National Travel Survey 2022: Technical report glossary
Published 30 August 2023
Applies to England
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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.