The National Travel Survey (NTS) is a household survey on the travel behaviour of respondents. It was carried out using the General Household Survey (GHS) in the fourth quarter (October – December) of 2019.
The NTS was conducted by computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI). All participants were aged 18 years and over. The questionnaire was designed by the Central Statistics Office in consultation with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTS), the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
Only travel within the island of Ireland, made by residents of the State, was included in the survey. While the NTS collected information on work-related travel for most occupations, it excluded the business-related travel of professional drivers (e.g. bus and taxi drivers) and other occupations where travel is integral to the role (e.g. postal delivery workers). It is important to note, when interpreting the figures and comparing them to other data sources, that the NTS journey purpose of 'work' includes both commuter and business travel.
Link to publication: National Travel Survey 2019
Interactive tables: Statbank
Over seven out of ten people (72.6%) made a journey on the travel reference day in 2019. Nearly four fifths (78.0%) of persons living in the South-East region took a trip on the travel reference day while over three quarters (76.5%) of Dubliners made a journey.
In 2019, of persons who took a trip on the travel reference day assigned to them, the average number of journeys taken on the travel reference day was 3.0. Weekdays were the busiest days, with the average number of journeys carried out on weekdays (Monday to Friday) being slightly higher than the average number of journeys taken at weekends (Saturday and Sunday). Tuesday and Wednesday were the busiest days, with an average of 3.3 journeys taken on those days.
In 2019, journeys by car accounted for 73.7% of all journeys – 64.9% where the respondent was the driver and 8.8% as a passenger in the car. Walking accounted for 13.5% of all journeys made while almost one in twenty (4.8%) were by bus.
Males were more likely than females to travel by car as driver. Nearly two thirds (65.7%) of all journeys taken by males were as driver, compared to 64.4% of females. Females were more likely than males to travel as a passenger in a private car – 11.8% of females compared to 4.7% of males. On the other hand, males were substantially more likely to travel by van (5.9%) compared with just 0.5% of females. Slightly more females than males chose to walk - 14.3% of females compared to 12.4% of males. Travel by rail and DART/Luas was largely similar for both males and females, while more females than males chose to travel by bus – 5.4% of females compared to 4.1% of males.
| Private car - driver | Private car - passenger | Walk/Cycle | Public transport incl bus, rail, DART and Luas | Lorry, motorcycle, other incl van and taxi/hackney | |
| Male | 65.7 | 4.7 | 15 | 6 | 8.4 |
| Female | 64.4 | 11.8 | 15 | 7.1 | 1.8 |
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 (20.0%) 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.
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. 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.
| 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 |
At an overall level, almost six in every ten journeys (58.7%) are 15 minutes or less in duration. Over one quarter (25.4%) take between a quarter of an hour and half an hour. Just 4.1% of all journeys are greater than an hour in duration.
Over six in every ten (61.7%) journeys taken by persons residing outside of Dublin took a quarter of an hour or less, compared to over half (51.7%) of trips taken by people living in Dublin. Almost three in every ten (29.6%) journeys taken by Dublin residents took 16 to 30 minutes, while one in ten (9.4%) took half an hour to three quarters of an hour in duration.
| 15 minutes or less | 16-30 minutes | 31-45 minutes | 46-60 minutes | >60 minutes | |
| Dublin | 51.7 | 29.6 | 9.4 | 5.2 | 4.1 |
| All regions excluding Dublin | 61.7 | 23.5 | 6.4 | 4.2 | 4.1 |
| All regions | 58.7 | 25.4 | 7.3 | 4.5 | 4.1 |
Almost half (48.5%) of respondents aged 18 years and over never use bus services, while one quarter (24.8%) use it less than monthly. One in every sixteen (6.3%) persons use the bus services very frequently, at least 5 times a week. Persons aged 18 to 24 years use the bus services most frequently – 36% of females and 33.6% of males in this age group use the bus services at least 5 times a week. At an overall level, one in twenty of over 18 year olds (4.7%) use the bus 3 to 4 times a week, and 8.5% use it less frequently, 1 to 2 times a week.
| All Persons | Males aged 18-24 | Females aged 18-24 | |
| 1 to 2 times a week | 8.5 | 10.3 | 11.3 |
| 3 to 4 times a week | 4.7 | 1.9 | 12.8 |
| At least 5 times a week | 6.3 | 33.6 | 36 |
| Less than weekly but more than once a month | 7.1 | 12.6 | 8.1 |
| Less than monthly | 24.8 | 15.5 | 15.8 |
| Never | 48.5 | 26 | 16 |
Over half (51.0%) of respondents aged 18 years and over never use rail services (including mainline rail, DART and Luas), while over one third (34.5%) use it less than monthly. Just 2.2% of persons use rail services very frequently, at least 5 times a week, while 7.3% of persons use rail services less than weekly but more than once a month. Males aged 18 to 24 years (7.2%) and females in the 25-34 age group (6.9%) use rail services most frequently, at least 5 times a week.
| All Persons | Males aged 18-24 | Females aged 25-34 | |
| 1 to 2 times a week | 3.3 | 5.1 | 1.8 |
| 3 to 4 times a week | 1.7 | 2.7 | 1.2 |
| At least 5 times a week | 2.2 | 7.2 | 6.9 |
| Less than weekly but more than once a month | 7.3 | 9 | 7.2 |
| Less than monthly | 34.5 | 33.7 | 30.3 |
| Never | 51 | 42.2 | 52.6 |
Over one fifth (22.8%) of persons aged over 18 years say that they never take a journey by foot, while 4.4% state that they take a journey by foot less than weekly but more than once a month, and 4.3% do so less than monthly. Over half of males (52.2%) aged 75 years and over never take a journey by foot.
For those who take a journey by foot more frequently, 38.5% of persons aged 18 years and over take a journey by foot at least 5 times a week, one in six (16.8%) do so 3 to 4 times a week and 13.2% 1 to 2 times a week.
The average distance that one walked on a typical journey by foot was 3.3km.
| All Persons | |
| 1 to 2 times a week | 13.2 |
| 3 to 4 times a week | 16.8 |
| At least 5 times a week | 38.5 |
| Less than weekly but more than once a month | 4.4 |
| Less than monthly | 4.3 |
| Never | 22.8 |
Respondents were asked if they take any journeys by bicycle and the frequency. Only 15% ever choose to take a journey by bicycle – 2.2% at least 5 times a week, while 1.8% do so 3 to 4 times a week and 2.8% 1 to 2 times a week. Only 2.1% of respondents said that they cycle less than weekly but more than once a month. One in sixteen (6.1%) take a journey by bicycle less than monthly.
The average distance of a typical journey by bicycle was 9.5km.
| Male | Female | |
| 18-24 years | 4.9 | 5.1 |
| 25-34 years | 9.1 | 9.4 |
| 35-44 years | 12.6 | 8.4 |
| 45-54 years | 10.7 | 9.3 |
| 55-64 years | 18 | 9.3 |
| 65-74 years | 10.2 | 7 |
| 75+ years | 13.6 | 5.7 |
Respondents were asked what factors would encourage them to cycle more in the future. Safer cycling routes was by far the most common factor cited (31.7%), followed by better health (20.5%) and more cycling specific routes (17.3%).
Of all respondents aged 18 years and over, 1.5% stated that they own an electric vehicle (EV). EV ownership is slightly higher in Dublin than in the rest of the country – 1.6% of persons residing in Dublin own an EV compared to 1.4% of individuals residing outside of Dublin. EV ownership was also marginally higher in densely populated and intermediate populated areas, where 1.6% of persons living in these areas owned an EV, compared to 1.3% of persons residing in thinly populated areas.
When purchasing their EV, better affordability to run was by far the most common influencing factor at 77.8%, followed by making more of a contribution to a better environment (71.8%). Improved health from use was a consideration for 41.9% of owners of EVs, while more availability of overnight charging at low cost and reduced noise pollution was a consideration for 35.8% and 17.2% respectively.
| Better affordability to run | Making more of a contribution to a better environment | Improved health from use | More availability of overnight charging at low cost | Reduced noise pollution | Toll discounts | Other | |
| Influencing factors | 77.8 | 71.8 | 41.9 | 35.8 | 17.2 | 1.6 | 12.5 |
Go to next chapter >>> Agriculture
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.