ABSTRACT
Most people now have unprecedented levels of mobility, and with continuing increases in car ownership and income levels, this upward trend is likely to continue. This type of statement starts many a paper, but it only reveals part of the picture. Average figures conceal large and increasing differences within sections of the population, in particular the polarisation of those with their own means of transport and those without. Table 5.1 illustrates this ‘spectrum of mobility’ – overall travel distances in Britain have increased by 45 per cent since 1972/73 but the figures for the elderly and the young are about 60 per cent of the average. On the other hand, men travel 59 per cent above the average and women are on the average. Travel Characteristics for Different Age Groups in Britain https://www.niso.org/standards/z39-96/ns/oasis-exchange/table">
Age Group
Distance (km/week) 1975/76
Distance (km/week) 1989/91
% Increase
Young
(<16 yrs)
90 (–38%)
121 (–39%)
+35
Men
(16–59 yrs)
250 (+72%)
316 (+59%)
+26
Women
(16–59 yrs)
135 (–7%)
202 (+2%)
+50
Elderly
(>60 yrs)
85 (–41%)
122 (–39%)
+43
Overall
145
199
+37
Source: Department of Transport (1993)