2015 National Travel Survey

The 2015 National Travel Survey (NTS) shows that three in five journeys between one and two miles in distance were made by car or van in England during 2015.The annual survey also shows that just 32% of journeys between the aforementioned distances were made by foot, and 3% by bicycle, compared to 58% by car or van, either as a driver or passenger.

Looking at journeys under a mile in length, 21% were made by car or van, compared to 76% by foot and 2% by cycle.

16,000 individuals participated in the 2015 NTS which is published to provide a consistent source of data on personal travel behaviour across England.

The 2015 edition shows that the car continues to dominate travel in England, accounting for 64% of trips made and 78% of distance covered.

There are no significant year-on-year changes in levels of walking (22% of trips and 3% of distance) and cycling (2% of trips and 1% of distance).

Looking at longer-term trends, the mix between active, private and public modes of travel has changed marginally since the mid 1990s.

The share of active modes (walking and cycling) has decreased from 28% to 24%, while the share of public transport has increased from 9% to 11% since 1995/97. Private travel (such as car and motorcycles) has increased by 3% to 65%.

The survey also shows that each person, on average, made 914 trips in 2015 – the lowest trip rate recorded. In terms of gender, women make more trips than men on average, but men travel 20% further.

Focussing on active travel, 20% of respondents said they either never made a journey by foot, or did so less than once a year. 65% walked at least ‘once or twice a week’.

65% of people aged over five years use a bicycle ‘less than once a year or never’ with just 15% cycling at least ‘once or twice a week’.