Britons making less journeys, survey shows

Britons are making fewer journeys within their own country, UK government figures out yesterday showed.

In 2009, Britons on average made 973 trips, including walking and shopping journeys, compared with an average of 1,096 a year in the period 1995/97.

Most of the decline since the 1990s can be attributed to falls in shopping trips, visits to friends at private homes and commuting, the Department for Transport figures revealed.

The period from 2007 to 2009 has seen a nine per cent fall in the number of commuting trips.

On average, Britons travelled 6,775 miles in 2009 - a dip from the peak year of 2005 when the average was 7,208 miles.

The average length of a journey has risen from 6.4 miles in 1995/97 to seven miles in 2009.

Time spent travelling has remained fairly static over the last 15 years and was just over an hour a day, on average, in 2009.

Based on responses from 20,000 people in 8,000 households, the figures also showed:

• Trips by car in 2009 accounted for 63 per cent of all journeys and 79 per cent of the distance travelled;

• The average annual mileage per car has fallen from about 9,700 in 1995/97 to 8,420 in 2009;

• The proportion of cars that are company owned has fallen from seven per cent in 1995/97 to four per cent in 2009;

• Around 80 per cent of men now hold a full driving licence and licences among women have risen from 57 per cent of the female population in 1995/97 to 65 per cent in 2009.