Commuting: More people drove to work in 2002 by car than in previous years, and it was the principal means of travel for Irish workers.
People also travelled further to work, particularly those based in rural areas who travelled twice as far as they did before.
As illustrated in the map, a significant proportion of workers living in the hinterlands of major cities faced journeys of 20 miles or more to work. On average, workers travelled on average 9.8 miles from home to work in 2002, up on 6.7 miles six years earlier. Rural-based workers travelled over twice as far to work in 2002 than they did in 1981.
Just over 55 per cent of workers drove to work, up from 46 per cent six years before. Taken in combination with workers who travelled as car passengers or drove vans or lorries to work, this meant that two out of three workers used private vehicles to get to work in 2002.
In contrast, the number of people using public transport - buses and trains - to get to work fell slightly from 9.3 per cent in 1996 to 8.8 per cent last year.
Bicycle use declined from 3.6 per cent in 1996 to 2.1 per cent last year. The number of people walking to work dropped by just 0.1 per cent in the same period.
The average journey time to work was 27 minutes in April 2002. Even though urban workers travelled shorter distances than those in rural areas, traffic congestion meant they spent longer commuting.
More than half of primary schoolchildren were driven to school by car in 2002. A quarter walked while less than one in five used the bus. The proportion of primary schoolchildren walking to school declined from 47.3 per cent in 1981 to 26 per cent in 2002. During the same period those children being driven to school increased from 19.7 per cent to 50.3 per cent with most of the increase occurring since 1991.
Average distances travelled by primary schoolchildren were stable between 1981 and 1991 but have since increased slightly. Most children attended schools situated close to their homes and they spent an average of 12 minutes making the journey.
The most popular means of transport for secondary students was the bus, at 37.5 per cent, while 27.8 per cent were driven to school. Third-level students mainly walked to college at 37.5 per cent while 27.3 per cent went by bus. Nearly 15 per cent of third-level students drove to college.