Accredited official statistics

NTS 2023: Active travel

Published 28 August 2024

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 7-day travel diary, which enables analysis of patterns and trends. Please see our latest technical report for more details. This release covers active travel from these travel behaviours during 2023. During 2023, there were no longer any restrictions due to the pandemic, therefore these trends offer an insight into how personal travel compared to 2019.

These are accredited official statistics and were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in September 2018. For more information, see the background information section.

Trends in cycling trips

Chart 26: Average cycling trips and miles travelled, per person per year: England, 2002 to 2023 (NTS0303)

Cycling trips made up 2% of trips and 1% of distance travelled, on average in 2023.

Cycling trip rates remained broadly similar between 2002 and 2023, with a slight increase shown in 2020. In 2023, there were 15 cycling trips per person, similar to the previous year (15 trips per person). There were 16 cycling trips per person in 2019. The relatively small number of cycling trips in the sample means that this series can be volatile, but it has remained between 14 and 20 trips per person per year since 2002.

There was a general upward trend in the average cycling miles travelled from 2002 to 2019 followed by a sharp increase in 2020, and has since fallen in 2023 to levels last seen in 2013. In 2023 there were 47 cycling miles per person travelled which was a decrease of 17% compared to the previous year (57 miles per person) and 13% lower than in 2019 (54 miles per person). This decrease in average miles cycled could be attributed to several factors, such as shorter trip lengths and changes in the nature of cycling activities, with more education and leisure cycling trips. Overall, average miles cycled in 2023 was 22% higher than in 2002 (39 miles per person).

Traffic statistics^{[footnote 1]} published by the department show that there were 3.6 billion vehicle miles travelled by cycling in 2023, 7% lower than 2022 but similar to 2019. The relatively small number of cycling trips in the National Travel Survey (NTS) sample may explain some of the variation observed between these series, in addition to other methodological differences.

The National Travel Attitudes Study wave 9 statistical release contains more information on attitudes towards the ownership and use of pedal cycles, the use of rental pedal cycle services and e-cycles, as well as barriers and encouragements to the use of pedal cycles.

Chart 27: Proportion of cycling trips per person per year by trip purpose: England, 2019 to 2023 (NTS0409)

The most common purpose for a cycling trip was for leisure with 40% of all cycling trips in 2023. This was followed by commuting (29%), education or escort education (13%) and shopping (9%). The proportion of leisure cycling trips had increased compared to 2022 (36%) and compared to before the pandemic in 2019 (34%) but remains lower than during the pandemic in 2020 (55%). The proportion of commuting cycling trips remains lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019 (33%) but education or escort education trips are slightly higher than in 2019 (10%). This indicates that there is a shift in the reasons given for cycling trips with more leisure and education or escort education but less commuting and shopping trips compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Chart 28: Average cycling trips and miles travelled, by age and sex: England, 2023 (NTS0601)

In 2023, males of all ages made substantially more cycling trips on average and also cycled a longer distance than females. On average, males made 22 cycling trips and travelled 72 miles compared to females who made 9 cycling trips and travelled 23 miles. Males aged 17 to 20 and 40 to 49 made the most cycling trips with 28 trips per person, and amongst females, those aged 40 to 49 made the most cycling trips with 13 trips per person. Males and females aged 40 to 49 cycled the longest distance amongst their sex with 120 miles per person and 38 miles per person respectively.

The National Travel Attitudes Study wave 9 statistical release shows that individuals aged 16 to 39 are more likely to say that they do not cycle, or choose not to cycle more, because of having children, other passengers or too much to carry. This age group also say they live too far from where they need to get to, and poor weather is an issue. Older age groups of those 60 and over are more likely to say that they have a health condition which prevents them from cycling, or cycling more, or that cycling is not for people like them.

Trends in walking trips

Chart 29: Average walking trips and miles travelled, including walking of a mile or more, per person per year: England, 2002 to 2023 (NTS0303)

Walking trips made up 29% of trips and 4% of distance travelled, on average in 2023.

In 2023, the average number of walking trips remained similar to 2022 with 263 trips per person. This was an increase of 5% on 2019 (250 trips per person), and similar to 2002 (264 trips per person). The number of walking trips of a mile or more remained similar to 2022 with 79 trips per person. The number of walking trips of a mile or more represented an increase of 21% compared to 2019 (65 trips per person).

Average walking distance travelled was the highest on record since 2002 with 225 miles per person in 2023. This was an increase of 10% compared to 2019 (205 miles per person). The distance travelled for walks of a mile or more was 123 miles per person in 2023, similar to 2022, however, this was an increase of 23% compared to 2019 (100 miles per person).

Chart 30: Proportion of walking trips per person per year by trip purpose: England, 2019 to 2023 (NTS0409)

The most common purpose for walking trips in 2023 was other including just walk (33%). This was followed by education or escort education (18%), shopping (17%) and leisure (15%). Despite an increase in the average number of walking trips compared to 2019, and noticeable changes in the proportions in the previous 4 years, the most common walking trip purposes were the same as in 2023. Since 2020, the proportion of walking trips for other including just walk reduced but remained higher than pre-pandemic levels (2019) and the proportion of leisure and shopping walking trips increased but remained slightly lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Chart 31: Average walking trips and miles travelled, by age and sex: England, 2023 (NTS0601)

In 2023, females of all ages made more walking trips on average and also walked a longer distance than males. On average, females made 279 walking trips and travelled 230 miles compared to males who made 246 trips and travelled 220 miles. Females made more walking trips than males for all age groups, apart from the age group of 70 and over where males made more walking trips than females. Females aged 30 to 39 made the most walking trips amongst their sex with 327 walking trips per person and also walked the longest distance with 266 miles per person. Males aged 0 to 16 made the most walking trips amongst their sex with 263 walking trips per person but males aged 40 to 49 walked the longest distance with 246 miles per person. Both males and females aged 17 to 20 made the fewest walking trips on average.

Background information

The 2023 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 7-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.

These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in September 2018. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and are labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

Further information is available, including:

• data tables

• notes and definitions

• guidance and quality information

• future developments

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Contact details

National Travel Survey statistics

Email national.travelsurvey@dft.gov.uk

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1. Traffic statistics are collected by automatic and roadside manual traffic counts which estimate the number of vehicle miles travelled by pedal cycles within Great Britain. This differs from the NTS which is a survey of a sample population of England residents travelling within Great Britain whereby individuals record information about their pedal cycle trips within a 7-day travel diary. Differences between traffic statistics and the NTS mean that care should be taken not to make direct comparisons between the 2 datasets. Further information on these differences can be found within walking and cycling statistics. ↩