Transport Ref EHT 006 Why is it important? Transport in County Durham County Durham’s transport network provides a vital role in terms of linking people to jobs, delivering products to market, providing access to key services and keeping our communities connected. Transport statistics are valuable as they help us to understand where transport investment should be targeted. Walking and Cycling Network Local travel options will continue to be promoted through ongoing improvements to the existing local cycle and footpath networks as well as the existing National Cycle Network and other promoted routes. Cycling Super Routes, Primary and Secondary routes which connect our major settlements are being identified in the Cycling Strategy and Action Plan 2017-27, as part of a long-term strategy to improve the cycling network. In order to promote sustainable travel, the Cycle Super Routes are a priority for investment, particularly those within 5 miles of Durham City. Bus Network Buses provide the only form of public transport in most parts of County Durham, with 23.61 million passenger journeys starting at bus stops in County Durham in 2015/16. There is an extensive network of services, with approximately 175 services in the main network plus additional services running only at school times. Over 3,000 bus stops are served. Most settlements have at least 2 buses per hour during Monday to Saturday daytimes, with much higher frequencies in the main towns and along many of the main inter-urban corridors. In the more rural areas, services run every hour or less often. All but the smallest settlements have regular services. However, the settlement pattern of large towns and 300 smaller settlements leads to dispersed travel patterns which are not always feasible to serve by public transport. Rail Network County Durham contains nine railway stations across four rail lines: Durham City and Chester-le-Street railway stations on the East Coast Mainline (ECML) Newton Aycliffe, Heighington, Shildon and Bishop Auckland stations on the Tees Valley Line Seaham on the Durham Coast Line2 Stanhope and Frosterley lying on the Weardale Railway Line. Sea Ports County Durham contains one operational port, located on the North Sea coast at the Port of Seaham. This provides international connectivity, allowing exports and imports of bulk traded goods. Highways Network The strategic road corridors in the county are the A1(M), A19 and the A66. These provide links to Tyne and Wear (to the north) and the Tees Valley (to the south), as well as providing access to the region’s airports - Newcastle International and Durham Tees Valley. The main links to Cumbria in the west are provided by the A66. The A68 and A1 provide links to the A69 east-west corridor, giving access to Cumbria and Northumberland for the northern part of the county. Durham data – the local picture and how we compare Journey To Work Data - Census 2011 Journeys to work form a major proportion of all journeys made in the morning and afternoon peak hours. They are the best indicator for assessing transport flows from Monday to Friday when most people are travelling to work. 1 Figure includes ‘Park and Ride’ boardings 2 A new station at Peterlee-Horden is proposed Table 1 - Mode Share Journey to Work (Census 2011) 75% of County Durham residents regularly use the car to travel to work, either as a driver or passenger and car ownership levels are growing (73% of all households in the county now own a car). As would be expected for a rural county, Durham has lower levels of sustainable transport use than the regional and national average - with 10% walking, 1% cycling, 6% on buses and 1% on rail. Table 1: Mode Share journey to work, 2011 Census All trips1 Driving On Bus, Passenger Work Metro Cycle Train Taxi Other a car foot minibus in car or mainly light or van or van at rail coach home County Durham 227,894 67.7 10.4 6.1 7.8 4.2 0.1 1.0 0.9 0.7 1.1 Northumberland 146,901 65.4 11.5 5.2 6.5 6.3 0.5 1.5 1.3 0.4 1.5 Tyne and Wear 493,371 55.8 10.2 13.5 6.6 3.0 2.0 2.0 1.2 0.7 1.4 North East 868,166 60.5 10.5 10.2 6.9 3.9 3.3 1.7 1.1 0.7 1.3 Combined Authority (NECA) England 25,162,721 57.0 10.7 7.5 5.0 5.4 4.1 3.0 5.3 0.5 1.4 Source: Office of National Statistics (Nomis) 1All usual residents aged 16 to 74 and in employment Table 2 - Distance Travelled to Work (Census 2011) 46.7% of all residents travel less than 10km to work in County Durham compared to over 65% in Tyne and Wear. This reflects the rural nature of the County, with residents having to travel further to access job opportunities. Relative to regional and national figures, a higher proportion of residents in County Durham travel distances greater than 20km and 30km. The majority of employed residents within NECA and England as a whole travel less than 10km to work. Within Tyne and Wear, residents have better access to a more comprehensive public transport system. In addition, parking will be less plentiful / more expensive in parts of Tyne and Wear. Table 2: Distance travelled to Work, 2011 Census All Less Less Less 10km to 20km to 30km Work Other Categories1 than than 5km than less than less than and mainly at (%) 2km (%) (%) 10km 20km (%) 30km (%) over home (%) (%) (%) County Durham 227,894 16.1 30.0 46.7 22.5 8.7 6.5 9.1 6.6 Northumberland 146,901 17.7 27.5 40.8 20.6 8.8 10.5 12.2 7.1 Tyne and Wear 493,371 17.6 42.5 65.1 14.5 2.3 4.2 6.8 7.1 NECA 868,166 17.2 36.7 56.2 17.6 5.1 5.9 8.3 6.9 England 25,162,721 16.6 35.0 52.3 15.3 5.7 8.0 10.3 8.5 Source: Office of National Statistics (Nomis) 1All usual residents aged 16 to 74 and in employment Table 3 – Bus Patronage Nationally and locally, the number of passenger journeys on local bus services has been in long term decline since bus de-regulation in the 1980’s. Data below show a steady decline in bus patronage in all parts of the North East and England. Table 3: Passenger journeys on local bus services from 2009/10 (millions) 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 County Durham3 26.3 25.9 24.7 23.1 23.2 22.8 22.1 Tyne and Wear 129.9 129.3 127.6 123.5 121.8 120.1 116.9 North East 207.2 205.6 198.6 190.4 188.3 184.9 180.1 England 4,635.1 4,641.1 4,661.8 4,590.0 4,674.1 4,647.4 4529.6 Source: Table BUS0109a, DfT, Bus Local bus passenger journeys, 2016 3 Excludes approximately 1.1 to 1.2 million ‘Park and Ride’ journeys Table 4 - Bus Punctuality In terms of punctuality, in 2015/16, 89% of all bus journeys in County Durham are no more than 1 minute early or 5 minutes late. This compares well with regional and national figures, although there has been a decline in punctuality since 2009. Table 4: - Non-frequent bus services running on time4 by local authority: England, annual from 2004/05 – Bus 0902 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 County 95.0 95.3 - 88.0 89.0 86.0 88.0 89.0 Durham5 Tyne and 83.6 - 76.0 91.0 87.0 87.0 89.0 88.0 Wear North East 83.3 80.6 79.8 86.2 83.8 83.7 85.6 87.2 England 79.4 79.8 79.8 81.4 82.8 83.1 83.1 82.9 Source: Department of Transport (DfT), Proportion of bus services running on time – Table BUS0902 Table 5 – Concessionary Bus Travel Overall numbers travelling using concessionary fares have reduced but, in terms of percentage, when compared to passengers paying full fares there has been an increase in County Durham in 2015/16 – 43% of all passenger journeys were concessionary journeys compared to 40% in 2009/10. When compared with figures for England, County Durham has almost double the percentage of concessionary passengers. Table 5: Elderly and disabled concessionary passengers on local bus journeys from 2009/10 (millions) and % in brackets 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 County Durham 10.5 (40) 10.2 (39) 10.4 (42) 9.9 (43) 10.0 (43) 9.9 (43) 9.5 (43) Tyne and Wear 43.5 (33) 43.3 (33) 43.2 (34) 41.2 (33) 41.2 (34) 40.1 (33) 38.3 (33) North East 75.2 (36) 74.3 (36) 73.5 (37) 69.5 (36) 69.9 (37) 67.8 (37) 65.6 (36) England 1,053 (23) 1,051 (23) 1,065 (23) 1,026 (22) 1,045 (22 1,037 (22) 1,005 (22) Source: Table BUS0113, DfT, Bus Local bus passenger journeys, 2016 Council spending on public transport in recent years has been significant.