The National Travel survey was carried out in the fourth quarter of 2021, at a time when restrictions introduced to stem the COVID-19 pandemic, were being gradually eased. Society and the economy had begun to open up again. Schools, colleges, and places of further education reopened for the academic year in the Autumn, although there were some school closures, full or partial, in response to local outbreaks. Retail, in large part had reopened and people started to return to the workplace, albeit on a hybrid working basis for many.

Although, the country had started to return to normal in the fourth quarter of 2021, the impact of the pandemic is evident when comparing the travel behaviour of respondents in 2021, compared with pre COVID-19 times in 2019.

At an overall level, journeys by car (whether as driver or passenger) have decreased by three percentage points on the same period in 2019 – 70.7% in 2021 compared with 73.7% in 2019. Journeys by car, where the respondent was driver or passenger, have both decreased, when compared with the same period in 2019. Trips where the respondent was the driver accounted for 63.7% of all journeys, compared with 64.9% in 2019. Similarly, less than one in thirteen (7%) of all journeys taken were by car where the respondent was a passenger in the car, compared with 8.8% in the same period in 2019. See Table 2.1.

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. The impact of this on the use of public transport is evident when comparing travel behaviour data for 2021 with the same period in 2019. The percentage of journeys taken by bus decreased from 4.8% in 2019 to 4.3% in 2021. Similarly, rail/DART/Luas accounted for 1.2% of all journeys taken in the fourth quarter of 2021, compared with 1.7% in 2019. See Table 2.1.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, with schools, colleges, and places of higher education closed, all but essential retail closed and people working from home where possible, people were partaking in active travel such as walking and cycling a lot more. In the fourth quarter, society was just starting to open up again and this active travel trend continued. The percentage of trips where the main mode of travel was walking, increased by over three percentage points on the same period in 2019. Walking accounted for one in six (16.9%) of all journeys made in 2021, compared with 13.5% of journeys taken in the same period in 2019. Of journeys taken by males, 17.9% were by foot, compared with less than one in six (15.8%) of trips taken by females. Cycling also increased – 2.2% of all journeys made were by bicycle in 2021, compared with 1.5% in 2019. See Table 2.1.

During the last quarter of 2021, and with the emergence of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant, the Government imposed early closing time restrictions for hospitality and live events, as well as other indoor venues such as cinemas and theatres, and tickets for nightclubs and other events had to be purchased in advance. These restrictions, in addition to the necessity to have COVID-19 vaccination certification for entry to any venue, table seating in bars, etc. meant that some people chose to stay home or socialise at home. The percentage of journeys in 2021, by taxi/hackney decreased in 2019 – 0.4% compared with 0.9% pre COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. See Table 2.1.

2021 continued the trend of a decrease in the percentage of journeys taken by males where they were the driver – 60.8% of male journeys compared with 65.7% of male journeys taken in 2019, a drop of nearly five percentage points. Conversely, trips taken by females where they were driver of the car increased in 2021. Two thirds (66.6%) of journeys taken by females were by car where they were the driver, compared with 64.4% in 2019. See Table 2.1.

Males are substantially more likely to travel by van (4.5%) compared with just 0.3% of females. Slightly more males than males chose to cycle - 3% of males compared to 1.3% of females. Travel by rail and DART/Luas was largely similar for both males and females. More males than females chose to travel by bus – 5.1% of males compared to 3.4% of females. See Table 2.1 and Figure 2.1.

In 2021, the degree of urbanisation of the area in which the respondent resided did have a bearing on their choice of mode of travel and travel by car was their preferred choice. In thinly populated areas, nearly eight in every ten (79.7%) journeys were by car – 72% where the respondent was driving and 7.7% where they were a passenger. By comparison, persons residing in densely populated areas, six in every ten (61.8%) journeys were by car – 55.5% as driver and a further 6.3% as passenger. See Table 2.2 and Figure 2.2.

In densely populated and intermediate density areas, the choice of public transport bus as a mode of transport was substantially greater than in thinly populated areas. In densely populated areas, one in seventeen (5.9%) of journeys taken were by bus and in intermediate density areas, 6.1% of journeys taken were by bus. This compares with just 1.5% of journeys by bus in thinly populated areas. See Table 2.2 and Figure 2.2.

Over one in five (22.7%) journeys in densely populated areas were where the respondent chose to walk to their chosen destination, an increase of over three percentage points on the same period in 2019. This compares with one in six (16.3%) journeys in intermediate density areas and just one in twelve (11.8%) journeys in thinly populated areas, where walking was the main mode of travel. See Table 2.2 and Figure 2.2.

Persons living in Dublin were significantly less likely to drive than those in the rest of the country. In 2021, nearly eight in ten (77.3%) of all journeys by persons residing outside Dublin, were by car – 68.7% as driver and 8.6% as passenger. This compares with over half (55.7%) of all journeys by Dubliners being by car, 52.2% as driver and 3.5% as passenger. In Dublin, use of the bus as a mode of transport was substantially greater than in the rest of the country – 7.8% compared to 2.7% for all regions outside of Dublin. See Tables 2.3, 2.4 and Figure 2.3.

As people engaged more in active travel (making journeys by physically active means, like walking or cycling) during the pandemic, walking and cycling as the main mode of travel on journeys has increased. Almost three in ten (29.5%) of all journeys made by Dubliners in 2021 were by walking or cycling, compared with just over one in five (21%) in the same period in 2019. For persons living outside of Dublin, just over one in seven (14.3%) journeys were primarily by walking or cycling, compared with less than one in eight (12.4%) journeys in 2019. Persons residing in Dublin were nearly twice as likely to walk as a mode of travel – 24.6% of Dubliners compared to just 13.4% in the rest of the country. Similarly, one in twenty (4.9%) of persons living in Dublin cycled to their chosen destination, compared to just 0.9% of journeys for persons living in regions outside of Dublin. See Table 2.3.

Over six in ten (61.7%) car journeys as driver were of short duration of 15 minutes or less. Public transport was more likely to be used for journeys of longer duration. One in seven (14.6%) journeys by bus were in excess of an hour in duration. Over one in five (21.1%) were 30 to 45 minutes long. A further one third (33.7%) were of shorter duration, between quarter of an hour and half an hour in duration. Looking at the journey duration of respondents on DART/Luas (which would be largely confined to the Dublin region), over four in ten (43.3%) were between 15 to 30 minutes long. A further three in ten (30.3%) between half an hour and 45 minutes in duration. See Table 2.5 and Figure 2.4.

The majority of active travel journeys (journeys by physically active means, like walking or cycling) were shorter in duration. Over seven in ten (71.7%) journeys by bicycle were less than 15 minutes long, as were nearly six in ten (58.2%) trips by foot. One in five trips by cycling or walking were between quarter of an hour and half an hour in length. See Table 2.5 and Figure 2.4.

The survey data shows that for longer journeys, of 8 kilometres or more, respondents were less likely to travel solo. There was a positive relationship between car usage and distance. Over half (51.8%) of car journeys where the respondent was a passenger, were 8 kilometres or more, compared with just four in ten (40.3%) car journeys with respondent as the driver. One in five (19.6%) car journeys as driver were less than 2 kilometres in length compared with just one in eight (12.9%) passenger car journeys. See Table 2.6.

Active travel journeys were shorter in length. Almost seven in ten (69.2%) of all journeys by foot were less than 2 kilometres long. Over four in five (80.6%) journeys where the main mode of travel was cycling, were less than 4 kilometres long – 41.5% were very short (less than 2 kilometres) while 39.1% were more than 2 kilometres but less than 4 kilometres in length. See Table 2.6.

In 2021, for nearly two thirds (64.3%) of car journeys, the driver travelled solo, while for 23.5% of car journeys two persons travelled. This compares with only one in twelve (8%) car journeys involving three persons and just over one in twenty-five carrying four persons or more. Cycling as a form of active travel is a largely solitary mode of travel, and only 3.3% involved one other person. Walking as the other main form of active mode travel is also largely solo but less so.  Nearly four in five (79%) of trips by foot were alone, while less than one in seven (15.1%) involved a companion. Just one in sixteen (5.9%) journeys by foot involved three persons or more. See Table 2.7 and Figure 2.5.

In the 2021 survey, a new question was introduced on the other modes of travel that were used on a journey in addition to the main mode of travel. Respondents could select more than one option where more than one other mode was used. 

The majority of car journeys involved only the car as mode of travel. Nearly all (95%) journeys by car where the respondent was driving, were single mode journeys, while over nine in ten (91.1%) private car passenger journeys involved only travel by car. The other mode of travel mainly used in conjunction with car, whether as driver or passenger, was walking. One in sixteen (6.5%) journeys where the main mode of travel was private car passenger, also involved walking, while for car journeys driven by the respondent, 2.5% involved walking as a mode of travel. See Table 2.8.

The survey data shows that for journeys where the main mode of travel was bus, nearly half (48.3%) of the journeys included walking to/from the bus. For 2.1% of bus journeys, the respondents drove to/from the bus, while 2.6% used Rail/DART/Luas with an element of walking. Similarly, for four in ten (40.4%) journeys by rail, DART or Luas, the respondent also walked to/from the train station. A further one in nine (10.8%) journeys by rail/DART/Luas involved the bus as a second mode of travel. See Table 2.8.

Cycle journeys were largely single mode travel (94.7%) although nearly one in twenty (4.2%) also involved walking to some degree. See Table 2.8.