The Travel Survey for Northern Ireland Report 2022 and 2023 data published

by Kevin Borras

The Travel Survey for Northern Ireland (TSNI) Report 2022 and 2023 data is now available. The publication is produced by the Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch (ASRB) of the Department for Infrastructure and contains information on walking, cycling, public transport, travelling by car, journey purpose and key tables by urban–rural. The publication is available on the Department for Infrastructure website.

The key points in the report are:

In 2023, each person travelled, on average, 5,640 miles (approximately 15.5 miles per day), an increase from the previous year (4,927 miles per person in 2022).
On average, 828 journeys were made per person in 2023 (just over 2 journeys per day), similar to 2022 (821 journeys per person).
In 2023, the average journey length was 6.8 miles, an increase from the previous year (6.0 miles in 2022).
On average, 583 car journeys were taken per person in 2023. This equates to seven in ten (70%) of all journeys made, similar to 2022 (69%).
There were 181 walking journeys per person in 2023. This represents just over one fifth (22%) of all journeys made, similar to 2022 (24%).
In 2023, 32 public transport journeys were made per person. This equates to 4% of all journeys made, the same as 2022 (4%).
There was an average of 9 cycling journeys per person in 2023. This represents 1% of all journeys made, the same as 2022 (1%)
There were 296 leisure and other journeys taken per person in 2023 (visiting friends at private home/elsewhere, entertainment/social activities, sports, holiday/day trip, other including just walk, undefined purpose). This represents just over one third (36%) of all journeys made, the same as 2022 (36%).
Each person made, on average, 147 shopping journeys during 2023, which represents almost one fifth (18%) of all journeys made, similar to 2022 (17%).
On average, 162 commuting and business journeys were taken per person in 2023. This equates to 20% of all journeys made, an increase compared to 2022 (17%).
There were 116 education and escort education journeys made per person in 2023 (e.g. a schoolchild going to school, a student going to college/university, a parent taking a child to school). This accounted for 14% of all journeys made, no real difference from 2022 (15%).
In 2023, people living in urban areas made around the same number of journeys, on average, as people living in rural areas (urban: 836 journeys; rural: 814 journeys). However, rural residents travelled further than urban residents (urban: 4,711 miles; rural: 7,103 miles).