Review of 2021 Census Topics

Response 117077073

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Topic name
Please include Powered Two-Wheelers (motorcycles) as a recognised form of transport for commuting to work rather than just a recreational vehicle

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Assessment Criteria 1

1. This topic is of current national importance.

National Importance
Many thousands of people commute to work using motorcycles or scooters, ie “powered two-wheelers”. The state of roads, methods of traffic control, design of safety barriers, medical research into road trauma, efforts to control congestion and pollution are all affected by the the composition of traffic and the proportion of various vehicles.

Assessment Criteria 2

2. There is a need for data from a Census of the whole population.

For whole population
The number and distribution of motorcycle commuters is important as it is a primary tool for combating road congestion. Currently many thousands of people are being overlooked in this regard.

Assessment Criteria 3

3. The topic can be accurately collected in a form which the household completes themselves.

Easy to answer
The topic can be answered with the addition of a single, unambiguous option to the question regarding how people commuted to work.

Assessment Criteria 4

4. The topic would be acceptable to Census respondents.

Acceptable
The question is whether a person used a motorcycle or scooter to commute to work. It is no more intrusive than asking if they used a bicycle, walked, used public transport, or drive a car, which are the other options in the same context.

Assessment Criteria 5

5. The topic can be collected efficiently.

Collected efficiently
The question itself will require one extra option be entered on the form. It will not represent any significant extra printing or any other costs.

Assessment Criteria 6

6. There is likely to be a continuing need for data on this topic in the following Census.

Continuing need
The proportion of what modes of transport people use is a repeating question over many years in the census. In that time this question has never been fully explored. As motorcycles and scooters become more popular forms of transport this question is likely to become more important in the future.

Assessment Criteria 7

7. There are no other alternative data sources or solutions that could meet the topic need.

No alternatives
This question currently goes unanswered. If there is no need to offer this option then the existing form of the question is also not needed. Since the data regarding transport methods obviously IS required for policy and legislative purposes it is only responsible to include the option that represents a significant proportion of the population but which has not been collected as yet. This has in effect lead to the previous years census data being corrupted at worst and incomplete at best.