1. The charts below show reasons for travel
and the main issues for the travelling public
in the US in 2009.
The bar chart and pie chart give information
about why US residents travelled and what
travel problems they experienced in the year
2009.
It is clear that the principal reason why
Americans travelled in 2009 was to commute
to and from work. In the same year, the primary
concern of Americans, with regard to the trips
they made, was the cost of travelling.
Looking more closely at the bar chart, we can
see that 49% of the trips made by Americans
in 2009 were for the purpose of commuting.
By contrast, only 6% of trips were visits to
friends or relatives, and one in ten trips were
for social or recreation reasons. Shopping was
cited as the reason for 16% of all travel, while
unspecific 'personal reasons' accounted for the
remaining 19%.
According to the pie chart, price was the key
consideration for 36% of American travellers.
Almost one in five people cited safety as their
foremost travel concern, while aggressive
driving and highway congestion were the main
issues for 17% and 14% of the travelling public.
Finally, a total of 14% of those surveyed thought
that acess to public transport or space for
pedestrians were the most important travel issues.
(201 words, band 9)