Key walking and cycling statistics for the UK

Travel mode in England in 2016

Source: National Travel Survey 2016

• 62% of all trips were made by car, either as driver or passenger. 25% of trips were made by foot, 5% by bus, 3% by train, 2% by cycling and 2% by other. 
• 68% of trips were under 5 miles and 23% of trips were under 1 mile. This varies by mode of travel: nearly all walks are under 5 miles, compared to 56% of car driver trips and 9% of surface rail trips. 
• Active modes of travel (walking and cycling) account for 27% of all trips and 4% of all distance travelled, as active trips tend to be shorter distance trips. From 2002 to 2016, the number of trips by walking has declined by 17% and distance travelled by 19%. For cycling, distance travelled has increased by 37% but number of trips by cycling has declined by 19% between 2002 and 2016. 
• There has been a decline in the number of trips and the distance of trips by car between 2002 and 2016, by both drivers and passengers. Number of trips has declined by 11% for the car driver and 16% for passengers, and the distance of trips taken by car has declined by 11% for car drivers and 15% for passengers.
• There were 243 walking trips per person per year on average in 2016, up from 200 per walking trips per person in 2014. 80% of all trips under 1 mile were walks. For all other distance bands, the car was the most frequent mode of travel. Buses were mainly used for medium-length trips, between 1 and 25 miles. 
• 86% of people use private car at least one a week, and 7% at least once a month. 
• The average distance cycled per person per year has increased by 37% since 2002, although the number of trips made by bicycle has decreased by 19%. 
• Bus trips were highest amongst the 17-20 year old age range, and 27% of trips to school by private and local bus were by children aged 11-16.
• The average number of trips made by buses in London has decreased by 7% since 2002, and trips on local buses outside London have decreased by 23%. 

School journey in England in 2016

Source: National Travel Survey 2016

• 94% of 5-10 year olds usually accompanied by an adult and 56% of 11-16 year olds accompanied to school by an adult. 
• For 5-10 year olds the average trip length to school is 1.5 miles, and for 11-16 year olds the average trip length is 3.2 miles. 
• Primary school journeys (children aged 5-10) - 51% walk to school, 41% are driven, 2% cycle, 2% take a private bus and 3% take a local bus to school. 
• Secondary school journeys (children aged 11-16) - 39% walk to school, 26% by car, 3% by bike, 23% by local bus, 4% by private bus and 3% by surface rail.
• For trips under 1 mile walking was the most popular mode, at 78% for primary and 87% for secondary school children.
• For trips between 2-5 miles 80% of primary school trips were by car, and for secondary school trips between 2-5 miles 42% were by car and 44% were by bus, 2% cycled and 8% walked.

Travel to work in England

Source: National Travel Survey 2016

• 64% of commuting trips were made by car/van, 11% by walking, 7% by surface rail, 7% by bus,
  4% by bicycle, 1.3% by motorcycle, and 5% by other. 

Reasons to travel in England

Source: National Travel Survey 2016

• 19% shopping
• 18% personal business and other escort
• 17% other leisure
• 15% commuting
• 15% visiting friends
• 12% education and escorting to education
• 3% business

Distance travelled in England 

Source: National Travel Survey 2016

• 23% of trips were under 1 mile and 68% of trips were under 5 miles.
• The average bicycle trip length increased from 2014 to 2016, with an average 3.5 miles (3.1 miles in 2014). 
• On average each person walks 198 miles per year, spending an average of 16 minutes walking per trip.
• The average distance cycled per person per year has decreased by 9.5% since 2014 to an average of 53 miles per person per year at an average length of 24 minutes.

Road Safety in Great Britain

• 1,792 people were killed in reported accidents in 2016, 25% of these were pedestrians and 6% were pedal cyclists. (Reported road casualties in Great Britain)
• Pedestrian fatalities have increased by 10% since 2015 to 448 deaths in 2016. (Reported road casualties in Great Britain)
• 1,287 child pedestrians and 317 child cyclists were killed or seriously injured in 2016.
  (Reported road casualties in Great Britain)
• In 2016, 61% of children killed on the road were pedestrians or cyclists. (Reported road casualties in Great Britain)
• 2,564 adult pedestrians and 2,668 pedal cyclists were killed or seriously injured in 2016. (Reported road casualties in Great Britain)
• In 2016, 59% agreed that “It is too dangerous for me to cycle on the roads”, which is significantly lower than the 64% who agreed in 2015. This is the lowest record of the perception that roads are too dangerous for cyclists lowest since the question was first asked in 2011.
• The most common reason cited for people not learning to drive was not being interested (23%). 
• 73% of all adults aged 17+ in England held a full car driving licence in 2016, whilst the proportion of young adults (aged 17-20) with a full driving licence has decreased, with 33% of men and 29% of women aged 17-20 owning a full driving licence in 2016.
• The proportion of households without a car has fallen from 38% in 1985/86 to 23% by 2016.
• The cost of travel has risen faster than the cost of living since 1997.

Congestion

• In 2016 all motor vehicle traffic in Great Britain was 323.7 billion miles, a 2.2% increase from 2015. [4]
• Pedal cycle traffic was 3.5 billion vehicle miles, 23% above the figure ten years before. [4]
• Congestion in England on the strategic road network will cost the British economy as much as £307 billion by 2030. [5]
• The estimated time wasted by traffic delays per person in the UK in 2016 was 4.9 days. [5]

Obesity and Physical activity in England

• 26% of men and 27% of women were obese. The proportion of adults who were obese has been similar since 2010. [6]
• Being overweight was more common than being obese, and 40% of men and 30% of women were overweight, but not obese. [6]
• In May 2016 – 2017, 25.6% of adults did less than 30 minutes exercise a week, 13.8% did 30-149 minutes exercise a week, and 60.6% did 150 minutes or more of exercise a week. [7]
• In May 2016 – 2017 men (63% were more likely to be active than women (58%), and women (27%) were more likely to be inactive than men (24%). Men were more likely to play sporting activities (41%) than women (29%). [7]
• In May 2016 – 2017 women were more likely to walk for leisure (44%) than men (38%), and more likely to walk for travel (34%) than men (31%). Men were more likely to cycle for leisure (18%) than women (11%), and more likely to cycle for travel (10%) than women (4%). [7]
• In 2016, 16% of children aged 2 to 15 were obese and a further 12% of children were overweight (but not obese). [6]
• Estimated costs to the NHS on overweight and obesity-related ill health in 2014/2015 was as much as £5.1 billion. [8]

Obesity and Physical activity in Scotland

• In 2016, 65% of adults were overweight, including 29% who were obese. [9]
• 70% of children were a healthy weight in 2016, and there was a reduction in the prevalence of the risk of obesity in children to 14% in 2016, down from 17% in 2014. [9]
• 64% of adults met the guidelines for physical activity (150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week) in 2016, a similar level to 2015 (63%). [9]
• 76% of children met the guidelines of 60 minutes or more physical activity a day, similar to levels since 2013, and an increase from 71% in 2008. [9]

Obesity and Physical activity in Wales

• In 2016-2017, 59% of adults were overweight or obese, with 23% of the population being obese. [10]
• In 2016-2017, 32% of adults were inactive – doing less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week. [10]
• Middle-aged adults were the most likely to be overweight or obese, at 66-67%, whereas adults aged 16-24 were less likely to be overweight or obese at 36%. [10]
• More than a quarter of children (26.2%) in Wales in reception year are classified as
  overweight or obese. [11]
  
  

Obesity and Physical activity in Northern Ireland

Source: Department of Health, October 2017 Health Survey (NI): First Results 2016/17

• Over a quarter of adults (27%) were classed as obese with a further 36% classed as overweight. Obesity levels have increased from 24% in 2005/06.
• Around three-quarters of children aged 2-15 were classed as either normal weight or underweight, while 17% were classed as overweight and 8% were classed as obese.
• Over half of respondents (55%) reported meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s recommendations on physical activity.
  
  

References

[1] DfT, July 2017 National Travel Survey 2016
[2] DfT, September 2017 Reported road casualties in Great Britain
[3] DfT, August 2017 British Social Attitudes Survey 2016: Public attitudes towards transport
[4] DfT, April 2017 Road Traffic Estimates: Great Britain 2016
[5] CEBR, February 2017 The economic effect of road investment
[6] NHS Digital, December 2017 Health Survey for England 2016
[7] Sport England, October 2017 Active Lives Adult Report May 2016 to May 2017
[8] Department of Health and Social Care, January 2017 Childhood obesity: a plan for action
[9] Scottish Government, October 2017 Scottish Health Survey
[10] Welsh Government, June 2017 National Survey for Wales 2016-17: Population Health
[11] Public Health Wales, April 2017 Child Measurement Programme for Wales 2015/16
[12] Department of Health, October 2017 Health Survey (NI): First Results 2016/17

Version 8 – updated 23/01/2018