The Department for Transport (DfT) has released the results of the National Travel Survey (NTS), its main findings revealing that the average trips made by people living in England have increased by 6% in 2023 compared to 2022.
This increase is however, lower than in 2019 (-4%) with 915 trips made on average in 2023.
DfT also reported that there were increases in trip rates amongst private transport modes (such as car drivers, car passengers and motorcycles), and public transport modes (apart from buses in London which have remained similar to the previous year) in 2023.
In 2023, average trips increased for both car drivers and passengers to 363 trips per person and 185 trips per person respectively, however, these remained below pre-pandemic levels.
Cycling rates have plateaued since its Covid19 resurgence saw cycling stages per person increased by 23%, from 17 stages per person to 21 stages per person whilst miles cycled per person increased by 62% to the highest levels since 2002.
Car driver was the most frequent mode to begin a trip, with 39% of trips whilst outside London, residents in England relied on cars for commuting, with 70% of commuting trips made by car by residents from urban areas outside London, and this increased to 81% by residents in rural areas (excluding London).
The news comes after Active Travel England (ATE) was formed in 2022 (officially operating in 2023) to improve Britons access to active travel options.
Last year ATE’s budget was £7.5m and in 2024 it is set to increase to around £9m.
DfT’s NTS also revealed that people spent 353 hours on average travelling in 2023, an increase of 9% compared to 2022 (324 hours on average) but a 5% decrease compared to 2019 (370 hours on average).
This includes 22 minutes per cycling trip, 21 minutes per car driver trip and 18 minutes per walking trip, on average in 2023.
Speaking to the Guardian, Catherine Woodhead, the chief executive of the campaign group Living Streets, said: “It’s clear there’s work needed to help get more of us walking and wheeling.
“The government needs to invest in making streets both safer and more welcoming for everyone, and that includes an end to pavement parking.”
Achievements and innovations in active travel will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.ukto learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector
