Accredited official statistics

NTS 2024: Active travel

Published 27 August 2025

Main findings

• In 2024, there were 15 cycling trips per person and 16 cycling stages per person which was similar to the previous year.
• In 2024, people cycled an average of 53 miles per person, which was an increase of 12% compared to the previous year.
• Males of all ages made substantially more cycling trips on average and also cycled a longer distance than females.
• Walking trips made up 29% of trips, 33% of stages and 4% of distance travelled, on average in 2024.
• In 2024, there were 267 walking trips per person, similar to the previous year, 339 walking stages per person a 4% increase compared to the previous year.
• Walking distance travelled was the highest on record since 2002 with 230 miles per person.
• Females of all ages made more walking trips on average and also walked a longer distance than males.

Trends in cycling trips

Chart 26: Average cycling trips, stages and miles travelled, per person per year: England, 2002 to 2024 (NTS0303)

Cycling trips, stages and distance travelled

• Cycling made up 2% of trips, 2% of stages and 1% of distance travelled, on average, in 2024.
• Cycling trip rates remained broadly similar between 2002 and 2024, with a slight increase shown in 2020. The relatively small number of cycling trips in the sample means that this series can be volatile, but it has remained between 14 and 20 trips per person per year since 2002.
• In 2024, there were 15 cycling trips per person, similar to the previous year (15 trips per person). There were 16 cycling trips per person in 2019.
• In 2024, there were 16 cycling stages per person, similar to the previous year (16 stages per person). There were 17 cycling stages per person in 2019.
• There was a general upward trend in the average cycling miles travelled from 2002 to 2019 followed by a sharp increase in 2020, which then fell in 2023 to levels last seen in 2013. In 2024 there were 53 cycling miles per person travelled which was an increase of 12% compared to the previous year (47 miles per person) and similar to 2019 (54 miles per person).
• Traffic statistics^{[footnote 1]} published by the department show that there were 3.5 billion vehicle miles travelled by cycling in 2024, similar to 2023 and 2019. The relatively small number of cycling trips in the NTS sample may explain some of the variation observed between these series, in addition to other methodological differences.
• In 2024, when asked what would encourage all respondents the most to cycle more, the top 3 responses included none (46%), safer roads (for example slower driving speeds, less traffic, or more considerate driving) (22%) and off-road and segregated cycle paths (10%).^{[footnote 2]}
• The National Travel Attitudes Study wave 9 statistical release contains more information on attitudes towards the ownership and use of pedal cycles, the use of rental pedal cycle services and e-cycles, as well as barriers and encouragements to the use of pedal cycles.

Chart 27: Cycling trips per person per year by trip purpose: England, 2019 to 2024 (NTS0409)

Cycle trips by trip purpose

• The most common purpose for a cycling trip was for leisure with 41% of all cycling trips in 2024. This was followed by commuting (31%), shopping (10%) and education or escort education (9%).
• The proportion of leisure cycling trips had increased compared to before the pandemic in 2019 (34%) but remains lower than during the pandemic in 2020 (55%). The proportion of commuting cycling trips remains lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019 (33%). This indicates that there is a shift in the reasons given for cycling trips with more leisure but less commuting and shopping trips compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Chart 28: Average cycling trips and miles travelled, by age and sex: England, 2024 (NTS0601)

Cycle trips and distance travelled by age and sex

• In 2024, males of all ages made substantially more cycling trips on average and also cycled a longer distance than females. On average, males made 23 cycling trips and travelled 87 miles compared to females who made 8 cycling trips and travelled 19 miles.
• Males and females aged 40 to 49 made the most cycling trips amongst their sex with 33 trips per person and 12 trips per person respectively. Males and females aged 40 to 49 also cycled the longest distance amongst their sex with 161 miles per person and 28 miles per person respectively.
• The National Travel Attitudes Study wave 9 statistical release shows that individuals aged 16 to 39 are more likely to say that they don’t cycle, or choose not to cycle more, because of having children, other passengers or too much to carry. This age group also say they live too far from where they need to get to, and poor weather is an issue. Older age groups of those 60 and over are more likely to say that they have a health condition which prevents them from cycling, or cycling more, or that cycling is not for people like them.

Trends in walking trips

Chart 29: Average walking trips, stages and miles travelled, including walks of a mile or more, per person per year: England, 2002 to 2024 (NTS0303)

Walking trips, stages and distance travelled

• Walking trips made up 29% of trips, 33% of stages and 4% of distance travelled, on average in 2024.
• In 2024, the average number of walking trips remained similar to 2023 with 267 trips per person. This was an increase of 7% on 2019 (250 trips per person).
• The number of walking trips of a mile or more remained similar to 2023 with 81 trips per person in 2024. This represented an increase of 25% compared to 2019 (65 trips per person).
• In 2024, there were 339 walking stages per person, a 4% increase compared to the previous year (325 stages per person), and similar to 2019 (332 stages per person).
• The number of stages of a mile or more remained similar to 2023 with 89 stages per person in 2024. This represented an increase of 22% compared to 2019 (73 stages per person).
• Average walking distance travelled was the highest on record since 2002 with 230 miles per person in 2024. This was an increase of 12% compared to 2019 (205 miles per person).
• The distance travelled for walks of a mile or more was 129 miles per person in 2024, a 5% increase compared to 2023 (123 miles per person) and an increase of 29% compared to 2019 (100 miles per person).
• In 2023, when asked what would encourage all respondents the most to walk more, the top 3 responses included none (50%), safer roads (for example slower driving speeds, less traffic, or more considerate driving) (20%) and well-maintained pavements (even, clean, uncluttered, well-lit) (14%).^{[footnote 2]}

Chart 30: Walking trips per person per year by trip purpose: England, 2019 to 2024 (NTS0409)

Walking trips by trip purpose

• The most common purpose for walking trips in 2024 was just walk^{[footnote 3]} (32%). This was followed by education or escort education (18%), shopping (18%) and leisure (16%).
• Despite an increase in the average number of walking trips compared to 2019, and noticeable changes in the proportions in the previous five years, the most common walking trip purposes were the same in 2024 and 2019.
• Since 2020, the proportion of walking trips for just walk reduced but remained higher than pre-pandemic levels (2019).
• Since 2020, the proportion of education or escort education and commuting walking trips increased but remained slightly lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
• The proportion of walking trips for shopping has increased since 2020, and is similar in 2024 to pre-pandemic levels (2019). Walking trips for leisure have followed a similar pattern.

Chart 31: Average walking trips and miles travelled, by age and sex: England, 2024 (NTS0601)

Walking trips and distance travelled by age and sex

• In 2024, females of all ages made more walking trips on average and also walked a longer distance than males. On average, females made 282 walking trips and travelled 234 miles compared to males who made 252 trips and travelled 226 miles.
• Females made more walking trips than males across all age groups, apart from those aged 16 and under and 70 and over, where males made more walking trips than females.
• Females aged 30 to 39 made the most walking trips amongst their sex with 355 walking trips per person, but females aged 21 to 29 walked the longest distance with 290 miles per person.
• Males aged 60 to 69 made the most walking trips amongst their sex with 276 walking trips per person and walked the longest distance with 274 miles per person.

Background information

The 2024 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.

These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in September 2018. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and are labelled ‘Accredited Official Statistics’.

Further information is available, including:

• data tables
• notes and definitions
• guidance and quality information
• future developments

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1. Traffic statistics are collected by automatic and roadside manual traffic counts which estimate the number of vehicle miles travelled by pedal cycles within Great Britain. This differs from the NTS which is a survey of a sample population of England residents travelling within Great Britain whereby individuals record information about their pedal cycle trips within a 7-day travel diary. Differences between traffic statistics and the NTS mean that care should be taken not to make direct comparisons between the two datasets. Further information on these differences can be found within walking and cycling statistics. ↩

2. This question is asked in the NTS every odd year. ↩ ↩²

3. In previous statistical releases this was presented as ‘other including just walk’, but from this statistical release ‘just walk’ is presented separately. ↩