell Line, Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch, are coded as “Other public transport”. Travel by ‘Dial-a-Ride’ schemes is also included in this category.
Trips are coded according to the main reason why the trips were made. Each trip is assigned two codes reflecting the “purpose to” (that is, the reason the respondent went to somewhere) and the “purpose from” (that is, the reason the respondent was at the place where they are travelling from).
The overall purpose of a trip is normally taken to be the activity at the destination, unless that destination is “home’ in which case the purpose is defined by the origin of the trip. The classification of trips to ‘work’ is also dependent on the origin of the trip.
The trip purpose codes, their descriptions, and whether they are escort or non-escort trips are shown in Table 6.2.
Table 6.2: Coding of trip purposes
| Code | Purpose | Description | Escort or non-escort |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Home | To go home | Non-escort |
| 2 | Work | To go to main place of work | Non-escort |
| 3 | In the course of work | Travel in the course of work | Non-escort |
| 4 | Education | To go to school or college, and so on | Non-escort |
| 5 | Food or grocery shopping | To go food or grocery shopping | Non-escort |
| 6 | All other types of shopping | To do non-food shopping | Non-escort |
| 7 | Personal business: medical | For personal medical reasons | Non-escort |
| 8 | Other personal business | For personal non-medical reasons | Non-escort |
| 9 | Eat or drink: alone or at work | To eat or drink alone or related to work | Non-escort |
| 10 | Eat or drink: all other occasions | To eat or drink, all other occasions | Non-escort |
| 11 | Visit friends or relatives at home | To visit friends or relatives at their home | Non-escort |
| 12 | Other social | To go out for other social reasons | Non-escort |
| 13 | Entertainment or public social activities | For entertainment or public or community activity | Non-escort |
| 14 | Sport (participate) | To take part in sport | Non-escort |
| 15 | Holiday base | To go to a holiday base | Non-escort |
| 16 | Day trip or just walk | To go out for a day trip or just for a walk | Non-escort |
| 17 | Other non-escort | To go out for some other non-escort reason | Non-escort |
| 18 | Escort home (not own) | To take someone to their home | Escort |
| 19 | Escort work | To take someone to their main place of work | Escort |
| 20 | Escort in course of work | To accompany someone travelling in the course of their work | Escort |
| 21 | Escort education | To take someone to school or college, and so on | Escort |
| 22 | Escort shopping or personal business | To take someone shopping or to carry out personal business (medical or otherwise) | Escort |
| 23 | Other escort | To escort someone for some other reason | Escort |
An escort trip is a trip made for the purpose of accompanying someone else.
A non-escort trip is a trip made by someone on their own behalf (that is, for their own purposes).
The purpose of a trip has one of the escort codes assigned to it when the reason the respondent made the trip was to escort or accompany someone else. For example, a mother may escort her son when he wants to go clothes shopping. Or a young boy may have to accompany his mother when she goes food shopping because he is too young to be left at home alone.
To assign the correct escort code, it is necessary to know the purpose code of the person being escorted. The following tables shows how escort and non-escort codes relate to each other.
Table 6.3: Escort trip purpose codes
| Code | Purpose | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Escort home (not own) | To take someone to their home |
| 19 | Escort work | To take someone to their main place of work |
| 20 | Escort in course of work | To accompany someone travelling in the course of their work |
| 21 | Escort Education | To take someone to school/college etc |
| 22 | Escort shopping/personal business | To take someone shopping or to carry out personal business (medical or otherwise) |
| 23 | Other escort | To escort someone for some other reason |
Table 6.4: Relation between non-escort and escort purposes
| Code | Non-escort purpose | Code | Escort purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Home | 18 | Escort home (not own) |
| 02 | Work | 19 | Escort work |
| 03 | In course of work | 20 | Escort in course of work |
| 04 | Education | 21 | Escort education |
| 05 to 08 | Shopping/personal business | 22 | Escort shopping/personal business |
| 09 to 17 | Other non-escort | 23 | Other escort |
A respondent may be assigned an escort code even when they are travelling alone. For example, if the mother above were to go to collect her son from his friend’s house then her outward journey would still have an escort purpose (in this case “Other escort”).
If it is not clear whether an escort or non-escort code should be assigned, then a non-escort code is used. For example, if a man were to drive his wife to the shops and then stay with her, his journey purpose would be coded as one of the “Shopping” codes because it would be difficult to be certain whether he was escorting his wife or shopping in his own right.
If a non-household member is being escorted, the escort code to use is the equivalent of the non-household member’s purpose. So the ‘Escort home’ code is used to mean the home of the person being escorted and not the sampled address.
For example, a woman collecting a friend or relative from the cinema and taking them to their home (not hers) would have her trip coded as:
| Purpose from | Purpose to |
|---|---|
| Home | Escort work |
| Escort (other) | Escort home (not own) |
Another example is a mother who goes to pick up her son’s friend from his home, and drops him and her son at the cinema. This would be coded as:
PURPOSE FROM PURPOSE TO Home (CODE 01) Escort (other) (CODE 23) Escort (other) (CODE 23) Escort (other) (CODE 23)
| Purpose from | Purpose to |
|---|---|
| Home | Escort (other) |
| Escort (other) | Escort (other) |
If a father goes to his son’s (non-household member) house to pick him up and take him to the father’s home for a weekend, the trip purpose would be coded as:
| Purpose from | Purpose to |
|---|---|
| Home | Escort (other) |
| Escort (other) | Home |
Again, ‘escort’ would be used as the purpose code for the first trip, even though no escorting was actually done on the outward leg.
If the father were then to take his son back to the son’s house, the purpose of the father’s trips would be coded as:
| Purpose from | Purpose to |
|---|---|
| Home | Escort home (not own) |
| Escort home (not own) | Home |
In contrast, if a father were to take his daughter (who is a member of his household) to visit her aunt, his trip’s purpose would be coded as:
PURPOSE FROM PURPOSE TO Home (CODE 01) Escort other (CODE 23) Escort other (CODE 23) Home (CODE 01)
| Purpose from | Purpose to |
|---|---|
| Home | Escort (other) |
| Escort (other) | Home |
The point to note from these examples is that ‘escort’ is coded on the first trip to indicate the reason for going to the destination even though no escorting was actually done on that trip.
A respondent’s home is the sampled address at which they were living at the time of the Placement Interview. If a student is sampled at their student address, this is classified as their home.
“Home” is used when a respondent leaves (the “purpose from”) or returns to (the “purpose to”) the sampled address. It does not apply to trips to other people’s homes which are classified as “Visit friends or relatives at home”.
There are instances when respondents are temporarily away from the sampled address, for example if they are staying with friends on in a hotel. In such instances the trips to and from that temporary residence would not be coded as “Home”, and instead they are coded “Holiday base” if staying at a hotel or holiday home, or staying with friends for four or more days. If they are staying with friends for fewer than four days “Visit friends or relatives at home”, is used. Similarly, if someone goes to their second home at weekends (for leisure purposes) this is categorised as “Holiday base”.
If a respondent moves home between the placement interview and the end of the travel week the sampled address remains as their “Home” and their new address is coded as “Holiday base”.
This is used when a respondent takes a non-household member to that person’“’s home rather than to the respondent’s home.
When a respondent goes to their own home, whether they are travelling alone or someone else is travelling with them, their purpose is always coded as “Home”.
“Work” applies to trips to the respondent’s main place of work.
When adults take part in paid work experience, travel to their work experience is coded as “Work”.
When children take part in work experience (whether paid or unpaid), travel to their work experienced is coded as “Education”
For people who have no usual place of work (such as construction workers), the purpose code “In the course of work” is used when they travel to the site of their work.
For people who work mainly or exclusively from home, the purpose code “In the course of work” is used. As above, if the work address is clear then the self-reported journey purpose is used.
For people who do unpaid voluntary work or adults taking part in unpaid work experience, the purpose code “Entertainment or public social activities” is instead used.
If the place of work is not clear then the self-reported journey purpose is used, that is if the diary says that a trip’s purpose is to go to work it is coded as a “Work” trip.
This is used when a respondent makes a trip specifically to accompany someone else who is commuting to or from their usual place of work. For example, a woman might drive her husband to work. Equally, a man might drive from home to the station to collect his wife who is coming home from work. The purposes of his trips would be coded as follows:
| Purpose from | Purpose to |
|---|---|
| Home | Escort work |
| Escort work | Home |
This applies to work-related trips respondents make to places other than their main place of work. All work-related journeys of people without a usual place of work or who work from home are classified “in course of work”.
There is an exception to this rule. When a work address is not available, they are not able to determine whether the respondent works from home or does not have a usual place of work. In these circumstances, the self-reported journey purpose shall be used. That is, if the diary says that a trips purpose is to go to work, it is coded as “Work”. The survey variable WkPlace can then be used by analysts to re-code these journeys as “Travel in the course of work” if they see fit.
Trips made during working hours but which are not related to a respondent’s job (such as shopping during their lunch break) it is not classified as “In the course of work”, but based on the purpose of that journey such as “Shopping”
Work-related trips are still defined as “in the course of work” even if they are not made during office hours (such as travelling to a conference at a weekend).
Sometimes respondents may use a hotel or even a second home as a base for business trips (in the case of a second home it may be that respondents live there near their office during the week and then return to the sampled address at the weekend). All trips to a hotel or second home are coded as “In the course of work”. If a respondent is living in a second home and travels from it to their main place of work, the trip’s purpose would be coded as “Work”.
Childminders making trips where they take children (not their own) are coded as “In the course of work”.
All walking trips made by those who are paid to walk such as postal workers or debt collectors in the course of their work, are excluded as described in the earlier note “Excluded trips: some travel in the course of work”.
This is used when a respondent accompanies someone else who is making trips in the course of their work. For example, if a boy were to accompany his GP mother on her rounds, his trip would be coded as “Escort in the course of work”. Her purpose though would be coded as “In the course of work”.
This applies to trips made by schoolchildren or students to the place where they are studying, including college lodgings. It applies to students whether they are full-time, on day release or following part-time vocational qualifications. However it does not include someone attending a training course as part of their paid employment.
If a child takes part in work experience then their associated trips are coded as “Education”.
If a child is on a school trip which does not involve an overnight stay then as long as they visit something educational (such as a museum or art gallery) then their trip is coded as “Education”. However, if there is an overnight stay at a hotel, their trip to the hotel is coded as “Holiday base”.
Just because someone is travelling to an educational establishment, their trip purpose will not necessarily be “Education”. For example, trips made by teachers to the school or college where they normally work is coded as “Work”. Trips to schools or colleges made by people attending meetings (such as PTA meetings) or following leisure pursuits (such as evening classes) is coded as “Other personal business” or one of the recreation-related codes such as “Entertainment or public social activities” or “Sport (participate)”.
If a respondent were to drop off a child or other household member at school, college or university, the purpose of the respondent’s trip is coded as “Escort education”.
Shopping is divided into “food or grocery shopping” and “All other types of shopping”. It is not always be easy to distinguish between these two sorts of shopping. Where it is not clear, interviewers are instructed to ask respondents to decide which was the main purpose. Where respondents cannot do this, it is classified as “All other types of shopping”
“Food or grocery shopping” is applied to all trips where the main purpose was to buy food or groceries. In addition to shopping at supermarkets or corner shops, this code is used when people make a trip in order to buy a take-away meal or go to a pick-your-own fruit or vegetables farm.
All trips to shops other than supermarkets and grocery stores are assigned “All other types of shopping” whether or not anything was bought, and even when respondents were simply window-shopping and had no intention to buy anything on that occasion.
Shopping trips will often consist of three trips (see earlier section entitled “Series of calls”). In such cases, if the middle trip is a short walkit should be excluded. There will be no middle trip when respondents only go to one shop or when all the shops they go to are in a precinct off the public highway.
As with shopping, personal business is divided into two categories. The first is “Personal business: medical” which is used for trips respondents make in order to consult about or receive treatment on their own behalf. It includes trips to the doctor, dentist, optician, chiropodist, hospital, and to donate blood. It also includes trips to the chemist but only where the respondent’s purpose is to collect a prescription for their own use.
Where the purpose of a trip is related to the health of other people, (for example collecting someone else’s medicine from the chemist), it is coded as “other personal business” or if the respondent is accompanying someone to a hospital, doctors or other medical practitioners, “Escort shopping/personal business” is used.
There are a small number of occasions where respondents might use medical services for non-medical reasons, such as asking a doctor to sign a passport photograph. Such trips are coded as “Other personal business”. If it is unclear whether the reason for a trip to a medical establishment was medical or other personal business, it is coded “Personal business: medical”.
This applies to visits to services such as hairdressers, launderettes, dry cleaners, betting shops, vets, solicitors, banks, the post office and estate agents.
Attendance at funerals, weddings and general church services are coded “Other personal business”, as should visiting friends or relatives at the hospital, viewing a house for sale, or attending a day centre. Travelling to and from an airfield for flying lessons, and trips to a court for the purpose of doing jury service is also included in this category.
Trips to the library for the purpose of borrowing or returning books are categorised “Other personal business”, however trips to the library solely for the purpose of browsing are instead coded as “Entertainment or public social activities. If it is unclear whether the purpose of a library trip was to browse or borrow/return books,”Other personal business” takes priority for coding purposes.
If a parent takes their child to a child-minder, nursery or playschool, the purpose of the parent’s trip should be coded as “escort personal business” because the main reason the parent is making that trip is to escort someone else. The child’s journey would be coded as “Other personal business”.
This is used when a respondent accompanies someone else who is shopping or conducting some sort of personal business, but where the respondent is not doing any such thing. For example, a mother taking her daughter to a childminder would be coded as “Escort shopping/personal business”, whereas the daughter would be coded as “Other personal business”.
It is worth emphasising here that which respondent is classed as the escort depends on the purpose of their individual trips. For example, if a young girl were to go with her father when he goes shopping and had no reason of her own for being at the shops, she would be classed as the escort. However, if the father were to accompany his daughter when she goes to buy a coat and that were his only reason for being at the shops, he would be classed as the escort. Of course, if he wanted to go food shopping and she went with him because she wanted to buy a coat, his main purpose would be coded as “Food/grocery shopping” and hers as “All other types of shopping”.
The eat and drink codes (“Eat or drink: alone or at work” and “Eat or drink: all other occasions”) should be used only if the following three conditions are all satisfied:
These conditions mean that if a respondent were to make a trip to collect a take-away meal, it would not be coded using either of the eat and drink codes. Such a trip would actually be coded as “Food/grocery shopping”.
The conditions also mean that the eat and drink codes are not be used if a respondent were to go to a place where they may eat or drink but where the main purpose is something else, such as to dance, meet friends, watch a show, or attend a formal dinner. Such cases are actually classed either as “Entertainment or public social activities” or as “Other social”.
Finally, the conditions mean that having a picnic or packed lunch whilst on a day trip is not be classed under the eat and drink codes. Such trips are coded as “Say trip/just walk”.
There are two eat and drink codes so that a distinction can be made between social eating and drinking, and other eating and drinking. “Eat or drink: alone or at work” is used when respondents eat or drink alone, at work or in the course of work.
This is used for all trips to somewhere to eat or drink where respondents do not eat or drink alone, are not at work, and are not travelling in the course of work.
If it is unclear whether the respondent was eating alone or at work or for some other occasion, and the meal took place during their lunchtime while they were at work, the code “Eat or drink: alone or at work” takes priority. Otherwise, the trip should be coded as “Eat or drink: all other occasions”.
If it is unclear whether a trip’s purpose should be classified as “Eat or drink: all other occasions” or “Other social”, the purpose category “eat or drink: all other occasions” is used.
This is used for trips made to visit friends, relatives or acquaintances whether for pleasure or out of social obligation.
If the trip is to a private home for a period of not more than three nights, the trip is coded as “Visit friends/relatives at home”. If it is clear that the visit lasted four or more nights, the code “Holiday base” is instead used.
An institution or hospital is counted as a private home only if it is the usual long-term residence of the person being visited.
If it is unclear whether the trip purpose was to visit friends at home or to go with friends to an entertainment or public social activity, “Visit friends or relatives at home” takes priority for coding purposes, that is we assume that the respondent visited friends at home.
This is a wide purpose category which includes all types of entertainment, public social activities and unpaid voluntary work. It includes:
going to cinemas, theatres, dances and bingo
visiting art galleries, museums and libraries (browsing)
attending political meetings, trade union meetings etc
taking part in club activities including those connected with voluntary work
attending non-vocational evening classes and keep-fit classes
going to the gym, singing lessons, music lessons
attending muster days, drill nights or exercises with reserve military forces
It applies to trips whose purpose was to watch sport, but also to trips to take part in indoor sports and games like table tennis, darts and snooker.
If an adult takes part in unpaid work experience, this should be coded as “Entertainment or public social activities”. Where children do so, it should be coded as “Education.
If a respondent gives their trip purpose as being “to go to a meeting” but does not include any further information, and if the trip takes place outside working hours, then we assumed it was a public social activity such as voluntary work and so on If it was during working hours, we assumed that it was “in course of work”.
This purpose applies to all outdoor sports and some indoor sports. It includes sports which can take place indoors but often take place outdoors, such as tennis and athletics; other sports included are:
badminton
boxing
fishing
hunting
judo
karate
refereeing
shooting
squash
swimming
weight training
wrestling
If a trip involves both watching and participating in sport, then “Sport (participate)” takes priority for coding purposes.
This is the code which is assigned to trips to any holiday base in Great Britain. If a respondent is going to a holiday base outside Great Britain, then this purpose code is used for their trip to the ticket control point at which they boarded a plane, boat or international train.
“Holiday base” applies to a stay of at least one night in a hotel, boarding house, caravan or holiday cottage where the overall purpose of the trip is leisure or recreation as opposed to work. This includes staying at a second home or weekend home for leisure purposes.
This is also used for a stay of four nights or more with friends or relatives.
If a respondent is away on holiday and goes on a day trip, then the purpose code of their return journey to their holiday accommodation is coded as “Holiday base”.
This is the purpose code to trips which have the following characteristics:
they are for the purpose of pleasure
they happen within a single day (that is, there should be no overnight stay)
the journey itself is pleasurable (for example, a scenic drive or general sight-seeing)
Trips which involve a particular activity may well be coded as “Entertainment or public social activities”, if it falls within one of those activities covered.
Because we are using the term “day trip” here to refer to pleasurable journeys with no particular destination, these are often round trips (see earlier section entitled “round trips”).
If a respondent stops to have a picnic or packed lunch in the course of a day trip, the purpose of the trip should still be coded as “Day Trip”.
This code is also used when people simply go for a walk, although the outbound and return portions of a walk need to be sufficiently long to be eligible (see earlier section entitled “walking”). Other activities which are covered under this code include:
taking a dog for a walk
jogging
exercising a horse
horse riding lessons
mucking out horses
cycling for pleasure
tending an allotment
If a respondent goes on a boat, train or plane just for the pleasure of doing so, their trip would be excluded from the survey. However, it would be included if this were how they were travelling to a specific destination for a particular purpose, such as crossing a lake in order to go shopping.
Walking trips of the appropriate length by children on public roads whilst going to play are also coded using this purpose.
There are very few trips which cannot be coded into one of the categories listed above. However, exceptions include the following which are all categorised into “Other non-escort”:
people who are learning to drive
inmates in prison and being taken to court in a prison van
people taking part in community service
This should be used when a respondent escorts someone to any of the following purposes:
Eat or drink: alone or at work
Eat or drink: all other occasions
Visit friends or relatives at home
Other social
Entertainment or public social activities
Sport (participate)
Holiday base
Day trip or just walk
Other non-escort
This is the cost of parking for that stage. We want to know how much was actually paid by each person travelling in the car. Hence if two people travelled together, one of them might pay £5.00 and the other nothing, or they might share the cost and each pay £2.50.
In many cases this will be nothing. For a ‘series of calls’, it is the amount paid at the last call only.
Vehicles which are parked under any kind of period cost (such as car park season ticket, resident’s parking season ticket) have the cost for this stage of parking calculated using the following formula: divide the total cost by the required number of either weeks or days (depending on how long the period parking ticket is for) to arrive at the stage cost. For example, if an individual pays £35 per year for a Resident’s Ticket, then that is about 70p per week or 10p per day.
Note that from 2013 respondents are no longer required to give details of road tolls or congestion charges paid as part of their journey.
For public transport stages, respondents are asked to provide information on the cost of the stage. If a cost is incurred, a trip can be paid for in two different ways:
purchasing a ticket or pass (such as a season ticket) which pays for an unspecified number of trips.
purchasing a ticket for a single trip or for a specific number of trips (such as a return ticket, a multi-trip ticket or travel tokens).
It is possible to pay for a trip partly by the first method and partly the second (for example, a railcard or other pass is paid for which enables trips to be made at a reduced rate). The cost listed in the data is the total cost.
The cost of a multi-trip ticket such as one day travelcards is split over the trips and stages that were made using this ticket.
For group travel the cost is apportioned equally between the people travelling irrespective of who paid. This is because the aim is to get a per-person cost figure. For group travel using family travelcards, the cost is assigned according to how much the ticket cost per person who travelled. Only include those group members who need a ticket to travel in the calculation (for example, babies need not have a ticket but can travel for free so would be excluded)
In some areas, a family travelcard may cost the same no matter how many people travel (for example, no cost per person, just a flat rate cost). In this case, the cost is divided equally between the number of people who travelled (as above).
The following are the codes that are used to record the types of ticket used for public transport stages. Only one ticket is recorded for each stage, which is the one used, even if the respondent owns multiple ticket types. In the data these are recorded under the variable TicketType.
Table 6.5: Ticket types in the TicketType variable
| TicketType_B01ID | TicketType_B01Desc |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ordinary adult |
| 2 | Ordinary child |
| 3 | Reduced ordinary adult |
| 4 | Reduced ordinary child |
| 5 | Special category reduced |
| 6 | Other (including free) |
| 7 | Adult one day travelcard |
| 8 | Children one day travelcard |
| 9 | Season ticket |
| 10 | Travel card |
| 11 | Combined season / travel card |
| 12 | Railcard |
| 13 | Concessionary - Employees |
| 14 | Other non concessionary |
| 15 | OAP pass |
| 16 | Scholar’s pass |
| 17 | Disabled person’s pass |
| 18 | Subsidised travel tokens |
| 19 | Other concessionary |
These tickets are captured in the <span title = “Computer Aided Personal Interviewing>CAPI portion of the individual questionnaire, where they are shown Show Card AA and asked to say which tickets they have. For any that they say they have, the interviewer records the ticket details, and these are all recorded in the database as a separate entry on the Ticket table. Where one of these special tickets are used on a stage or trip, that travel data is joined to the ticket.
This code is used for tickets valid for trips on one specified route only. They are valid for any number of trips within a set time period. Examples of non-concessionary season tickets are off-peak bus passes, peak bus passes, travel club weekly tickets.
This code is used for tickets which enable the holder to travel on any available route within a specified area. They are valid for any number of trips within a specified time period.
The following list are examples of area travel cards that are included in this category: travelcards, under 16 travelcard, Rover, Runabout, Capitalcard, off peak travel card, two-zone bus pass, outer zone bus pass, saver 7, metro rover, afternoon extra. Oyster cards are also included as long as they are not solely pay as you go (in which case they would be coded as “Adult one day travelcard”).
This applies to season tickets that include unlimited travel within a specific area at one end of the trip. For example, a respondent may travel from Brentwood to Liverpool Street in Central London. For this trip they are using the “season” ticket part of their combined card. When they reach central London, they can travel within zones 1 and 2 when they are using the “area” part of the combined card.
This code applies to railcards that enable the holder to buy discounted train tickets – for example, Senior Citizens Railcard, Young Persons Railcard, Family Railcard, and Network Card.
This code applies to tickets which are issued by employers (such as transport operators) to their employees (and sometimes their widows and families) either free or paid for and that enable the holders to travel free of charge or at a discounted rate. Those who travel free due to the nature of their work (for example police in uniform) are not included in this category but fall this code unless they actually have an employee’s special pass (not just an identity card).
Some examples of this include: Employee, widow or family of employee or ex-employee pass; employees pass; staff pass; ex-employees concessionary pass; half fare pass on National bus company by virtue of late husband’s employment; concessionary ticket from employer; bus pass for NCB bus; National Rail employees pass; LT free travel card as ex-employee; bus employees wife’s pass; father’s National Rail ex-employee benefit, HM Forces Railcard and so on
All other kinds of non-concessionary tickets are included in this category where they don’t fit into other ticket types.
These are concessionary passes for older people, issued free or at a subsidised cost and allowing free or reduced rate travel.
These are concessionary passes for students, issued free or at a subsidised cost and allowing free or reduced rate travel.
These are concessionary passes for disabled people, issued free or at a subsidised cost and allowing free or reduced rate travel.
Tokens can be issued free or they can have a charge. If there is a charge this is divided by the number of tokens covered and the cost of the trip recorded. It is possible that someone will use both cash and tokens to pay for a trip, in which case the two amounts are added together so that the cost of the trip is recorded.
These ticket categories relate to regular tickets not specifically issued to an individual, and includes ordinary bus and rail tickets, be they adult or child tickets, including travelcards.
This code applies to all tickets used by adults where the full fare has been paid. This includes both single and return tickets. Weekend travelcards are also coded in this category regardless of when they are used (for example weekend travelcards allowing peak and off-peak travel are included in this category).
This code applies to all tickets as described above, but used by children where the child fare has been paid. It does not include tickets when they are bought at a reduced rate because the child holds a special pass (such tickets are mentioned in other categories). If a particular bus or train service has no child reduction then the ‘adult’ code is used.
This code applies to all tickets bought at a reduced rate (except where a special pass is used to buy them). It includes cheap day returns, weekend returns, multi-trip tickets and any other tickets which give a reduction on the full rate. The exception to this rule is one-day travel cards which are coded as “Adult one day travelcard”.
Ticket payments by Oyster Pre-Pay cards or contactless payment cards that are solely pay-as you-go are coded under this ticket category (other Oyster season cards are coded as “Travel card”). Carnet and Saver bus tickets should also be included as “Reduced ordinary adult”.
This code includes all tickets as “Reduced ordinary adult”, but where the child fare is paid (if one exists). The only exception to this is when a child has a pre-pay oyster card in which case “Special category reduced” is used.
This ticket type covers people who get reduced or free fares because they belong to a special category.
For example, reductions or free fares are given in some areas to:
in London under 16s with an Oyster photocard can travel for free on buses and trams at any time
in London 16-18 year olds in full time education with an Oyster photocard can travel for free on buses and trams at any time
unemployed people on showing their signing on card
children under a specified age (usually five) or wearing school uniform
police officers in uniform, or at all times when showing their warrant card
This code covers free public transport, which is provided in some areas and which also occurs in some park-and-ride schemes. It also includes tickets which cover more than just personal travel such as holiday packages covering both hotel and travel, tickets providing rail transport for cars as well as people, or tickets which combine foreign travel with travel in Great Britain.