Accredited official statistics

National Travel Survey 2022: Technical report glossary

Published 30 August 2023

Applies to England

Boarding

A boarding is when someone changes from one vehicle to another of the same type, using the same ticket. (If a new ticket is required this would be a new stage of the trip.)

Escort trip

An escort trip is a trip made for the purpose of accompanying someone else.

Excluded trips: leisure pursuits

Yachting and other water or air trips are excluded, where they are made for the pleasure of going out in a boat or plane rather than to get somewhere.

Excluded trips: off the public highway

Travel off the public highway (for example in private gardens, across open country, on private land) is excluded. Hence if someone were to drive their car on dirt tracks, cycle off-road or walk across fields, data about the off-road parts of their journey are not collected.

Excluded trips: some travel in the course of work

The NTS focuses on personal travel. Therefore some journeys made in the course of work are excluded as they are commercial travel:

  • trips made specifically to deliver or collect goods in the course of work are excluded
  • trips made by professional drivers or crew in the course of their work (for example buses, ambulances, cranes, refuse vehicles) are excluded
  • walking and cycling trips made in the course of work by employees who are paid to walk or cycle (for example postal workers, police officers) are excluded
  • trips made by taxi drivers are excluded if they are paid or charge a fare for making a trip
  • trips made by professional driving instructors whilst teaching or driving their vehicles in the course of their work are excluded

Long-distance journeys

A long-distance journey is a trip of 50 miles or more in one direction and with a single main purpose.

Methods of travel

The method of travel is coded for each stage of a trip. A distinction is made between public and private transport.

Table 1.1 Methods of travel codes

Code Method Public or private
1 Walk Private
2 Bicycle or pedal cycle Private
3 Private (hire) bus Private
4 Car Private
5 Motorcycle Private
6 Van or lorry Private
7 Other private transport Private
21 eBike Private
22 eScooter Private
23 Mobility scooter Private
19 Unspecified (private) Private
8 Ordinary bus - London Public
9 Ordinary bus - elsewhere Public
10 Coach or Express bus Public
11 Excursion or Tour bus Public
12 London Underground Public
13 Train Public
14 Light rail Public
15 Aircraft (public) Public
16 Taxi or minicab or private hire vehicle Public
18 Other public transport Public
24 Ferry Public
20 Unspecified (public) Public

Non-escort trip

A non-escort trip is a trip made by someone on their own behalf, rather than escort purposes (trips people make in order to accompany someone else).

Public highway

The public highway is defined as roads and footpaths that are “metalled” (i.e. tarmac or paved) and have unrestricted access.

Purpose

Trips are coded according to the main reason why they were made. Each trip is assigned two codes reflecting the “purpose to” (i.e. the reason the respondent went to somewhere) and the “purpose from” (i.e. the reason the respondent was at the place where they are travelling from). The overall purpose of a trip is normally taken to be the activity at the destination, unless that destination is ‘home’ in which case the purpose is defined by the origin of the trip. The classification of trips to ‘work’ is also dependent on the origin of the trip.

Table 1.2: Trip purpose codes

Code Purpose Detail Escort or non-escort
1 Home To go home Non-escort
2 Work To go to main place of work Non-escort
3 In course of work Travel in the course of work Non-escort
4 Education To go to school or college etc Non-escort
5 Food or grocery shopping To go food or grocery shopping Non-escort
6 All other types of shopping To do non-food shopping Non-escort
7 Personal business: medical For personal medical reasons Non-escort
8 Other personal business For personal non-medical reasons Non-escort
9 Eat or drink: alone or at work To eat or drink alone or related to work Non-escort
10 Eat or drink: all other occasions To eat or drink – all other occasions Non-escort
11 Visit friends or relatives at home To visit friends or relatives at their home Non-escort
12 Other social To go out for other social reasons Non-escort
13 Entertainment or public social activities For entertainment or public or community activity Non-escort
14 Sport (participate) To take part in sport Non-escort
15 Holiday base To go to a holiday base Non-escort
16 Day trip or just walk To go out for a day trip or just for a walk Non-escort
17 Other non-escort To go out for some other non-escort reason Non-escort
18 Escort home (not own) To take someone to their home Escort
19 Escort work To take someone to their main place of work Escort
20 Escort in course of work To accompany someone travelling in the course of their work Escort
21 Education To take someone to school or college etc Escort
22 Escort shopping or personal business To take someone shopping or to carry out personal business (medical or otherwise) Escort
23 Other escort To escort someone for some other reason Escort

Round trips

Round trips are split into two separate journeys, one outward and one return. The destination of the outward journey is recorded as the midpoint of the round trip.

Series of calls

In order to reduce the burden on respondents, travel involving a number of stops for the same main purpose and using the same form of transport can be treated as one continuous series of calls from the first such call to the last one unless there is a significant break at any stop. Only shopping and travel in the course of work are treated in this way.

Short walk

A short walk is a walk of less than one mile. Very short walks (of less than 50 yards) are always excluded. On the first day of the travel diary, details of all walks which are 50 yards or more are recorded. On the following six days of the travel diary only walks of one mile or more are recorded.

Stage (of trip)

A trip can also consist of a number of stages. A new stage is defined when there is a change in the form of transport or when there is a change of vehicle requiring a separate ticket.

Trip

A trip (or journey) is a one-way course of travel from one place to another with a single main purpose.