Transport Statistics Great Britain: 2022 Domestic Travel
Published 15 December 2022
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About this release
Transport Statistics Great Britain (TSGB) presents an annual summary of statistics for cross-modal transport topics, mostly relating to the calendar year 2021. This condensed set of highlights focuses on domestic travel, and is complemented by other Department for Transport (DfT) releases presenting more detailed and recent statistics. See the Transport Statistics Finder to explore what other statistics are published by DfT.
Other cross-modal topics of TSGB, can be found in separate articles:
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and transport statistics
Most of the statistics in this release cover the period when national and regional measures were introduced to prevent and reduce the global spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Transport trends have been affected by these measures, which can be seen in the official statistics in this report.
How much we travel
Data Source: TSGB0101, TSGB0102
645 billion passenger kilometres were travelled in Great Britain in 2021.
Of this total, 88% of passenger kilometres travelled in Great Britain were made by cars, vans and taxis.
Considerations
Due to the unavailability of mid-year population estimates, population projections have been used to calculate 2021 figures. The figures will be updated once the mid-year population estimates are published by the Office for National Statistics.
Road traffic figures from 2000 have been revised following the department’s minor road review.
Chart 1: Passenger kilometres by mode, Great Britain, 1960 to 2021
Chart 1 note
Other includes pedal cycles, motorcycles and scheduled and non-scheduled domestic flights by UK airlines.
Passenger traffic by water is excluded in this section.
Passenger kilometres travelled by cars, vans and taxis steadily increased from 139 billion in 1960, to 738 billion in 2019, an all-time high in the series. 2020 saw the largest decline in distance travelled for this mode in this series, down 28% on 2019’s level to 505 billion passenger kilometres. The distance travelled in 2021 was 566 billion passenger kilometres.
Distance travelled by rail increased steadily from 1983 onwards, after a period of relative stability since 1960. This steady increase reached its all-time peak in 2018, with 2019’s level being similar to that of 2018, before declining by 80% to 16 billion passenger kilometres in 2020. The distance travelled in 2021 was 47 billion passenger kilometres.
Distance travelled on buses and coaches saw long-term decline since 1960, where 2019’s distance (33 billion passenger kilometres) was less than half of what it was in 1960 (79 billion passenger kilometres). 2020’s distance was down 58% on 2019’s distance, falling to 14 billion passenger kilometres. The distance travelled in 2021 was 18 billion passenger kilometres.
Distance travelled on pedal cycles remained relatively stable between 1970 and 2019 (6 billion passenger kilometres in 2019). In 2020, it increased by 46% to 9 billion passenger kilometres. The distance travelled in 2021 was 7 billion passenger kilometres.
Distance travelled on other modes, comprising motorcycle and domestic air passenger kilometres, remained relatively stable between 1960 and 2019, where 2019’s distance (14 billion passenger kilometres) was 2 billion passenger kilometres more than the level in 1960. In 2020, it fell by 59% to 6 billion passenger kilometres. The distance travelled in 2021 was 7 billion passenger kilometres.
How many trips we make in a year
Data Source: TSGB0103
On average, people in England made 757 trips across private and public transport modes in 2021.
Chart 2: Average number of trips made per person, England, 2021
Chart 2 note
Figures may not sum up to totals due to rounding.
Other public transport includes trips by air, ferries, and light rail.
Other private transport includes trips by private hire bus, such as school buses, and motorcycles.
In 2021 (Chart 2):
-
the average number of trips was similar to 2020
-
private transport accounted for the majority of trips (93%)
How much we travel on public transport
Data Source: TSGB0102
62% of ticketed public transport journeys in Great Britain were made on local buses in the financial year ending 2022.
Considerations
Non-ticketed modes of public transport, such as taxis and minicabs, are excluded from this section.
In the financial year ending (FYE) 2022 in Great Britain, there were:
-
5.1 billion passenger journeys made on public transport vehicles
-
3.1 billion local bus passenger journeys
-
1.7 billion journeys made by rail
- of which 1.0 billion of journeys were made on the National Rail
-
0.2 billion passenger journeys made on light rail and tram systems
Chart 3: Passenger journeys by mode: Great Britain from the financial year ending 1986 to the financial year ending 2021
In Great Britain, since the FYE 1986 (Chart 3):
-
journeys taken on buses outside London continued their long-term decline
- the decline was relatively steady in years prior to the FYE 2021, where there was a 64% fall in journeys
-
passenger journeys on London buses, National Rail and London and Glasgow underground trains remained stable until FYE 1994, before gradually increasing until FYE 2020
- the number of journeys across all modes sharply fell in FYE 2021
-
journeys on light railway systems and trams saw a gradual long-term increase, before declining sharply in FYE 2021
Passenger journeys in FYE 2022 on public transport all saw an increase. However, this increase has not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Why we travel
Data Source: TSGB0104
Just under a quarter (23%) of all trips in England were for leisure purposes.
Considerations
Due to changes in the methodology of data collection, changes in travel behaviour and a reduction of data collected during 2020 and 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, care should be taken when interpreting this data and comparing to other years.
Statistics in this section are sourced from the National Travel Survey, which relates to England only.
Other purposes of travelling in 2021 were:
-
shopping, accounting for 18% of all trips
-
commuting and education, each accounting for 13%
-
other escort, accounting for 9%
-
personal business, accounting for 8%
-
business, accounting for 2%
-
other purposes, including just walking, accounting for 14% of all trips
Most modes of travel are used for a mixture of purposes, however, in 2021, about half (51%) of all trips by rail are for either commuting or business purposes.
During 2021, fewer pandemic-related restrictions were placed on personal travel, and patterns of travel started to return towards pre-pandemic trends.
Compared to 2020, trips for the purpose of commuting had a 9% increase, and trips for the purposes of shopping and other including just walk decreased 6% and 7% respectively. Trips for the purposes of commuting are returning to pre-pandemic levels while the fall in shopping trips continues a recent trend of decreases.
Chart 4: Average trips by purpose and main mode, as a proportion of all modes: England, 2021
Table 1: Average trips by purpose and main mode, as a proportion of all modes (Chart 4)
| Mode | Walk | Pedal cycle | Cars and vans | Other private transport | Bus | Rail | Taxis and minicabs | Other public transport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commuting | 11% | 4% | 68% | 1% | 6% | 9% | 1% | 0% |
| Business | 10% | 2% | 78% | 1% | 5% | 4% | 1% | 0% |
| Education and escort education | 43% | 1% | 46% | 3% | 5% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
| Shopping | 27% | 1% | 64% | 0% | 5% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
| Other escort | 12% | 0% | 86% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 1% | 0% |
| Personal business | 20% | 1% | 73% | 1% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
| Leisure | 11% | 4% | 77% | 1% | 3% | 3% | 1% | 0% |
| Other, including just walk | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| All purposes | 31% | 2% | 59% | 1% | 4% | 2% | 1% | 0% |
Chart 4 note
Leisure trips include trips to visit friends, sport, holidays, and day trips.
How we commute
Data Source: TSGB0108 to TSGB0112
The average usual commuting time in Great Britain was 27 minutes in 2021. This was broadly similar to previous years.
This ranged from:
-
15 minutes for walking
-
63 minutes for travelling by rail
Considerations
The data source of statistics in this section is the Office for National Statistics’ Labour Force Survey. In 2021, respondents were asked about their usual commuting arrangements, such as if COVID-19 restrictions were not in place. This is likely to differ from their actual commuting arrangements in some cases. For data on actual commuting activity in England, including the year 2021, please see DfT’s National Travel Survey statistics.
Across Great Britain, those who usually travel to work by car in 2021 represented 68% of those who commuted to work, which was similar to previous years. While most regions and countries saw around 70% or more people travelling to work by car, London was much lower, at 27%. This was a similar trend to that seen in previous years.
Chart 5: Usual method of travel to work, Great Britain, 2021
Chart 6: Percentage of workers usually travelling to work by car by region of workplace, Great Britain, 2021
Chart 5 note
Percentages will not sum to 100% due to rounding.
Rail includes travel by National Rail, underground and light railway systems and trams.
Table 2: Percentage of workers usually travelling to work by car by region of workplace, by Great British Country and English Region, 2021 (Chart 6)
| GB Country | Proportion |
|---|---|
| England | 67% |
| Scotland | 68% |
| Wales | 81% |
| English Region | Proportion |
|---|---|
| North East | 76% |
| North West | 73% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 75% |
| East Midlands | 80% |
| West Midlands | 79% |
| East of England | 76% |
| London | 27% |
| South East | 75% |
| South West | 75% |
Related statistics
Use the Transport Statistics Finder to explore, download and view the statistical content published by the department.
| Chapter section | Related topics |
|---|---|
| How much we travel |
Aviation Buses National Travel Survey Public attitudes towards transport Rail Walking and cycling |
| How many trips we make in a year |
Buses Light rail and tram National Travel Survey Public attitudes towards transport |
| How much we travel on public transport |
Buses Light rail and tram National Travel Survey Public attitudes towards transport |
| Why we travel |
National Travel Survey Public attitudes towards transport Walking and cycling |
| How we commute |
Journey time statistics National Travel Survey Public attitudes towards transport Walking and cycling |
Background Information
We would welcome any feedback on these statistics by email. We will attempt to address any comments in a subsequent release.
Notes and definitions for each of the topics covered in TSGB are available.
The majority of the annual statistics in this release are National Statistics. This means they are produced to high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure they meet customer needs.
These annual statistics were designated as National Statistics in July 2010.
Details of ministers and officials who receive pre-release access to these statistics up to 24 hours before release are available.
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