2Walking and cycling in England
10.In England just over a quarter of all journeys are made on foot, but these are almost all journeys of less than a mile and account for only 3% of distance travelled.20 The vast majority of journeys over a mile are made in a car or van—even for distances of 1–2 miles over 60% of journeys were made by motor vehicle.21 Fewer than 2% of journeys are made by bike, accounting for just over 1% of total distance travelled.22 The proportion of journeys of different distances made by foot, bike, private motor vehicle and public transport are shown in the chart below.
Figure 1: Percentage of journeys by trip length and main mode, England, 2017
Department for Transport, NTS0308: Average number of trips by trip length and main mode: England, July 2018
The majority of journeys in 2017 were under 5 miles, and journeys of over 10 miles make up less than a fifth of all trips, as shown in the table below.
Table 1: Journeys, by length as a percentage of all journeys, 2017
|
Under 1 mile |
1 to 2 miles |
2 to 5 miles |
5 to 10 miles |
10 to 25 miles |
Over 25 miles |
|
24% |
18% |
25% |
15% |
12% |
5% |
Source: Department for Transport, NTS0308: Average number of trips by trip length and main mode: England, July 2018
11.Levels of walking and cycling in England have not changed dramatically over the last 15 years, as shown below.
Figure 2: Average number of walking and cycling stages in England,23 2002-17
Department for Transport, NTS0303: Average number of trips, stages, miles and time spent travelling by main mode: England, July 201824
While the average number of walking and cycling stages has not seen a dramatic change over the last 15 years, people who do cycle are cycling further, with a 54% increase in distance travelled by bicycle from 2002 to 2017.25
12.Levels of walking and cycling vary by age and gender—on average women walk slightly more than men, and men cycle significantly more than women. On average people in age groups below the age of 50 tend to walk a similar amount, but people aged 50 and older walk less. Cycling activity is fairly even for all age groups below the age of 70, when activity levels fall. Men aged 17–59 cycle significantly more, on average, than any other group.26
13.England compares relatively well with other European countries when it comes to rates of walking, but it is far behind many countries when it comes to cycling. In the Netherlands 26% of journeys are made by bike, followed by Denmark on 18% and 10% in Germany. Austria, Belgium, Finland, Norway and Sweden all have rates of between 4% and 9%.27
20 Department for Transport, Transport Statistics Great Britain 2018, December 2018
21 Department for Transport, NTS0308: Average number of trips by trip length and main mode: England, July 2018
22 Department for Transport, Walking and Cycling Statistics, England: 2017, August 2018
23 A stage is part of a longer journey that is made by a particular mode of transport.
24 The number of journeys over 25 miles in length made by walking or cycling are so small they are not represented in the results of National Travel Survey, so journeys for these distances are not included in this graph. The methodology for counting walking stages has changed since the Government published its Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, resulting in increased figures for walking for the period 2002–2015.
25 Department for Transport, NTS0303: Average number of trips, stages, miles and time spent travelling by main mode: England, July 2018
26 Department for Transport, National Travel Survey, Table NTS0604 Average number of stages by age, gender and mode: England, 2017, 26 July 208
27 Ralph Buehler and John Pucher, Walking and Cycling in Western Europe and the United States: Trends, Policies, and Lessons, 2012
Published: 23 July 2019