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National Travel Survey 2021: Trips by purpose, age and sex

Published 31 August 2022

Applies to England

About this release

The National Travel Survey (NTS) is a household survey of personal travel by residents of England travelling within Great Britain, from data collected via interviews and a seven-day travel diary, which enables analysis of patterns and trends. This release covers the main findings from these travel behaviours during 2021. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic from March 2020, has had a substantial impact on travel trends in 2020 and 2021 and has affected the operation of this survey.

Fieldwork for the NTS 2021 survey continued to be impacted by the coronavirus restrictions from March 2020, with data collection combining the approach used in 2020 with interviews being conducted via telephone (push-to-telephone approach) instead of face-to-face, and to increase response rates, doorstep recruitment by trained interviewers with interviews being conducted over the telephone (knock-to-nudge approach).

Response rates to the survey in 2021 were halfway between 2019 levels (14,356 individuals) and 2020 levels (6,239 individuals) with 9,971 individuals participating in the survey, an increase of 60% compared to 2020, but a decrease of 31% compared to 2019. Consequently, caution is needed when interpreting these results for 2020 and 2021 as they are likely to be less representative of residents of England compared to previous years. Please see our technical note for more details.

Trends in trips and miles travelled by purpose

Chart 23: Trips per person per year by selected purposes: England, 2002 to 2021 (NTS0403)

During 2021, fewer pandemic-related restrictions were placed on personal travel, and patterns of travel started to return towards pre-pandemic trends. There was an increase in trip rates (average trips per person) for many purposes compared to 2020, however, day trips and ‘other including just walk’ trips decreased from their all-time high in 2020, as trips for the purposes of commuting, education, personal business and visiting friends at home increased.

The most common trip purpose in 2021 was for shopping, however, there were fewer trips for this purpose in 2021 compared to earlier years. There were 133 shopping trips per person in 2021, a 6% decrease compared to 2020 (141 trips per person) and a decrease of 26% compared to 2019 (181 trips per person).

Although day trips and other including just walk trips decreased in 2021 compared to 2020, the levels remain higher than pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019. From 2002 to 2019, day trips increased very slightly from 23 trips per person to 32 trips per person, followed by a large increase in 2020 to 45 trips per person, and dropping to 36 trips per person in 2021. Other including just walk was the second most common trip purpose in 2021. From 2002 to 2019, these types of trip had shown a gradual increase from 41 to 61 trips per person, followed by a sharp increase in 2020 to 114 trips per person, then a decrease in 2021 to 106 trips per person (a decrease of 7% compared to 2020, however, an increase of 74% compared to 2019).

Commuting was the third most common trip purpose in 2021 with 100 trips per person, a 9% increase compared to 2020 (91 trips per person) but 29% less than in 2019 (140 trips per person). This could reflect the increase in working from home and hybrid working during this time. There was an increase in education trips in 2021 to 50 trips per person, a 10% increase on 2020 (46 trips per person), however, 25% less than in 2019 (68 trips per person).

Day trips and other including just walk trips

Day trips include trips for pleasure (not otherwise classified as social or entertainment) within a single day and other including just walk trips include walking trips for pleasure or exercise along public highways, including taking the dog for a walk and jogging.

Chart 24: Miles travelled per person per year by selected purposes: England, 2002 to 2021 (NTS0403)

There were similar trends observed in average miles travelled as average number of trips by trip purpose in 2021. The longest distance travelled was for commuting with 817 miles per person in 2021, similar to levels observed in 2020 (799 miles per person), however, 36% less than levels in 2019 (1,276 miles per person). The second largest distance travelled on average was for the purpose of visiting friends at home, with 695 miles per person in 2021, an increase of 3% compared to 2020 (674 miles per person), but 20% less than in 2019 (872 miles per person). Average miles travelled for education increased in 2021 to 142 miles per person, an increase of 17% compared to 2020 (121 miles per person), but this was a decrease of 32% compared to 2019 (210 miles per person).

Average miles travelled for day trips decreased the most, by 22% to 379 miles per person in 2021 compared to 488 miles per person in 2020, this is also a decrease of 13% compared to 2019 (435 miles per person). Miles travelled for other including just walk trips was at an all-time high in 2020 with 125 miles per person, this has since decreased to 111 miles per person in 2021, which was a decrease of 11% compared to 2020. However, this remains 91% higher than levels seen in 2019 (58 miles per person).

The third longest distance travelled was for shopping with 466 miles per person in 2021, this is a decrease of 10% compared to 2020 (520 miles per person), and a decrease of 33% compared to 2019 (700 miles per person).

The largest decrease in average miles travelled in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019 was for the purpose of business which includes personal trips in the course of work and includes all work trips by people with no usual place of work (for example, site workers) and those who work at or from home. Average distance travelled for business trips decreased by 63% compared to 2019 to 204 miles per person in 2021, this was also a decrease of 19% compared to 2020 (253 miles per person).

Trends in trips by sex and age

Chart 25: Average trips made, and miles travelled per person per year by sex: England, 2021 (NTS0601)

In 2021, males made 9% fewer trips (719 trips per person) than females (793 trips per person) but travelled 14% further (4,609 miles per person by males, as opposed to 4,055 miles per person by females). This partly reflects differences in the type of trips made and the mode of travel used, with males making fewer trips but travelling longer distances by car (14% more miles on average), more trips and travelling further by cycling (308% more miles on average or 4 times more) and shorter and fewer trips by walking (7% less miles on average) than females in 2021. Females made more shopping trips which tend to be relatively short, whereas males made more commuting and business trips which tend to be longer.

Chart 26: Proportion of trips per person per year, by sex, age and mode: England, 2021 (NTS0601)

In 2021, the majority of trips made by males and females were by car, which accounted for more than half of trips by males and females of all ages, except for 17 to 20 year olds (42% for males and 49% for females). The proportion of trips made by males as car drivers was greater than that of females for all age groups apart from those aged 17 to 20 where the proportion is the same. This may reflect differences in access to cars as well as different trip purposes. The proportion of trips made by walking was greater for females than for males, apart from those aged 17 to 20 where the proportion of walking trips for males was 34% compared to 24% for females, and the age group 40 to 49 where the proportion of walking trips for males was 33% compared to 32% by females. For both males and females, those aged 0 to 16 had the highest proportion of walking trips, with 34% and 38% respectively, both higher than the overall average. The proportion of trips made by bus was highest for the 17 to 20 years age group for both males and females, with 9% and 15% respectively.

Chart 27: Proportion of trips per person per year, by sex, age, and purpose: England, 2021 (NTS0611)

The reasons why people travel differ for males and females of different ages. In 2021, the largest proportion of trips were for shopping, with 17% of trips being for shopping purposes by males and 18% by females. For both males and females, people aged 70+ completed the most shopping trips and this is the age group where the highest proportion of their trips was for the purpose of shopping, with 34% of trips by males and 32% of trips by females.

The proportion of trips for commuting was greater for males than for females in 2021, with the age group of 21 to 29 showing the highest proportion of trips for this purpose for both males and females with 30% and 23% respectively. The proportion of trips for commuting was similar to the proportion of trips for shopping by males, but for females, lower than the proportion of shopping and other including just walk.

In 2021, the second largest proportion of trips for females was for the purpose of other including just walk with 15% of trips being for this purpose. This purpose was the third largest for males (with commuting being the second largest), with 13% of trips being for this purpose. The age group of 70+ had shown the highest proportion of trips being for this purpose for both males and females with 16% and 19% respectively.

Amongst those aged 0 to 16, the highest proportion of trips was for education, at 34% for both males and females. For both males and females aged 17 to 20, 18% of trips were for education purposes.

Background information

The 2021 National Travel Survey (NTS) is the latest in a series of household surveys of personal travel by residents of England travelling within Great Britain, from data collected via interviews and a seven-day travel diary. The NTS is part of a continuous survey that began in 1988, following ad-hoc surveys from the 1960s, which enables analysis of patterns and trends.

Some key uses of the data include describing patterns, for example how different groups of people travel, monitoring trends in travel, including sustainable modes; assessing the potential equality impacts of different groups; and contributing to the evaluation of policies.

We always welcome feedback to help ensure that the survey meets the needs of users, and any feedback provided will help inform the future design and development of the survey. If you have any feedback, please email NATIONAL.TRAVELSURVEY@dft.gov.uk.

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National Statistics

These statistics are designated as National Statistics. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards as set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. The Code of Practice for Statistics plays an essential role in ensuring that statistics published by government inspire the public confidence through demonstrating trustworthiness and providing high-quality statistics. These statistics were designated as National Statistics in July 2011. The continued designation was confirmed in September 2018.

Further information about these statistics is available, including:

• National Travel Survey statistics: data tables
• National Travel Survey statistics: notes and definitions
• National Travel Survey statistics: guidance and quality information
• National Travel Survey statistics: future developments

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Contact details

National Travel Survey statistics

Email national.travelsurvey@dft.gov.uk