For persons 18 years and over at an overall level, almost one quarter (23.6%) of journeys in 2019 were work related journeys, while over one fifth (21.3%) were for shopping. A further one fifth of journeys were companion/escort journeys. Over one in ten (10.4%) of journeys taken were for visits to friends or family, while a further 9.3% were for the purposes of entertainment/leisure/sports. See Table 3.1.
Females were nearly twice as likely as males to make a journey for accompanying another person – 24.7% of females compared with 13.4% of males. This represents an increase of five percentage points on the same survey period in 2016 (19.6%). Companion/escort journeys are journeys where the purpose of the respondent’s journey is to collect/escort somebody else. Examples include collecting or escorting somebody to their place of education, collecting or escorting somebody to a childcare facility, etc. One in ten (10.1%) journeys by females were for visiting family or friends, while a similar number of journeys (10.8%) carried out by males were for this purpose. Over one tenth (10.2%) of journeys made by males were for entertainment, leisure or sports purposes, compared to 8.7% of journeys taken by females. See Table 3.1 and Figure 3.1.
| Male | Female | |
| Work | 28.8 | 20 |
| Education | 2.1 | 3.2 |
| Shopping | 22.3 | 20.6 |
| To eat or drink | 3.6 | 3.3 |
| Visit family / friends | 10.8 | 10.1 |
| Entertainment / leisure / sports | 10.2 | 8.7 |
| Personal business | 5.1 | 5.6 |
| Companion / escort journey | 13.4 | 24.7 |
| Other | 3.6 | 3.9 |
Table 3.2 shows the distribution of journeys by degree of urbanisation. Where a person lives does not seem to have any significant effect on the reasons for making journeys. See Table 3.2.
In 2019, over three in ten (31.4%) of work-related journeys were journeys of 8 kilometres or more, while 18.2% of such longer journeys were for shopping. Shorter shopping trips of less than two kilometres accounted for over one quarter (26.5%) of journeys of less than two kilometres. Almost three in ten (29.5%) journeys of less than two kilometres were companion/escort journeys. See Table 3.3 and Figure 3.2.
| Work | Education | Shopping | To eat or drink | Visit family / friends | Entertainment / leisure / sports | Personal business | Companion / escort journey | Other | |
| <2 kms | 14.2 | 2.4 | 26.5 | 4.5 | 7.9 | 6.9 | 3.6 | 29.5 | 4.4 |
| 2<4 kms | 17.4 | 2.9 | 25.6 | 3.5 | 9.2 | 11.1 | 4.9 | 22.1 | 3.4 |
| 4<6 kms | 22.1 | 3.8 | 16.9 | 5.4 | 10.2 | 12.4 | 6.4 | 19.5 | 3.2 |
| 6<8 kms | 22.3 | 3.5 | 21.9 | 2.8 | 8.9 | 13.1 | 5.7 | 18.8 | 3.1 |
| 8+ kms | 31.4 | 2.5 | 18.2 | 2.4 | 12.4 | 8.6 | 6.2 | 14.6 | 3.7 |
Over four in ten journeys that took between half an hour and one hour were work-related – 43.9% of journeys of duration 31 to 45 minutes and 40.6% of journeys that took between three quarters of an hour and one hour in duration were work-related. One third (33.5%) of journeys that took more than one hour were work-related. See Table 3.4 and Figure 3.3.
Of journeys that were much shorter, less than quarter of an hour, almost one quarter (24.3%) were companion/escort journeys. See Table 3.4.
| Work | Education | Shopping | To eat or drink | Visit family / friends | Entertainment / leisure / sports | Personal business | Companion / escort journey | Other | |
| 15 mins or less | 18 | 2.4 | 24.1 | 4 | 9.8 | 9 | 4.7 | 24.3 | 3.6 |
| 16-30 mins | 26.2 | 3.1 | 21.5 | 3.2 | 12.1 | 9.6 | 6 | 15.7 | 2.6 |
| 31-45 mins | 43.9 | 1.7 | 12.1 | 1.7 | 5.9 | 9.1 | 7 | 11.9 | 6.8 |
| 46-60 mins | 40.6 | 3.9 | 12.9 | 2.3 | 8.5 | 11.5 | 7 | 9.2 | 4.2 |
| >60 mins | 33.5 | 5.2 | 6.2 | 2 | 19 | 10.5 | 6.7 | 11 | 5.8 |
Almost four in ten (39.4%) of journeys by public transport for persons residing in Dublin, were work-related, compared to over a third (34.1%) of public transport journeys in the rest of the country. Nearly one quarter (23.5%) of private car journeys (as driver or passenger) of persons residing in Dublin were work-related, while one fifth (20.1%) were for the purpose of shopping. Companion/escort journeys accounted for 22.4% and 22.7% respectively of private car journeys of persons residing in Dublin and outside of Dublin. See Table 3.5.
Over three in ten (31.3%) journeys taken by persons aged 18 to 34 years were for work, compared with 28.7% of journeys taken by persons in the 35 to 54 years age group for the same purpose. By comparison, only 13.4% of journeys taken by persons aged 55 years and over were work-related. See Table 3.6 and Figure 3.4.
Over three in ten (31.8%) journeys taken by persons aged 55 years and over were for shopping. In the same age group, over one in eight (12.7%) journeys were for visiting friends and family, while 11.2% were for the purpose of entertainment/leisure/sports. See Table 3.6 and Figure 3.4.
Companion/escort journeys accounted for nearly three in every ten (28.8%) trips taken by persons in the 35 to 54 years age group, nearly twice the number of journeys taken by persons aged 18 to 34 years (16.4%) for this purpose. Just one in ten (9.8%) trips taken by persons aged 55 years and over were companion/escort journeys. See Table 3.6 and Figure 3.4.
| Work | Education | Shopping | To eat or drink | Visit family / friends | Entertainment / leisure / sports | Personal business | Companion / escort journey | Other | |
| 18 - 34 | 31.3 | 6.8 | 17.4 | 4.3 | 10 | 9.5 | 2.8 | 16.4 | 1.7 |
| 35 - 54 | 28.7 | 2.2 | 14.8 | 2.3 | 8.8 | 7.9 | 3.8 | 28.8 | 2.7 |
| 55+ | 13.4 | 1.7 | 31.8 | 4.7 | 12.7 | 11.2 | 8.7 | 9.8 | 6 |
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