National statistics

National Travel Survey 2022: Mode share, journey lengths and trends in public transport use

Updated 14 December 2023

Applies to England

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About this release

The National Travel Survey (NTS) is a household survey of personal travel by residents of England travelling within Great Britain, from data collected via interviews and a seven-day travel diary, which enables analysis of patterns and trends. This release covers the main findings from these travel behaviours during 2022. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic from March 2020, has had a substantial impact on travel trends since 2020 and has affected the operation of this survey. Further details on these impacts can be found in the Introduction and main findings section of this report.

Mode share of trips

Chart 3: Public, private and active mode share by age band, sex, mobility difficulty and region of residence: England, 2022 (NTS0601), (NTS0709) and (NTS9903)

Children aged 0 to 16 made the highest proportion of trips using active transport modes such as walking and cycling in 2022 with 42%. Those aged 30 to 39 made 34% of their trips using active modes. Those aged 17 to 20 made the smallest proportion of trips using active modes with 28%.

People aged 40 and over made a similar proportion of active, private and public transport mode use. People aged 50 to 59 made the largest share of trips using private transport modes such as car, motorcycle and other private transport with 65%. Those aged 17 to 20 made the smallest proportion of their trips using private modes with 50%, however, this age group made the highest proportion of their trips using public transport modes such as bus, London Underground, rail and taxi or minicab with 22%.

The mode share between active, private and public transport modes was similar for both males and females with 33% active transport modes, 58% private transport modes and 9% public transport modes by females and 32% active transport modes, 60% private transport modes and 8% public transport modes by males.

Those with no mobility difficulties made a slightly higher proportion of their trips using active transport modes with 31% compared to 24% for those with a mobility difficulty. However, those with no mobility difficulties made a smaller proportion of their trips using private transport modes with 60% compared to 65% for those with a mobility difficulty, and a smaller proportion of their trips using public transport modes with 8% compared to 11% for those with a mobility difficulty.

People living in London made the highest proportion of trips using active transport modes with 42% and public transport modes with 25%. Residents from the East Midlands made the second highest proportion of their trips using active transport modes with 36%. The highest proportion of trips using private transport modes were made by residents of the West Midlands with 69%.

Journey lengths

Chart 4: Mode share of trips by main mode for different trip lengths: England, 2022 (NTS0308)

Most trips are relatively short. In 2022, 26% of trips were under 1 mile, and 71% under 5 miles. These proportions of short trips were broadly consistent with 2021 and in 2019, with 25% of trips being under 1 mile and 72% of trips being under 5 miles in 2021 and 24% of trips being under 1 mile, and 68% under 5 miles in 2019.

Walking was the most frequent mode used for short trips: 83% of trips under one mile were walks in 2022, similar to the proportion in 2021 (82%) and 2019 (80%). For all other distance bands, the car was the most frequent mode of travel. Nearly all walks recorded in the NTS were under 5 miles in 2022 (99.8%), compared with 60% of car trips, 67% of bus trips and 8% of trips by surface rail. This was similar to proportions in 2021 and 2019.

Three-quarters (75%) of rail trips were 10 miles and over in 2022, similar to 2021 (73%) and in 2019 (74%).

Chart 5: Trips per person per year by selected public transport modes: England, 2002 to 2022 (NTS0303)

In 2022, trip rates for buses (in and outside London) saw an increase, but remained below pre-pandemic (2019) levels. Trends in other local bus (non-London) saw a gradual fall from 46 trips per person in 2002 to 32 trips per person in 2019, followed by a sharp decrease to 15 trips per person in 2020 and most recently an increase to 23 trips per person in 2022. This represents an overall decline of 50% since 2002.

Trends in average trips on the London underground and buses in London were relatively stable from 2002 to 2019, an average of 10 and 19 trips per person respectively, however these both fell to 5 and 7 trips per person respectively in 2020. Since then, in 2022, average trips on buses in London have increased to 14 trips per person and trip rates for the London underground recovered slightly from the 2020 low, and remained stable at 7 trips per person compared to 2021.

Trends on the increase in bus trips are comparable to bus statistics which show an increase in bus passenger journeys in the financial year ending 2022, compared to the previous year. The bus recovery grant was introduced on 1 September 2021 to keep services running that may have otherwise operated at a loss, or not operated at all.

Surface rail trips per person increased from 13 trips per person in 2002 to 21 trips per person in 2019, but fell to 11 trips person in 2020, and increased slightly to 15 trips per person in 2022, an overall increase of 14%. Trends on the increase in surface rail trips are comparable to rail statistics which show an increase in rail passenger journeys in the financial year ending 2022, compared to the previous year. This has been attributed to the removal of COVID-19 measures, increased services and capacity.

Chart 6: Miles travelled per person per year by selected public transport modes: England, 2002 to 2022 (NTS0303)

Distance travelled for these selected modes of public transport broadly follow the overall trends of these trips, with distance travelled by bus (in and outside London) and surface rail showing an increase in 2022 compared to 2021. Overall, miles travelled on average on buses in London and on other local buses have declined by 16% and 43% respectively from 2002 to 2022. Distance travelled by the London Underground has remained similar to the previous year with 72 miles per person in 2022.

People travel the longest distance on surface rail compared to other public transport modes, with an average of 453 miles per person on surface rail in 2022, a 4% increase on 436 miles per person in 2002.

Background information

The 2022 National Travel Survey (NTS) is the latest in a series of household surveys of personal travel by residents of England travelling within Great Britain, from data collected via interviews and a seven-day travel diary. The NTS is part of a continuous survey that began in 1988, following ad-hoc surveys from the 1960s, which enables analysis of patterns and trends.

Some key uses of the data include describing patterns, for example how different groups of people travel, monitoring trends in travel, including sustainable modes; assessing the potential equality impacts of different groups; and contributing to the evaluation of policies.

We always welcome feedback to help ensure that the survey meets the needs of users, and any feedback provided will help inform the future design and development of the survey. If you have any feedback, please email National Travel Survey statistics.

National Statistics

These statistics are designated as National Statistics. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards as set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. The Code of Practice for Statistics plays an essential role in ensuring that statistics published by government inspire the public confidence through demonstrating trustworthiness and providing high-quality statistics. These statistics were designated as National Statistics in July 2011. The continued designation was confirmed in September 2018.

Further information about these statistics is available, including:

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Contact details

National Travel Survey statistics

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