The provided bar chart elucidates the passenger kilometres travelled by various modes of transport in the United Kingdom for the years 1990 and 2000, quantified in billions.
Overall, the data reveals a significant increase in passenger kilometres across most transportation modes, except for bicycles, which maintained a consistent low level. Buses and rail emerged as the predominant modes of transport during this period.
In 1990, air travel recorded approximately 25 billion kilometres, which remarkably surged to nearly 45 billion kilometres by 2000, reflecting a doubling in usage. Buses demonstrated substantial growth as well, rising from around 40 billion kilometres in 1990 to approximately 80 billion kilometres in 2000, which is one of the highest increments observed. Rail travel also experienced a notable increase, escalating from just over 20 billion kilometres to roughly 30 billion kilometres in the same period. Conversely, while the overall trend for motorbike usage slightly improved from approximately 20 billion kilometres to just above 20 billion kilometres, its growth was marginal compared to the more substantial increases seen in air, bus, and rail travel.
In stark contrast, the bicycle category showed no change, remaining at nearly 5 billion kilometres for both years, indicating a stagnation in its popularity as a mode of transport. It is noteworthy that the motorbike was slightly more favoured by users, maintaining a travel distance of approximately 20 billion kilometres, consistently about 2 billion kilometres more than bicycles. The total passenger kilometres for all modes collectively increased from close to 100 billion kilometres in 1990 to just over 110 billion kilometres in 2000, demonstrating a marked rise in the overall usage of public and private means of transport.