Walking and cycling

On 30 August 2012, DfT published a new official statistics release, Local area walking and cycling: England 2010/11. The release included statistics on the prevalence of walking and cycling amongst adults, at local authority level, during 2010/11.

The release was based on data from the Active People Survey, a household survey which is run by Sport England.

Latest local walking and cycling statistics

10 per cent of adults cycle at least once per week. This figure varies significantly by area, from over 50 per cent to less than 5 per cent.
11 per cent of adults cycle for at least half an hour, at least once per month. Across different areas, this proportion ranges from 35 per cent to 4 per cent.
Amongst those who do some cycling for at least half an hour, 16 per cent always do so for utility purposes (getting from place to place), rather than for recreation or health reasons.
71 per cent of adults walk for at least half an hour, at least once per month. Across different areas, this proportion ranges from over 80 per cent to around 60 per cent.
23 per cent of those who do some walking for at least half an hour do so exclusively for utility purposes. The share of utility walking is highest in London, where 35 per cent of those who walk do so only for utility purposes.

Browse statistical releases within this series

Walking and cycling statistical releases

Browse individual statistical tables

Index sheet of all walking and cycling tables (XLS – 36 KB)

Local area walking and cycling statistical tables

Request for user feedback

If you have any comments or queries about this new publication, please let us know by completing the two page online feedback form here or using the contact details below. We are keen to learn more about our users needs and experiences, to help us improve the usefulness of our statistics where possible.