National Travel Survey England – 2016

Three in five journeys between one and two miles in distance were made by car or van in England during 2016, the National Travel Survey (NTS) has revealed.

The annual survey shows that just 31% of journeys between the aforementioned distances were made by foot, and 2% by bicycle, compared to 60% by car or van, either as a driver or passenger.

Looking at journeys under a mile in length, 17% were made by car or van, compared to 80% by foot and 1% by cycle.

In total, the average person made 954 trips in 2016, a slight increase from the 2015 figure of 914 which was the lowest on record.

With 16,000 individuals taking part, the NTS is published to provide a consistent source of data on personal travel behaviour across England.

The 2016 edition shows that the car continues to dominates travel in England, accounting for 62% of trips made and 78% of distance covered. These figures are similar to 2015, when 64% of trips made and 78% of distance covered were by car.

There are no significant year-on-year changes in levels of walking (25% of trips and 3% of distance) and cycling (2% of trips and 1% of distance).

Looking at longer term trends, the number of walking trips (excluding short walks – less than a mile in length or less than 20 minutes duration) has fallen by 17% since 2002, with the distance falling by 19%. While the number of cycling trips has also fallen since 2002 (19%), the distance travelled has increased by 37%.

Again looking at active travel, 65% of respondents said they walked for 20 minutes at least once a week, while 21% did so less than once a year – or never. However, of that 21%, more than a third have a mobility problem.

66% of people aged over five years use a bicycle ‘less than once a year or never’ with just 14% cycling at least once a week.