Guidance

Walking and cycling statistics, England: Active travel data sources

Published 28 August 2024

Applies to England

Which data source should I use?

There are many data sources covering active travel in England. Each data source differs in the methodology and definitions used and are not directly comparable. This is why it is important to make sure you are using the right data source to meet your needs. The data sources are not designed to understand changes in individual active travel schemes in local areas and alternative data sources should be used for these purposes.

Some key uses of the data include:

• describing patterns in walking and cycling and how these compare against other modes of transport
• monitoring trends in targets and objectives
• contributing to evaluation of walking and cycling policies

Overview of walking and cycling statistics data sources

Infographic 1: Overview of walking and cycling statistics data sources

Infographic 1 illustrates how walking and cycling statistics are gathered through:

• the National Travel Survey to understand how people travel

• the Active Lives Survey to understand participation in physical activity

• traffic sensors to understand the levels of cycling traffic on or next to the road

Further details on these data sources are provided below.

National Travel Survey (NTS)

The NTS is an annual survey of a sample population of England residents travelling within Great Britain whereby individuals record information about their trips within a 7-day travel diary.

It is administered by the Department for Transport (DfT) and provides information on travel patterns, modes of transportation used, journey purposes, and other personal travel data. It uses a survey and a personal travel diary to measure activity (for example trips and stages) per person in the sample. It covers walking, wheeling and cycling.

The NTS is currently used to:

• understand trips, stages and miles travelled per mode
• understand reasons behind personal travel
• monitor progress against active travel policies
• investigate demographic breakdowns across different modes
• compare against other modes of transport

Active Lives Survey (ALS)

The Active Lives Survey (ALS) is an annual survey administered by Sport England and is used to derive estimates of participation in sports and physical activity (including walking, wheeling, and cycling) by adults to meet guidelines on doing 150 minutes, or more, of moderate-intensity physical activity a week. It is published as the proportion of adults in England.

The ALS is currently used to:

• analyse the proportion of adults walking and cycling by purpose and frequency, at a local authority level
• understand the differences in walking and cycling levels of adults between demographics

Cycling Traffic Index

The cycling traffic index does not form part of any trends or statistics in this publication. DfT traffic estimates cover the number of vehicle miles travelled by different vehicle types, including pedal cycles on or next to road networks in Great Britain. They are compiled using data from roadside manual counts, continuous data from automatic traffic counters, and data on road lengths. The cycling traffic index publication covers England only and is derived from DfT-owned automatic traffic counters in England. They do not include any data on walking.

The cycling traffic index is currently used to:

• investigate monthly-level changes in cycling traffic
• compare against motor vehicle traffic
• understand long-term changes in cycling traffic

Why might there be differences in trends between sources?

Differences in methodologies and definitions between data sources mean that care should be taken not to make direct comparisons between different data series. All sources are correct and help us understand different aspects of trends in active travel.

There are a few key reasons why we might see differences in trends.

Differences in methodology used to collect data:

1. The NTS and ALS are national surveys of a sample of households in England. Data from both surveys are weighted to be representative of the population.

2. Traffic statistics are collected by a sample of automatic and manual traffic counters and are designed to be representative of the road network in Great Britain.

Further details on the methodologies used to collect data for the NTS and ALS can be found in our background quality report, the cycling traffic index publication and the annual road traffic methodology note.

Differences in definitions

Definitions used by each data source may differ when referring to walking and cycling activities. Detailed breakdowns of the definitions used for each survey in this publication can be found in the technical notes and definitions.

Differences in scope

The NTS does not include any travel by people living in communal establishments (for example, student halls). It also does not include travel by anyone who is not a resident in England (for example, tourists). Since traffic counters are not based on demographics, they would include cycle use from both groups.

The ALS covers adults only (those aged 16 and over), whereas the NTS and the traffic cover all ages.

Margins of error

All data collections and surveys are subject to margins of error related to the collection method and sample used to derive final estimates. Whilst the margins of error for the NTS are not routinely quantified, they were estimated to be around 2% to 3% for headline indicators.

Traffic estimates and the ALS will have their own margins of error, which may differ from the NTS. Therefore, small differences and changes in estimates should be interpreted carefully as they may fall within the margins of error of the survey.

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Contact details

Walking and cycling statistics

Email activetravel.stats@dft.gov.uk

Media enquiries 0300 7777 878

To hear more about DfT statistical publications as they are released, follow us on X at DfTstats.