Publication of cycling and walking to/from work in Northern Ireland 2015/2016

Date published: 1 December 2016

This report, produced by the Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch (ASRB) of the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), presents findings from the 2015/2016 Continuous Household Survey (CHS). 2014/2015 was the first year that this question set was included in the CHS and this is the second such report produced.

The publication is available on the ASRB website at:

• https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/articles/walking-and-cycling-0

KEY POINTS

Cycling to/ from Work

1. Of the 1,663 respondents who said they travel to work, one in fifty (2%) said they normally cycle to work AND from work, a small percentage (0.1%) said they normally cycle to work OR from work and the majority (98%) said they do not cycle to or from work. These percentages are the same as in 2014/2015.
2. Of the 27 respondents who reported that they normally cycle to work AND/OR from work, over two fifths (44%) cycle 2-3 miles, on average, in one direction.Over a fifth (22%) cycle 6 miles or more, just under a fifth (19%) cycle 4-5 miles and just over one in seven (15%) cycle 1 mile or less in one direction. These percentages are similar to 2014/2015.
3. All respondents who normally cycle to work AND/OR from work reported that they cycle all the way. This is similar to 2014/2015 where the majority (97%) of respondents reported that they cycle all the way and one in thirty (3%) reported that they cycle part of the way to work.
4. Just under half (48%) of respondents who reported that they normally cycle to work AND/OR from work said they cycle 5 days per week on average. Just over a quarter (26%) said they cycle 3 days per week and just over a tenth (11%) said they cycle 1 day per week. One in twenty (4%) said they cycle 2, 4, 6 or 7 days per week. These percentages are similar to 2014/15.

Walking to/ from Work

1. Of the 1,664 respondents who said they travel to work, a tenth (10%) said they normally walk to work AND from work, a small percentage (1%) said they normally walk to work OR from work and the majority (89%) said they do not walk to or from work. These percentages are the same as in 2014/15.
2. Respondents aged 16-24 (21%) were more likely to normally walk to work AND/OR from work than those aged 35-49 (9%) and 50-64 (10%).These percentages are similar to 2014/2015.
3. Female respondents (14%) were more likely to normally walk to work AND/OR from work than male respondents (8%). These percentages are the same as in 2014/2015.
4. Respondents from urban areas (15%) were more likely to normally walk to work AND/OR from work than those from rural areas (4%).These percentages are the same as in 2014/2015.
5. All but one of the 190 respondents who reported that they normally walk to work AND/OR from work provided information on the average distance they walk in one direction.Over two thirds (69%) walk 1 mile or less, on average, in one direction, over a quarter (27%) walk 2-3 miles, one in twenty-five (4%) walk 4-5 miles and a small percentage (1%) walk 6 miles or more in one direction.These percentages are similar to 2014/2015.
6. The majority (95%) of respondents who normally walk to work AND/OR from work reported that they walk all the way and one in twenty (5%) reported that they walk part of the way. These percentages are similar to 2014/2015.
7. Just over half (52%) of respondents who reported that they normally walk to work AND/OR from work said they walk 5 days per week on average.One in seven (14%) said they walk 3 days per week, just over one in eight (13%) said they walk 4 days per week and one in sixteen (6%) said they walk 2 days per week. Less than one in twenty said they walk 1 day per week and 7 days per week (4% and 3% respectively). These percentages are similar to 2014/2015.One in twelve (8%) respondents who reported that they normally walk to work AND/OR from work said they walk 6 days per week on average.This is an increase of five percentage points from 2014/2015 (3%).