Accredited official statistics

NTS 2024: Mode share and multi-modal trips

Published 27 August 2025

Main findings

• In 2024, 25% of trips were under 1 mile, and 70% under 5 miles.
• Nearly all walks recorded were under 5 miles (99.8%) and for trips over a mile the car was the most frequent mode of travel.
• The majority of trips (93%) used a single mode of transport and 7% of trips were multi-modal (involving more than one transport mode) in 2024.
• Around 60% of trips which used more than one mode (multi-modal trips) started with walking.
• People living in higher income households tend to travel more than people living in lower income households.
• Households within the lowest income quintile made the least private transport trips (414 trips per person).
• Almost two-thirds (62%) of trips made by those in managerial and professional occupations used private transport as the main mode in the trip.

Mode share for public, private and active travel modes

Chart 3: Public, private and active mode share by age band, sex, mobility difficulty and region of residence: England, 2024 (NTS0601), (NTS0709) and (NTS9903)

Age band

• Children aged 0 to 16 made the highest proportion of trips using active transport modes such as walking and cycling in 2024 with 35%.
• Those aged 40 to 49 made the smallest proportion of trips using active modes with 27%.
• The proportion of trips by active, private and public transport modes was similar across all age bands for people aged 40 and over.
• People within age groups 40 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 46%, 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 (20%).

Sex

• The mode share between active, private and public transport modes was similar for both males and females.

Mobility difficulty

• Those with no mobility difficulties made a slightly higher proportion of their trips using active transport modes (30%), compared to 25% for those with a mobility difficulty.
• Those with no mobility difficulties made a smaller proportion of their trips using private transport modes (61%), compared to 65% for those with a mobility difficulty.
• Those without a mobility difficulty made 9% of their trips using public transport modes, a similar proportion to those with a mobility difficulty (10%).

Region

• People living in London made the highest proportion of trips using active transport modes with 37%, and public transport modes with 27%.
• Residents from the South West made the second highest proportion of their trips using active transport modes with 32%.
• The highest proportion of trips using private transport modes were made by residents of the West Midlands with 69%.

Mode share by trip length

Chart 4: Mode share of trips by main mode^{[footnote 1]} for different trip lengths: England, 2024 (NTS0308)

Short trips

• Most trips are relatively short. In 2024, 25% of trips were under 1 mile, and 70% under 5 miles.

• Walking was the most frequent mode used for short trips. For trips under a mile, 81% were completed by walking. Nearly all walks recorded in the NTS were under 5 miles in 2024 (99.8%).

Longer trips

• For trips over a mile, the car was the most frequent mode of travel.

• Around three-quarters (72%) of rail trips were 10 miles and over in 2024.

Multi-modal trips

Chart 5: Percentage of trips recorded on day 1 of the travel diary using more than one transport mode by region of residence: England, 2024 (ad hoc analyses) NTSQ09073

Multi-modal trips by region of residence

• Around 7% of trips were multi-modal (involving more than one transport mode) in 2024, 6% of trips were multi-modal in 2023.
• The proportion of trips using more than one transport mode (multi-modal trips) varies by region. This ranges from 3% in the North West to 18% in London.

The below chart shows the modes used within trips by England residents. Most trips have only one stage and therefore a single mode. The chart shows the various combinations of modes for trips where more than one mode is used, as well as trips where a single mode is used. The most complex trips recorded in this data had nine stages. Less than 0.01% of trips had 6 or more stages and these have been trimmed from the below charts for simplicity. Each column represents a stage, and the thickness of lines is proportional to the number of trips.

Chart 6: Flow of travel by mode for trips recorded on day 1 of the travel diary: England, 2024 (ad hoc analyses) NTSQ09073

Flow of trips between modes of transport

This analysis is based on data from the first day of the travel diary as this is the only day on which walks of under a mile are recorded. Walks of under 50 yards are not recorded.

• The majority of trips (93%) in 2024 used a single mode of transport.
• For all trips in 2024, car driver was the most frequent mode to begin a trip, with 38%, followed by walk (34%) and car passenger (20%).

The following chart includes only the 7% of trips which were multi-modal, showing the various combinations of modes used within each trip.

Chart 7: Flow of travel by mode for multi-modal trips recorded on day 1 of the travel diary: England, 2024 (ad hoc analyses) NTSQ09073

Multi-modal trips

• Almost two-thirds of trips using more than one mode started with walking (60%). Of these trips, public transport modes were used most often as the second mode in the trip, with surface rail being the most common (15% of multi-modal trips), followed by other local bus (14%), London Underground (9%) and bus in London (9%). Around 25% of multi-modal trips then continued with further walking.
• Around 16% of multi-modal trips began with a car (as a driver or passenger), and the majority of these trips continued with walking (9%) or surface rail (3%).

Mode share by household income and socio-economic classification

Chart 8: Average active, private, public and all trips by household income quintile: England, 2002 to 2024 (NTS0705)

Household income quintile

Income quintiles, come from dividing all households into five groups of equal size according to their level of real household income equivalent (accounting for inflation and household composition).

All trips

• On average, people living in higher income households tend to travel more than people living in lower income households. In 2024, households within the second highest income quintile made the most trips on average with 990 trips per person, this was followed by households within the highest income quintile (987 trips per person). Households within the lowest income quintile made the fewest trips on average with 782 trips per person.
• Over time, trips have decreased for households within all income quintiles.

Active transport

• Households within the highest income quintile made the most active transport trips on average in 2024 with 305 trips per person (where walking and cycling are the main mode in the trip) and households within the third level income quintile made the fewest active transport trips on average with 264 trips per person.
• Although fluctuating, these trips have remained fairly stable over time.

Private transport

• Households within the second highest income quintile made the most private transport trips with 637 trips per person (where car and motorcycle are the main mode within the trip). Households within the lowest income quintile made the least private transport trips (414 trips per person).
• For households within the lowest to third income quintile, these trips have remained fairly stable over time, whereas these trips have decreased over time for households within the fourth and highest income quintile.

Public transport

• Households within the highest income quintile made the most public transport trips (these trips include buses, London Underground, surface rail, taxi or minicab as the main mode), with 104 trips per person in 2024, with greater use of rail and London Underground compared to households within lower income quintiles.
• Households within the lowest income quintile made the second most public transport trips with 97 trips per person in 2024, with greater use of buses (within and outside London) compared to households within the highest income quintile.

Chart 9: Public, private and active mode share of trips by National Statistics Socio-economic Classification^{[footnote 2]}, people aged 16 and over: England, 2024 (NTS0708)

Trips by National Statistics Socio-economic Classification

• Overall, the shares of trips made using active, private and public modes were similar for people across the occupational categories, with less use of private transport for those in the never worked and long-term unemployed and student categories.
• Almost two-thirds (62%) of trips made by those in managerial and professional occupations used private transport as the main mode in the trip, 30% by active transport modes and 8% by public transport modes.
• People who have never worked and long-term unemployed made the highest proportion of trips using active transport modes with 39% and the smallest proportion of trips using private transport modes (45%). These individuals as well as those with a socio-economic status as not classified which includes students, made the highest proportion of trips using public transport modes (16%).

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. Other includes pedal cycle, motorcycle, other private transport, non-local bus, London Underground, taxi or minicab and other public transport. ↩

2. The National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC) is a standard measure of socio-economic position across official statistics in the UK since 2001, used to explain variation in social behaviours. Here, it is used for individuals aged 16 and over. For more information, please see the NS-SEC methodology and guidance of the Office for National Statistics. ↩