Will the Cabinet Secretary provide statistics on how many people have been taking part in active travel in each of the last 3 financial years?
The main national data source we currently have available to report on active travel participation is the National Survey for Wales. This provides percentages for active travel participation for those sixteen years old or older, with a high degree of statistical accuracy, but this cannot be simply translated into a number of people.
The most recent available data is for 2021-22 and 2022-23 and is published on Statistics Wales website as well as in statistical bulletins Active travel (walking and cycling) | GOV.WALES. The data for both years, April 2021 to March 2022 and April 2022 to March 2023, shows that among adults aged 16+ and over:
- 6% of people cycled at least once a week for active travel purposes
- 51% of people walked at least once a week for active travel purposes
The National Survey only captures walking journeys of at least 10 minutes, which means that short walking trips would not be counted.
The June 2022 wave of the Wales Omnibus Survey provides a further source of data. The survey involved 1,000 adults in Wales who were asked questions relating to their attitudes and behaviours regarding active travel. The survey found that 74 per cent of all respondents walked or ran as a form of travel at least once a week and 14 per cent cycled as a form of travel at least once a week. The full report can be found here: Public attitudes to active travel 2022 (gov.wales)