Roads are the key component of an integrated transport system. This section includes information on how many passenger, business and goods miles are travelled by different transport modes.
GB transport passengers by mode
| wdt_ID | Year | Buses and coaches | Cars, vans and taxis | Motor cycles | Pedal cycles | All Road | Rail | Air | All modes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2012 | 42 | 647 | 5 | 5 | 699 | 70 | 8 | 777 |
| 2 | 2013 | 40 | 642 | 5 | 5 | 692 | 72 | 8 | 772 |
| 3 | 2014 | 40 | 654 | 5 | 6 | 704 | 75 | 8 | 788 |
| 4 | 2015 | 39 | 655 | 5 | 5 | 705 | 78 | 9 | 791 |
| 5 | 2016 | 34 | 668 | 5 | 6 | 712 | 80 | 9 | 801 |
Billion passenger kilometers
Source DfT
GB commuting by mode (percent)
| wdt_ID | Year | Car | Motorcyle | Bicycle | Bus/Coach | Rail | Walk | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2012 | 68 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 1 |
| 2 | 2013 | 68 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 1 |
| 3 | 2014 | 68 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 1 |
| 4 | 2015 | 68 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 1 |
| 5 | 2016 | 65 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 1 |
| 6 | 2017 | 64 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 1 |
Source DfT
GB freight moved by mode (billion tonne kms)
| wdt_ID | Year | Road | Rail | Water | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2012 | 143.00 | 21.00 | 36.00 | 200.00 |
| 2 | 2013 | 131.00 | 21.00 | 29.00 | 183.00 |
| 3 | 2014 | 128.00 | 23.00 | 27.00 | 177.00 |
| 4 | 2015 | 143.00 | 18.00 | 31.00 | 192.00 |
| 5 | 2016 | 148.00 | 17.00 | 30.00 | 196.00 |
Source Dft
GB freight lifted by mode (million tonnes)
| wdt_ID | Year | Road | Rail | Water | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2012 | 1,427.00 | 113.00 | 96.00 | 1,635.00 |
| 2 | 2013 | 1,316.00 | 117.00 | 91.00 | 1,523.00 |
| 3 | 2014 | 1,322.00 | 111.00 | 95.00 | 1,527.00 |
| 4 | 2015 | 1,445.00 | 86.00 | 98.00 | 1,629.00 |
| 5 | 2016 | 1,434.00 | 79.00 | 102.00 | 1,615.00 |
Source Dft
GB - average distance travelled per person per year by mode (miles)
| wdt_ID | Mode | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Private: | ||||||
| 2 | Walk | 190 | 195 | 190 | 192 | 198 | 206 |
| 3 | Walk (of a mile or more) | 103 | 110 | 103 | 106 | 95 | 97 |
| 4 | Bicycle | 55 | 49 | 58 | 53 | 53 | 60 |
| 5 | Car / van driver | 3,305 | 3,235 | 3,276 | 3,266 | 3,289 | 3,276 |
| 6 | Car / van passenger | 1,833 | 1,865 | 1,791 | 1,893 | 1,790 | 1,827 |
| 7 | Motorcycle | 39 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 34 | 36 |
| 8 | Other private transport | 93 | 123 | 106 | 98 | 93 | 97 |
| 9 | Public: | ||||||
| 10 | Bus in London | 77 | 82 | 77 | 86 | 61 | 78 |
Other private transport is mostly private hire bus (including school buses).
Other public transport is air, ferries and light rail.
Source DfT
GB - average journey distance travelled per person per mode (miles)
| wdt_ID | Main mode | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Private: | ||||||
| 2 | Walk | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| 3 | Walk (of a mile or more) | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| 4 | Bicycle | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.4 |
| 5 | Car / van driver | 8.3 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| 6 | Car / van passenger | 8.6 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 9.3 | 8.8 | 8.9 |
| 7 | Motorcycle | 10.9 | 10.3 | 9.2 | 11.1 | 11.1 | 11.2 |
| 8 | Other private transport | 13.5 | 18.0 | 18.0 | 15.0 | 14.8 | 16.3 |
| 9 | Public: | ||||||
| 10 | Bus in London | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 4.2 |
Other private transport is mostly private hire bus (including school buses).
Other public transport is air, ferries and light rail.
Source DfT
EU28 passenger travel by mode (billion km)
| wdt_ID | Type | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cars | 4,621 | 4,678 | 4,766 |
| 2 | Motorcycles | 126 | 125 | 127 |
| 3 | Bus/coach | 525 | 528 | 526 |
| 4 | Rail | 420 | 425 | 428 |
| 5 | Tram/metro | 100 | 100 | 102 |
| 6 | Air | 572 | 579 | 605 |
| 7 | Sea | 42 | 39 | 38 |
| 8 | Total | 6,405 | 6,475 | 6,592 |
Source European Road Federation
EU passenger travel by car as a percentage of whole
| wdt_ID | Country | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EU (28 countries) | 82.80 | 83.00 | 83.10 | 83.10 | 82.90 |
| 2 | Belgium | 79.30 | 79.60 | 80.20 | 80.80 | 81.80 |
| 3 | Bulgaria | 82.10 | 83.00 | 82.30 | 83.20 | 83.70 |
| 4 | Czech Republic | 74.00 | 73.60 | 73.10 | 74.10 | 74.00 |
| 5 | Denmark | 79.90 | 79.90 | 80.20 | 80.80 | 81.60 |
| 6 | Germany | 85.40 | 85.80 | 85.70 | 85.60 | 85.70 |
| 7 | Estonia | 81.40 | 81.00 | 81.60 | 78.20 | 80.10 |
| 8 | Ireland | 82.80 | 83.20 | 79.80 | 80.40 | 79.90 |
| 9 | Greece | 81.60 | 81.30 | 81.40 | 81.40 | 81.90 |
| 10 | Spain | 80.70 | 80.30 | 82.70 | 81.40 | 81.60 |
Source Eurostat
EU passenger travel by bus as a percentage of whole
| wdt_ID | Country | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EU (28 countries) | 9.50 | 9.40 | 9.20 | 9.20 | 9.40 |
| 2 | Belgium | 12.90 | 12.20 | 11.70 | 11.40 | 10.50 |
| 3 | Bulgaria | 14.80 | 14.00 | 15.10 | 14.50 | 14.10 |
| 4 | Czech Republic | 17.70 | 17.90 | 18.50 | 17.30 | 17.10 |
| 5 | Denmark | 9.80 | 9.80 | 9.80 | 9.90 | 9.80 |
| 6 | Germany | 5.70 | 5.70 | 5.80 | 6.00 | 5.80 |
| 7 | Estonia | 16.80 | 17.40 | 16.50 | 20.00 | 17.90 |
| 8 | Ireland | 14.40 | 14.10 | 17.30 | 16.70 | 17.20 |
| 9 | Greece | 17.70 | 17.80 | 17.70 | 17.50 | 17.10 |
| 10 | Spain | 13.70 | 13.70 | 10.60 | 11.90 | 11.80 |
Source Eurostat
EU passenger travel by train as a percentage of whole
| wdt_ID | Country | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EU (28 countries) | 7.70 | 7.60 | 7.70 | 7.70 | 7.70 |
| 3 | Belgium | 7.80 | 8.20 | 8.10 | 7.80 | 7.70 |
| 4 | Bulgaria | 3.10 | 2.90 | 2.60 | 2.30 | 2.20 |
| 5 | Czech Republic | 8.30 | 8.50 | 8.40 | 8.60 | 8.90 |
| 6 | Denmark | 10.20 | 10.30 | 10.10 | 9.30 | 8.60 |
| 7 | Germany | 8.90 | 8.50 | 8.50 | 8.40 | 8.60 |
| 8 | Estonia | 1.80 | 1.60 | 1.90 | 1.80 | 2.00 |
| 9 | Ireland | 2.80 | 2.70 | 2.90 | 3.00 | 2.90 |
| 10 | Greece | 0.70 | 0.90 | 0.90 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 11 | Spain | 5.60 | 6.00 | 6.70 | 6.70 | 6.60 |
Source Eurostat
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It provides data collated from a range of UK and EU sources, presented in an easy-to-use format.
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