Motorcycle usage by gender: FOI release

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.


Information requested

I am currently carrying out my 4th year dissertation at University, looking into female motorcyclists in Scotland. It is clear based on other statistics, that generally speaking, women make up a minority of motorcyclists. However, there are no statistics which outline motorcycle usage based on gender/age etc. that I can find regarding Scotland. As part of my dissertation I am required to provide a rationale for my study and one of the most important parts of my rationale is women being the minority when it comes to motorcycling. I was wondering if any statistics are available on how many motorcycle users in Scotland are women.am currently carrying out my 4th year dissertation at University, looking into female motorcyclists in Scotland. It is clear based on other statistics, that generally speaking, women make up a minority of motorcyclists. However, there are no statistics which outline motorcycle usage based on gender/age etc. that I can find regarding Scotland. As part of my dissertation I am required to provide a rationale for my study and one of the most important parts of my rationale is women being the minority when it comes to motorcycling. I was wondering if any statistics are available on how many motorcycle users in Scotland are women.

Response

The only information we have on motorcycle usage based on gender and age comes from the Scottish Household Survey. The following table shows a breakdown of the number of journeys by gender and age for both passengers and riders. However, if you are looking for the number of women who own a motorcycle, I would suggest that you contact either the Department for Transport 'VEHICLES.STATS@dft.gov.uk' or DVLA who may be able to provide you with the information you need.

Percentage of journeys made by motorcycle as main mode1, adults aged 16+, 2015-19 (combined)

by gender:   95% confidence interval ( +/-)
Man/Boy 85 7
Woman/Girl 15 7
by age:    
16 to 29 18 7
30 to 49 31 9
50 to 69 33 9
70 and over 8 5
Sample size(2) 140  
1. Where a journey involves more than one mode of transport (e.g. a bus, then a train), the main mode is defined as the one used for the longest (in distance) stage.    
2. Sample size is rounded to the nearest 10    

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