Official Statistics

Walking and cycling statistics, England: Local area walking and cycling rates (Active Lives Survey)

Published 30 August 2023

Applies to England

About this release

This statistical release contains information on walking and cycling rates across England. These statistics are taken from the Active Lives Survey (ALS) collected by Sport England and are subsequently analysed by the Department for Transport (DfT).

Data for the ALS is collected from November to November each year and any reference to 2022 refers to data collected between November 2021 to November 2022.

Data relates to all local authorities in England. This release aggregates data at both the regional and national level to provide an overview of trends in England. The Active Lives Survey has a standard sample size of at least 500 people per local authority in England.

For more information, see the technical notes and definitions document and background quality report.

Due to different methodologies in data collection, definitions, and data coverage statistics from the ALS and the National Travel Survey are not directly comparable.

Despite the Active Lives Survey having a standard sample size of at least 500 persons per local authority, some measures related to cycling might be based on a low number of respondents in some local authorities. Where applicable, data tables containing survey data with a sample size of less than 30 respondents have been suppressed.

Due to the lower prevalence of cycling compared to walking at both a national and local level, and for leisure and travel purposes, changes in cycling rates are usually small (plus or minus 2 percentage points).

For example, whilst cycling for leisure at least once per week has decreased by 10% from 2021 to 2022, this has only decreased from 6% of adults in England to 5% (a reduction of 1 percentage point). For this reason, when comparing differences in cycling rates over time, we recommend looking at percentage point changes rather than percentage differences.

1. Introduction

During 2020 and 2021, the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) supported a shift towards increased walking and cycling across England as active travel provided not only a means of transportation that allowed for social distancing but also a way that people could safely stay active during periods of restrictions. As other modes of public transport and fitness activities witnessed a decline in use, walking and cycling (for leisure) were generally adopted to counter restrictions on indoor activities. This was also seen with a general reduction in overall activity levels of adults during this period, which has now recovered. The proportion of active adults is back in line with levels seen pre-pandemic (November 2018 to November 2019) and above those seen six years ago. The proportion of inactive adults remains slightly up on pre-pandemic levels, with fewer adults being ‘fairly active’.

A range of factors can influence variations in local authority walking and cycling rates and the combination of different factors can vary from one local authority to the other, producing different take-up rates in each area. Active travel policies aim to encourage walking and cycling across England and are designed to support active modes of transport. Local variations can be the product of perceptions about road safety, the conditions of walking and cycling infrastructure, or generally due to differences across demographics.

2. Local area walking rates

Walking: walking is defined as any continuous walk of at least 10 minutes. It includes walking for leisure, for travel, rambling/Nordic walking, and for wheelchair users, wheelchair use. It excludes hiking, mountain/hill walking, and walking around shops.

Detailed national, regional, and local authority area walking and cycling rates can be found in tables CW0301, CW0302 and CW0303 and can be found on the statistical data set page alongside datasets for times usually spent walking or cycling per day (CW0304), demographic differences in walking and cycling (CW0305), and sample sizes (CW0306).

In 2022, 69% of adults reported walking at least once per week for any purpose, this remains broadly similar to previous years with just a small decrease from 70% in 2021 and 71% in 2019. In comparison, only 32% of adults reported to walk at least five times a week in 2022, similar to previous years.

At the local authority level, more than half of adults walk at least once a week in almost all local authorities, with the only exception to this being the City of London at 42%. Just over half of all local authorities (164 out of 309) have 70% or more of adults in their areas walking at least once per week, dropping to only 20% of authorities where at least three-quarters (75%) of adults walk at least once a week.

Local area walking rates can differ for various reasons and in 2022, Norwich (83%), Wandsworth, Oxford, Lewes (82%), and Westminster (81%) were the five authorities with the highest level of walking rates for walking at least once per week for any purpose in England. In comparison, Bradford, Barking and Dagenham (57%), Luton (54%), Slough (53%), and City of London (42%) were the local authorities with the lowest walking rates at least once a week in 2022. Map 1 shows the walking rate distribution across England.

Map 1: Proportion of adults walking at least once per week, for any purpose, England, 2022 (CW0303)

Purpose - leisure: walking for the purpose of recreation, health, competition, or training.

Purpose - travel: walking to get to place-to-place, for example, commuting, visiting a friend, going to the supermarket.

Chart 1 shows that walking for any purpose at least once a week has remained at similar levels across the series. Walking for leisure peaked at 60% in 2021. Whilst levels have since decreased in 2022, they remain above pre-pandemic levels in the series. Walking for travel at least once a week remained similar across the years 2016 to 2019. It then decreased during the coronavirus pandemic period (2020 and 2021) and in 2022 is starting to show recovery as travel patterns start to return to levels seen before 2020.

Chart 1: Proportion of adults reporting walking at least once per week, by purpose, in England (CW0303)

2.1 Walking for leisure

The proportion of adults walking for leisure at least once per week has generally been increasing across the series and peaked in 2021, following the impacts of the pandemic, at 60%. Since then, walking for leisure across England has slightly decreased to 56%, but remains above levels seen prior to 2020with levels five percentage points higher than in 2019 (51% versus 56%) in England. Compared to 2016 when the ALS began, walking for leisure at least once a week in England has increased by 9 percentage points (47% to 56%).

Regional changes follow a similar trend to national trends with a decrease seen in all regions in 2022 following series highs seen in 2021 in all regions. The South West remains the region that has the highest prevalence of walking for leisure at 63%. In comparison, London has the lowest prevalence of walking for leisure with just under 51% of respondents reporting to walk at least once per week (Chart 2).

Chart 2: Proportion of adults reporting walking at least once per week, for leisure purposes, in each English region in 2019, 2021, and 2022 (CW0303)

Half of local authority respondents were walking for leisure at least once a week in 85% of all local authorities (262 out of 309).

The Isles of Scilly (75%) reported the highest prevalence of walking for leisure at least once per week, followed by South Hams (73%), New Forest (73%), Waverley (71%), and South Lakeland (71%). By contrast, Barking and Dagenham (31%), City of London (34%), Slough (37%), Luton (38%), and Sandwell (39%) reported the lowest prevalence of walking for leisure.

2.2 Walking for travel

Walking for travel saw the opposite trend compared to walking for leisure during the pandemic period, with a large decline in walking for travel in all frequencies seen in 2020 and 2021. Whilst 2022 shows signs of recovery, levels currently remain below pre-pandemic levels. The proportion of adults walking for travel purposes at least once a week has increased from a series low of 28% in 2021 to 35% in 2022.

This increase is reflected across all regions, with London seeing the highest levels in all regions as well as the sharpest rise in walking for travel increasing from 40% in 2021 to 50% in 2022. In comparison, the North East had the lowest prevalence and level of increase rising from 26% to 30% (Chart 3).

Chart 3: Proportion of adults reporting walking at least once per week, for travel purposes, in each English region in 2019, 2021, and 2022 (CW0303)

Local authority variations in walking patterns show that half of adults are not walking for travel at least once a week in almost all authorities (93%). However, 1 in 4 adults are walking for travel at least once a week in 265 of 309 (86%) authorities.

Nine of the top ten local authorities with the highest prevalence of walking for travel at least once per week in 2022 were London boroughs, with Hackney (65%) having the highest prevalence, followed by Wandsworth (64%) and Hammersmith and Fulham (61%). In comparison, the City of London had the lowest rates of adults walking at least once per week for travel, at 19% in 2022.

3. Local area cycling rates

Cycling: cycling is defined as any cycle rides of any length for leisure, or for travel. Includes some recreational types of cycling such as mountain biking, track cycling, and cyclo-cross. Excludes exercise bikes and cycling indoors.

Due to the low level of adults cycling in the sample, some data has been suppressed at a local authority level as low sample sizes lead to low reliability in outputs for these categories.

Cycling levels are typically lower than walking at a local and national level.

In 2022, the proportion of adults reporting cycling at least once per week for any purpose remained similar to 2021, at 9%.

One in ten (10%) adults are cycling at least once per week for any purpose in 112 local authorities in 2022.

Local variations in cycling rates at least once per week, for any purpose, show large differences in cycling levels across England. In 2022, Cambridge (50%), Oxford (35%), Isles of Scilly (30%), Hackney (28%), and Southwark (25%) were the five authorities with the highest level of cycling rates. These rates show a large contrast to the authorities with the lowest level of cycling rates, which were Bury, Sandwell (5%), Rochdale, Bolton (4%) and Oldham (3%). This does not include local authorities where data has been suppressed due to low sample sizes. Map 2 shows the distribution across England.

Map 2: Proportion of adults cycling at least once per week, for any purpose, England, 2022 (CW0302)

[note 1] Data for some local authorities has been suppressed due to low sample sizes, for the purpose of this map they will be represented as 0%. Detailed breakdowns are found in table CW0302.

Purpose - leisure: cycling for the purpose of recreation, health, competition, or training.

Purpose - travel: cycling to get to place-to-place, for example, commuting, visiting a friend, going to the supermarket.

Chart 4 shows that adults cycling at least once per week for any purpose remains similar to 2021 at 9%. This follows the decrease seen between 2020 and 2021, with levels for 2016 to 2020 at around 12%.

Cycling for leisure at least once a week follows a similar trend to cycling for any purpose. Cycling for leisure has decreased slightly on 2021, from 6% to 5% and from 8% in 2019. Cycling for travel decreased over the pandemic and has since risen from 5% in both 2020 and 2021 to 6% in 2022. This is in line with the proportion of adults cycling from 2016 to 2019.

Chart 4: Proportion of adults reporting cycling at least once per week, by purpose, in England (CW0302)

3.1 Cycling for leisure

The proportion of adults cycling for leisure at least once per week has decreased slightly in comparison to 2021, falling from 6% to 5%. This is the lowest level of cycling for leisure seen since the Active Lives Survey first began.

Regional levels of cycling for leisure at least once a week remain similar in 2022 compared to 2021 with small decreases in all regions. Each of the regions witnessed increases in cycling for leisure during 2020, however, current cycling levels for this purpose remain lower than 2019, with the North East falling from 7% in 2019 to 4% in 2022 (Chart 5).

Cycling for leisure at least once a week follows a similar trend to cycling for any purpose since a larger proportion of adults in the survey report cycling for leisure as opposed to for travel purposes.

Chart 5: Proportion of adults reporting cycling at least once per week, for leisure purposes, in each English region in 2019, 2021, and 2022 (CW0302)

Cycling for leisure remains low across most local authorities, with only 15 local authorities reporting more than 10% of adults cycling for leisure at least once per week. The highest prevalence of cycling for leisure at least once per week was in South Lakeland (13%), followed by York, Kingston upon Thames, and Oxford (all at 11%).

3.2 Cycling for travel

Levels of cycling for travel at least once a week in England were slightly above levels seen for leisure purposes for the first time in the series. Whilst cycling for travel has returned to similar levels seen in 2019, cycling for leisure remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Cycling for travel at least once per week has increased to 6% compared to 2021. Whilst cycling for travel purposes in England remained relatively similar from 2016 to 2019, it decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic to 5% in 2020 and 2021. This is also reflected in eight out of nine regions where cycling for travel has also seen an increase in activity compared to 2021, likely reflecting travel patterns that involved returning to the workplace (Chart 6).

Due to the low level of adults cycling for travel in the sample, the data has been suppressed below the county level as low sample sizes lead to low reliability in outputs for these categories.

Chart 6: Proportion of adults reporting cycling at least once per week, for travel purposes, in each English region in 2019, 2021, and 2022 (CW0302)

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6. Contact details

Walking and cycling statistics

Email [email protected]

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