The data cleaning process reduced the initial number of responses to a total of 1,799 responses comprising of 956 males and 653 females (59.4% and 40.6% respectively, of those indicating their gender). 190 did not provide details of their gender. This compares to the 2013 United Kingdom gender figure for those over 18 years of age, of 49.3% males and 50.7% females. Thus, the population sample for this research over- represents males, and under-represents females compared to the 2013 population statistics.
1,613 respondents provided details their age category; these are shown in Figure 3.6, compared with the total adult population of the United Kingdom in 2013 (Office for National Statistics, 2013). It is possible that the smaller number of responses in the 18- 25 category is due to this being a smaller age range (seven years rather than nine), whilst the small number of responses in the upper age categories (66-75 and 75+) may be due to the questionnaire being administered online.
Figure 3.6: Questionnaire respondents by age category
0 5 10 15 20 25 18 to 25 years 26 to 35 years 36 to 45 years 46 to 55 years 56 to 65 years 66 to 75 years 76 years or above
Percentage of population in each age group
Age gr ou p UK Population (2013) Questionnaire sample
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Figure 3.7 shows the age categories split by gender; it can be seen that the male group is larger in almost all cases, which can be explained by the earlier gender imbalance.
Figure 3.7: Population pyramid of age categories split by gender
By comparison, the 2013 UK adult population statistics (Office for National Statistics, 2013) indicate a more even distribution between the genders in each of the age categories (Figure 3.8).
Figure 3.8 2013 UK adult population by age group, split by gender. Source: Office for National Statistics (2013)
250 200 150 100 50 0 50 100 150 200 250 18 to 25 years 26 to 35 years 36 to 45 years 46 to 55 years 56 to 65 years 66 to 75 years 76 years or above Number of respondents Age G rou p Male Female 5 4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 18 to 25 years 26 to 35 years 36 to 45 years 46 to 55 years 56 to 65 years 66 to 75 years 76 years or above Population in millions Age G rou p Male Female
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There is a larger proportion of males compared to females except for 26 to 35 years. The older age groups have the greatest gender imbalance, with a significantly larger percentage of females compared to males, which contrasts with the more balanced gender percentages in the 2013 UK overall statistics. Table 3.10 demonstrates the differences between the 2013 UK statistics and the population sample are larger for the eldest age groups. There are substantial differences between all of the groups, with the 36 to 45 years old age group being closest to a representative sample with a difference of 5% compared with the UK population statistics.
Thus, the sample of respondents for the questionnaire are not representative of the 2013 UK adult population in terms of gender balance in each age category.
1,593 responses to the occupation question were obtained and coded using the modified JICNARS classification described earlier in section 3.4.2. The sample for the National Readership Survey of 2010 with the division of occupations into the six JICNARS classifications can be seen in Figure 3.9. The Upper managerial professional occupations comprised the smallest percentage of the total UK population, while the largest groups are the Middle and Junior managerial along with the skilled manual workers.
Table 3.10: Percentage of sample and 2013 UK adult population per age group, split by gender
Age group Males (%) Females (%)
UK Sample Dif. UK Sample Dif.
18 to 25 years 52 67 +15 48 33 -15 26 to 35 years 51 43 -8 49 57 +8 36 to 45 years 50 55 +5 50 45 -5 46 to 55 years 49 60 +11 51 40 -11 56 to 65 years 49 68 +19 51 32 -19 66 to 75 years 48 75 +27 52 25 -27 76 years or above 44 93 +49 56 7 -49
Notes: UK population statistics from Office for National Statistics (2013) Dif = Difference between sample and UK total population
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Figure 3.9: Social grade data from the National Readership Survey 2010 Source: National Readership Survey (2010)
It should be noted that as the occupation classifications used in this thesis are a modified version of the National Readership Survey economic classifications, by including students, retired and those not employed, a direct comparison of representativeness is not possible. It should also be noted that these statistics do not relate to rail users. However, the questionnaire was not targeted at rail users, and therefore the sample of responses to the questionnaire did not necessarily represent rail users.
As Figure 3.10 indicates, the largest group of respondents were in the middle managerial and professional classification (B) with this group comprising approximately 50% of the responses. Respondents in the C2 and D categories (Skilled and unskilled manual workers) were few in number, and were therefore combined into a single manual category (C2/D). There were no respondents in the E category, a substantial over-representation of Middle managerial and professional occupations (B), and also a considerable under-representation of C2/D occupations (4% in the sample compared to 36% in the National Readership Survey).
4% 22% 30% 21% 15% 8%
A Upper managerial and professional
B Middle managerial and professional
C1 Junior Managerial and Clerical
C2 Skilled manual workers D Semi-skilled and unskilled workers
106 7% 50% 14% 4% 11% 13%
1% A Upper Managerial and
professional
B Middle Managerial and professional
C1 Junior Managerial and clerical
C2/D Manual occupations Students
Retired Not employed Figure 3.10: Classification of respondents by profession / occupation
Due to these differences, the sample population cannot be considered representative of the national population in terms of occupation. This may be due to the online distribution method employed, where those in more professional occupations may have more regular access to the internet compared to those in the manual occupations. The findings of this research should consider this occupation imbalance.
Respondents were asked the month and year of their most recent long distance trip by rail. 60.6% of 1,090 responses indicated a completed long distance rail trip in the first half of 2012 (note that the data collection period concluded in mid-2012). A further 20.8% had completed long distance rail trips in 2011, and 5.4% had made their most recent long distance trip by rail in 2010. Responses indicating the most recent long distance rail trip in each of the years before 2008 comprised less than 1% of the total for each year. Those that had made their most recent long distance trip by rail prior to 2008 comprised 9.8% of all responses, with the earliest trip being made in 1975.
For commuting patterns, 100 out of 1,654 respondents indicated that they commuted long distance by rail on a daily basis, being 6% of the total. Thus, most respondents do not commute long distance by rail daily; a differentiation can therefore be made between these travellers and those that travel by rail less frequently. Long distance weekly air commuting was confirmed by 8 respondents (0.4% of the total), indicating this is small part of the long distance travel market.
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Only 674 respondents indicated that they had a railcard or travel discount for use on railways being 45.2% of those that answered the question but only 37.5% of the whole sample. Of the 674 respondents, 596 had one railcard, 72 had two, 4 had three railcards and 1 respondent possessed four railcards. Approximately one third of the questionnaire participants possessed a rail discount, of which the vast majority had one.
Responses were received from regions across Great Britain (see Appendix B). Figure 3.11 shows the number of respondents from each region of Britain. The largest regions by number of respondents were; the South East of England, London, and the North East of England. There were fewer respondents from the West Midlands and from Wales in particular. However, over 100 responses were received from most regions.
Figure 3.11: Number of respondents by region of Great Britain