Car still most popular form of transport

MORE than half of all journeys in Scotland were made by car last year, despite attempts to encourage more people to use public transport.

New figures released by the Scottish Government showed that 51 per cent of trips were done by car in 2009, roughly in line with previous years.

Around one in five journeys was on foot, while just over a tenth were on public transport.

The figures also showed that the average number of occupants per car was just 1.6, similar to recent years, and that just 13 per cent of car journeys had three or more occupants.

Eleven per cent of drivers experienced traffic congestion in 2009, lower than 2008 but similar to levels in 2003.

Edinburgh has some of the most ambitious targets for active travel in Europe after signing up to the Charter of Brussels, which aims for 15 per cent of all journeys to be by bike by 2020.