National Travel Survey
The National Travel Survey (NTS) is
a series of household surveys designed to provide regular, up-to-date data on
personal travel and monitor changes in travel behaviour over time.
The first NTS was commissioned by
the Ministry of Transport in 1965/66. Further periodic surveys were carried
out in 1972/73, 1975/76, 1978/79 and 1985/86 (data is available from 1972 onwards). Since July 1988 the NTS has been carried out as a continuous
survey with field work being carried out in every month of the year and an annual
set sample of over 5000 addresses. The advantage of the continuous study is
that users will be able to discern seasonal and cyclical movements as well as
trend changes over time.
The NTS is carried out primarily for
the purposes of government. It is used to develop consistent sets of transport
policies; because it relates travel to travellers, it makes it possible to relate
policies to people and to predict their impact. The survey provides detailed
information on different types of travel, where people travel from and to (county
level), distance, purpose and what kinds of people are doing the travelling
and how often. The NTS is the only source of national information on subjects
such as cycling and walking which provide a context for the results of more
local studies.
The NTS continuous dataset is usually
analysed in three year periods (1989/91, 1992/94, 1995/97, 1998/2001) and new
variables have been introduced at the start of each new three year period in
1992, 1995, 1998 and 2001.
The National Statistics web site contains some detailed information about the survey.
Recent data
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