A travel to work area (TTWA) is a statistical tool used by UK Government agencies and local authorities, especially by the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentres, to indicate an area where the population would generally commute to a larger town, city or conurbation for the purposes of employment.
Significance
As a measure based on urban areas and their commuter hinterland they are a form of metropolitan area, though as methods of calculation differ they cannot directly be compared with other specific measurements such as metropolitan statistical areas in the United States.
TTWAs have no legal status. However, they give planners and geographers an alternate view of urban life as their boundaries are tied not to arbitrary administrative limits but socio-economic ties. Having an idea of where people commute from for work is particularly useful for public transport planning.
Definition Travel to work areas are defined by the Office for National Statistics using census data for commuting between wards, based on the different locations of individuals' home and work addresses.
A travel to work area is a collection of wards for which "of the resident economically active population, at least 75% actually work in the area, and also, that of everyone working in the area, at least 75% actually live in the area". This definition does not produce a unique set of region boundaries. The algorithm was developed by Newcastle University, with the following guidelines: Maximise the number of TTWAs and reduce the size of the largest TTWAs. According to these measures, there were 243 TTWAs within the United Kingdom in 2007.Beginners' guide to UK geography - Travel to Work Areas (TTWAs) Office for National Statistics
2007 The 243 TTWAs were:
Aberdeen Aberystwyth & Lampeter Andover Ashford Ayr & Kilmarnock Badenoch Ballymena Banbury Banff Bangor, Caernarfon & Llangefni Barnsley Barnstaple Barrow-in-Furness Basingstoke Bath Bedford Belfast Berwick Bideford Birmingham Bishop Auckland & Barnard Castle Blackburn Blackpool Bolton Boston Bournemouth Bradford Brecon Bridgend Bridgwater Bridlington & Driffield Bridport & Lyme Regis Brighton Bristol Bude & Holsworthy Burnley, Nelson & Colne Burton upon Trent Bury St Edmunds Buxton Calderdale Cambridge Campbeltown Canterbury Cardiff Cardigan Carlisle Carmarthen & Llandovery Chelmsford & Braintree Cheltenham & Evesham Chester & Flint Chesterfield Chichester & Bognor Regis Clacton Colchester Coleraine Coventry Craigavon Craven Crawley Crewe & Northwich Cromer & Sheringham Darlington Derby Derry Dolgellau & Barmouth Doncaster Dorchester & Weymouth Dornoch & Lairg Dover Dudley & Sandwell Dumbarton Dumfries & Annan Dundee Dunfermline Dungannon Dunoon & Bute Eastbourne Ebbw Vale & Abergavenny Edinburgh Eilean Siar Enniskillen Exeter & Newton Abbot Falkirk Falmouth & Helston Folkestone Forfar & Montrose Fraserburgh Galashiels & Peebles Glasgow Gloucester Grantham Great Yarmouth Greenock Grimsby Guildford & Aldershot Harlow & Bishop's Stortford Harrogate & Ripon Hartlepool Hastings Haverfordwest & Fishguard Hawes & Leyburn Hawick Hereford & Leominster Hexham & Haltwhistle Holyhead Honiton & Axminster Huddersfield Hull Huntingdon Invergordon Inverness & Dingwall Ipswich Irvine & Arran Isle of Wight Kelso & Jedburgh Kendal Kettering & Corby Kidderminster King's Lynn & Fakenham Kingsbridge & Dartmouth Kirkcaldy & Glenrothes Kirkcudbright Lanarkshire Lancaster & Morecambe Launceston Leeds Leicester Lincoln Liverpool Livingston & Bathgate Llandrindod Wells & Builth Wells Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Lochaber Lochgilphead London Louth & Horncastle Lowestoft & Beccles Ludlow Luton & Watford Machynlleth & Tywyn Maidstone & North Kent Malton & Pickering Manchester Mansfield Margate, Ramsgate & Sandwich Matlock Merthyr Tydfil & Aberdare Middlesbrough & Stockton Mid Ulster Milton Keynes & Aylesbury Minehead Monmouth & Cinderford Moray Morpeth, Ashington & Alnwick Mull & Islay Newbury Newcastle & Durham Newport & Cwmbran Newry Newton Stewart & Wigtown Newtown & Welshpool Northallerton & Thirsk Northampton & Wellingborough Norwich Nottingham Oban Okehampton Omagh Orkney Islands Oswestry Oxford Paignton & Totnes Pembroke & Tenby Penrith & Appleby Penzance & Isles of Scilly Perth & Blairgowrie Peterborough Peterhead Pitlochry Plymouth Poole Porthmadog & Ffestiniog Portsmouth Preston Pwllheli Reading & Bracknell Rhyl & Denbigh Richmond & Catterick Rochdale & Oldham Rugby Salisbury Scarborough Scunthorpe Shaftesbury & Blandford Forum Sheffield & Rotherham Shetland Islands Shrewsbury Skegness Skye & Lochalsh South Holland Southampton Southend & Brentwood St Andrews & Cupar St Austell Stafford Stevenage Stirling & Alloa Stoke-on-Trent Strabane Stranraer Sunderland Swansea Bay Swindon Taunton Telford & Bridgnorth Thetford & Mildenhall Thurso Tiverton Torquay Trowbridge & Warminster Truro, Redruth & Camborne Tunbridge Wells Ullapool & Gairloch Wadebridge Wakefield & Castleford Walsall & Cannock Warrington & Wigan Warwick & Stratford-upon-Avon Wells & Shepton Mallet Whitby Whitehaven Wick Wirral & Ellesmere Port Wisbech Wolverhampton Worcester & Malvern Workington & Keswick Worksop & Retford Worthing Wrexham & Whitchurch Wycombe & Slough Yeovil & Chard York
2011 The TTWAs were recalculated from 2011 census data. There are now 228 areas as follows:
The State of the Cities Travel to work areas were selected to approximate city regions as one of the main units of comparison used by the 2006 State of the English Cities report and database, commissioned and maintained by the Communities and Local Government department of the UK Government.Robinson, Phillipa "And city regions......", State of the Cities Database, Presentation to North East Regional Information Partnership
This has greatly increased the amount of information available about travel to work areas, although the State of the Cities only publishes data for the 56 travel to work areas based around primary urban areas in England. Travel to work areas in Scotland and Wales and those covering only rural areas are not included.- State of the Cities - Making sense of cities - Travel to work areas (TTWAs) Department for Communities and Local Government
To increase the range of statistics available the State of the Cities also publishes data for travel to work areas approximated to local authority boundaries. These areas can differ considerably from the more accurate ward-based areas.Robinson, Phillipa "Presenting Statistics on UK Geographies", State of the Cities Database, Presentation to North East Regional Information Partnership
See also Commuting zone Daily urban system Housing Market Area, a related concept in the UK Metropolitan area, a more general concept of a travel to work area Primary urban area
References
External links Map of UK TTWAs: Interactive Map