Travel to school
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Travel.
- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity over time (average trip distance) section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity over time (average trip duration) section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity over time (type of transport) section
- 6. Navigate toData sources section
- 7. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- in the 5 years from 2015 to 2019, the average trip time to school was 19 minutes (one way)
- walking was the most common form of transport for all ethnic groups
- on average, Asian children had the shortest trip time, while White children had the longest distance to travel
- White and Asian children were more likely to travel by car compared with other ethnic groups
- Black children were more likely to travel by bus compared with other ethnic groups
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows how 5 to 16 year olds living in England get to or from school. It includes their:
- average one-way trip distance in miles
- average one-way trip time in minutes
- mode of transport (for example, car, bus or train)
Each trip is counted separately. The data includes trips to and from schools in Wales and Scotland.
Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number and were calculated using unrounded figures.
Not included in the data
Percentages based on fewer than 100 people or 300 trips have not been included in the data. This is because the numbers are too small to make any reliable generalisations.
The data does not include trips over 50 miles.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data is shown for the following 5 aggregated groups:
- Asian
- Black
- Mixed
- White
- Other
This is because the number of people surveyed was too small to make reliable generalisations about specific ethnic groups.
The data for ‘All ethnic groups’ includes people who did not give their ethnicity – this was 0.05% in the 5 years to 2019.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document (PDF opens in a new window or tab) for this data.
The data shows 5-year averages from April 2002 to March 2019. This is to make sure there are enough people to be able to make reliable generalisations. You can read more about why we combine multiple years of data and some of the issues involved.
The figures on this page are based on survey data. Find out more about interpreting survey data, including how reliability is affected by the number of people surveyed. Differences between ethnic groups have not been tested for statistical significance. The bullet points on this page only include findings about large differences.
National Travel Survey responses are weighted to take account of different population demographics. They are also weighted to take into account people who did not respond or complete their travel diary in full.
You can read more about how weighting is used to make survey data more representative of the group it is about.
In the data file
See Download the data for weighted and unweighted sample sizes.
3. By ethnicity over time (average trip distance)
| Time | All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miles | Miles | Miles | Miles | Miles | Miles | |
| 2002/06 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.2 |
| 2003/07 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| 2004/08 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
| 2005/09 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.9 |
| 2006/10 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.3 |
| 2007/11 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 2.8 |
| 2008/12 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 2.7 |
| 2009/13 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.6 |
| 2010/14 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| 2011/15 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 2.2 |
| 2012/16 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
| 2013/17 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
| 2014/18 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.3 |
| 2015/19 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 2.1 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time (average trip distance)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time (average trip distance)’ (CSV)
Summary of Travel to school By ethnicity over time (average trip distance) Summary
The data shows that:
- in the 5 years from 2015 to 2019, the average distance to school for 5 to 16 year olds was 2.4 miles
- White children had the longest trip to school (2.5 miles), and Asian children had the shortest (2.0 miles)
4. By ethnicity over time (average trip duration)
| Time | All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minutes | Minutes | Minutes | Minutes | Minutes | Minutes | |
| 2002/06 | 18 | 18 | 26 | 21 | 18 | 22 |
| 2003/07 | 18 | 17 | 25 | 21 | 18 | 22 |
| 2004/08 | 19 | 17 | 25 | 20 | 18 | 22 |
| 2005/09 | 19 | 17 | 26 | 19 | 18 | 19 |
| 2006/10 | 19 | 17 | 25 | 20 | 19 | 21 |
| 2007/11 | 19 | 18 | 24 | 20 | 19 | 23 |
| 2008/12 | 19 | 18 | 25 | 20 | 19 | 23 |
| 2009/13 | 19 | 18 | 25 | 21 | 19 | 23 |
| 2010/14 | 19 | 18 | 24 | 21 | 19 | 22 |
| 2011/15 | 19 | 18 | 24 | 21 | 19 | 23 |
| 2012/16 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 21 |
| 2013/17 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 20 |
| 2014/18 | 19 | 18 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 20 |
| 2015/19 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 19 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time (average trip duration)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time (average trip duration)’ (CSV)
Summary of Travel to school By ethnicity over time (average trip duration) Summary
The data shows that:
- the average time spent travelling to or from school has consistently been between 18 and 19 minutes
- in the 5 years between 2015 and 2019, Asian children had the shortest trip time (18 minutes), and Black children had the longest (23 minutes)
- the average trip time for Black children went down from 26 to 23 minutes in the time covered by the data – it was fairly stable for all other ethnic groups
5. By ethnicity over time (type of transport)
| All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main mode of transport | All Value 2002/06 | All Value 2015/19 | Asian Value 2002/06 | Asian Value 2015/19 | Black Value 2002/06 | Black Value 2015/19 | Mixed Value 2002/06 | Mixed Value 2015/19 | White Value 2002/06 | White Value 2015/19 | Other Value 2002/06 | Other Value 2015/19 |
| Bicycle | 2 | 2 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | 2 | 2 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Car / Van | 31 | 35 | 33 | 37 | 19 | 23 | 29 | 31 | 32 | 37 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | 26 |
| Local bus | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 31 | 22 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 11 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Private bus | 5 | 4 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | 5 | 4 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Surface Rail | 1 | 1 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | 1 | 1 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Walk | 48 | 44 | 49 | 45 | 45 | 48 | 47 | 49 | 48 | 43 | 51 | 51 |
| Other | 1 | 1 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | 1 | 1 | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time (type of transport)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time (type of transport)’ (CSV)
Summary of Travel to school By ethnicity over time (type of transport) Summary
The data shows that:
- in the 5 years between 2015 and 2019, an average of 44% of children walked to school – the most common way of getting to school
- White and Asian children were the most likely out of all ethnic groups to travel to and from school by car (37%)
6. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Department for Transport
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The National Travel Survey is the main source of data on personal travel by people living in England.
The survey collects information on how, why, when and where people travel. It also covers factors affecting people's travel habits, such as whether they have a car and driving licence.
7. Download the data
This file contains the following: ethnicity, year, value, numerator, denominator, unweighted sample
This file contains the following: ethnicity, year, value
This file contains the following: ethnicity, year, value, numerator, denominator, unweighted sample