In Quarter 4 2021, despite the easing of restrictions elsewhere in the economy and society, restrictions on public transport (requirement to wear face coverings and appropriate seat spacing) remained in place until early 2022. Combined with more working from home during the pandemic, the impact of these restrictions can perhaps be seen in the use of public transport when comparing travel behaviour data for 2021 with the same period in 2019.

Nearly six in ten (58.6%) persons aged 18 years and over never use bus services, while six in ten (60%) never use rail services (train, DART, Luas). By comparison, in the same period in 2019, just over half (51%) of respondents never travelled by rail, while less than half (48.5%) never used the bus. See Tables 3.1, 3.2, Figures 3.1 and 3.2.

Over two thirds of older persons, both male and female, never used public transport services. Seven in ten (73% of males and 69.6% of females) never used train services, while over two thirds of males and females never used the bus. In contrast, six in ten young males aged 25 to 34 years never used public transport services compared with just over six in ten (63%) females in this age group. See Tables 3.1 and 3.2.

For those who used public transport services, frequency of use of bus services was greater than for rail. Rail services tended to be used less often. One in seventeen (5.8%) of respondents aged 18 years and over used bus services at least five times weekly, while less than one in five (19.5%) used the bus less than monthly. By comparison, just 1.3% of respondents used rail services (train, DART, Luas) at least five times a week, compared with nearly three in ten (27.5%) who used it less than monthly. See Tables 3.1 and 3.2.

Males were more frequent users of bus services. One in fourteen (7.1%) males used the bus almost daily (at least five times a week) compared with less than one in twenty (4.5%) females. Males aged 25 to 34 years were over twice as likely as females to use bus services almost daily – 7.9% of males compared with 3.5% of females aged between 25 and 34 years. See Table 3.1 and Figure 3.1.

Of young males aged 25 to 34 years, only 3.2% travelled by rail very frequently, at least five times a week, compared with just 2.6% of females in this age group. Similarly, only one in fifty (2.1%) males aged 35 to 44 years used rail services at least five times weekly compared with just 0.4% of females in this age group. See Table 3.2 and Figure 3.2.

Respondents who used bus or rail services less than weekly were asked their reasons for not using these public transport services more frequently. Over four in ten (41.7%) respondents who use rail services less than weekly said that there was no service nearby, compared with nearly three in ten (28.8%) persons aged 18 years and over who use bus services less than weekly. Nearly three in ten (28.8%) respondents who use the bus less than once a week said that there was no service to where they wanted to go, compared with 27.6% of less than weekly rail users. Over three in ten (31.9%) of less than weekly bus users found public bus services inconvenient. Far less (18.9%) respondents who use rail less than weekly cited this as a reason for not using rail services more frequently. See Tables 3.3, 3.4, 3.5 and Figure 3.3.

Note that respondents could select more than one option.

Bearing in mind that the survey was carried out when COVID-19 restrictions on public transport (requirement to wear face coverings and appropriate seat spacing) were still in place, COVID-19 concerns were given as a reason for not using public transport more often, with over one in ten (10.4%) of less than weekly rail users cited this as a reason. See Tables 3.3, 3.5 and Figure 3.3.

One in nine (11.1%) bus users use bus services less than weekly due to infrequency of service. This compares to only 3.5% of rail users (who use rail services less than weekly) citing this as a reason. However, nearly one in fourteen (7.3%) respondents who use rail less than weekly said it was too expensive, compared with 3.3% of bus users who cited this as a reason, See Tables 3.3, 3.4, 3.5 and Figure 3.3.

For one in five (20.4%) respondents who use rail services less than weekly, they stated that they just don’t need to use rail more frequently than once a week. Similarly, 17.7% of bus users cited this as the reason for not using public bus services more frequently. See Tables 3.4, 3.6 and Figure 3.3.

Respondents who use public transport weekly or more were asked for their reasons for doing so. Over four in ten (43.4%) said that they had no other alternatives, while 41.4% found it more convenient (closer stops, more direct routes, no need to park, etc.) and 23.2% cited reliable journey times as a reason for using public transport frequently. One in seven frequent users said that shorter journey times (15.2%) and greater frequency of service (14.8%) were amongst their reasons for using public transport services frequently, while less than one in six (17.7%) felt that travel by public transport was better value. See Table 3.7 and Figure 3.4.

One in seven (14.2%) females preferred to travel by public transport (more comfortable, easier to use, better facilities, etc.), nearly double that of males (8.3%), while one in ten (9.6%) females liked to use public transport for environmental reasons (environmental benefits, climate impact, reducing CO2 emissions, etc.) compared with one in twelve (8.7%) males. See Table 3.7.