Transport aids mainly used for shopping

One in a thousand outdoor journeys is undertaken with the aid of an electric invalid cart, an electric wheelchair, a wheeled Zimmer frame or a wheelchair. These special transport aids for people with a mobile handicap are mainly used for relatively short distances: going to the shops (47 percent), going out for a drive or a walk (17 percent) or to travel to a recreational destination (16 percent). They are hardly used for travel to work or school.

Journeys with the aid of transport aids by motive, 1999–2001

Average journey time 17 minutes

Nearly forty percent of the total journey time of people using transport aids in traffic is spent on going to the shops. One quarter of the total time is spent on driving around or going for a walk. Visits to the post office or hairdresser’s account for ten percent of total journey time, and another ten percent is spent on travelling to sports or leisure activities. The average journey time for people going out with a transport aid is 17 minutes.

Journey time with transport aids by motive, 1999–2001

Short distances: two kilometres on average

The average distance covered by people using a transport aid on the public roads is two kilometres. This implies that these aids are mostly used for journeys quite close to home.
The longest distances travelled (six kilometres) are to and from school and work Journeys to recreational destinations are on average three kilometres, and people using transport aids to go out for a drive or a walk travel just over two kilometres on average. For shopping and visiting friends and neighbours, the average is just under two kilometres.

Average journey distance with transport aids, 1999–2001

Hermine Molnár