The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has found that the average number of car trips taken per person has increased in England since 2022, whereas the number of walking and cycling trips stayed the same.
Spanning more than 14,000 participants, the DfT’s National Travel Survey (NTS) found that average car trips increased to 363 and 185 trips per person for drivers and passengers respectively in 2023. Car driving was the most common mode for starting a journey, accounting for 39% of all trips in England.
In contrast, cycling trips stayed constant at 15 per person in 2022 and 2023, and walking trips went from 267 in 2022 to 263 trips per person in 2023.
“It’s very welcome to see increased investment in active travel in recent years and to hear the new Secretary of State’s comments about more spending coming to active travel, but these statistics clearly show there is a very long way to go,” Richard Dilks, Chief Executive of national charity for shared transport CoMoUK, told Zag Daily.
“This is why we are keen to see the positive impact of bike sharing and other forms of shared transport better recognised in the policy, funding and practice of both Active Travel England and across the wider government.”
Last week, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said the UK government is to invest “unprecedented” sums into active travel to combat climate change and reduce pressures on the NHS.
The NTS found that while cycling trips and distance increased over the pandemic during 2020, the average number of trips have returned to their pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
In its Bike Share Annual Report UK 2023, CoMoUK found that 69% of bike share users have been cycling more frequently since they joined a bike share scheme, and 39% use it for commuting or going to school at least once a week.
24% of users would have made their most common bike share trip by car had a bike share not been available.
The impact of COVID
The NTS found that average trips made by people in England was 4% lower in 2023 than in 2019, with 915 trips made on average in 2023.
Despite car trips increasing since 2022, trip rates were lower in 2023 than in 2019 for all modes of transport, except for walking and motorcycling. Walking trips increased by 5% in 2023 compared with the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
“Active travel saw a boom in some senses during Covid, as people’s movement was restricted and they discovered their local areas in new ways,” Richard said.
“The more active travel can be the nicest, quickest, and cheapest way of accomplishing a journey, the more the competitive challenge from the private car will recede. That means working to establish a range of sustainable transport options in key areas, across active travel, shared, community and public transport.”
