By Liberty Hibberd, Public Affairs Manager 

The Department for Transport has published new data from the National Travel Survey 2023. 

The survey highlights a consistent dependency on car use in Great Britain. 

The findings of the survey show that there has been an increase in the number of car, van and motor cycle journeys in 2023, whilst active travel journeys such as walking and cycling, have decreased.

The car remains the most popular mode of transport in the UK, despite the boost in active travel linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings of the Department for Transport’s National Travel Survey 2023 are available to read here.

Sue Percy CBE, Chief Executive, CIHT said:

Everyone in society should have genuine and attractive choices for how they travel to meet their needs. These latest statistics that show and increase in reliance on the car as a first mode of choice shows how there is still significant work to be done. To limit social and transport inequality, national leadership and local authority support are urgently needed to materially change our built environment and services.

The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) has consistently called for the government(s) to support a sustainable transport hierarchy for the way people move.

CIHT believes that:

-            National and local governments should commit to making an appropriate place-based sustainable transport hierarchy a reality.

-            Decision-makers must be flexible and apply their own rationale when implementing this strategy.

CIHT is looking forward to working with the government to refine the transport hierarchy in the UK and enable the delivery of better transport networks, that work for all. 

The CIHT Manifesto ‘A transport network fit for all our futures’ is available to read here.

For any further information please contact e: liberty.hibberd@ciht.org.uk