National Travel Survey 2009

Publisher:Department for Transport
Published date: 29 July 2010
Type:Release
Series:National Travel Survey
Statistics topic:Age, Distance travelled, Gender, Journeys / Trips, Mode of travel

National Statistics Logo

Summary

This publication, the National Travel Survey (NTS) presents statistics on personal travel in Great Britain during 2009. It contains the latest results and trends on how, why, when and where people travel, as well as factors which affect personal travel such as car availability, driving licence holding and access to key services.

Download full release

Download the full release and all tables

Key points

  • There has been a steady falling trend in trip rates since 1995/97. Average distance travelled per person per year remained relatively stable until 2007, then declined slightly over the last two years.
  • Overall in 2009, there were an average of 973 trips per person per year, 1,070 stages, 6,775 miles travelled, and an average trip length of seven miles.
  • Most of the fall in overall trip rates between 1995/97 and 2009 can be accounted for by a fall in shopping, visiting friends at private homes and commuting. The last two years has seen a large fall (nine per cent) in the number of commuting trips.
  • Since 1995/97 the proportion of men with a full driving licence has remained relatively stable at around 80 per cent, but it has continued to increase among women, from 57 per cent to 65 per cent in 2009. Licence holding also continued to grow among older people.
  • Trips by car – driver and passenger – accounted for 63 per cent of all trips made and 79 per cent of distance travelled in 2009.
  • On average, females make more trips than males, but the latter travel much further per year.
  • The average annual car mileage has decreased as the number of cars per household has risen, falling from about 9,700 in 1995/97 to 8,420 in 2009. In particular, there were large falls in business and commuting mileage.

Browse all statistical tables related to this series

Technical information

General technical information on the National Travel Survey, including the technical report, standard error estimates for 2009, survey materials (questionnaire, travel diaries and fuel card), the UKSA assessment report and the pre-release access list, is available here:

Additional information specific to the 2009 National Travel Survey is available here:

Contact us

Help downloading or accessing files