Walking is the most sustainable means of transport

Walking is the most natural mode of transport and the one that has the least impact on the environment.

Walking need not require any special equipment, does not produce any additional polluting waste and the only fuel you’ll need is a healthy meal.
Walking is safe. Unless you walk in very difficult conditions, you don’t need any special training. Walkers also pose less of a danger to other people than users of heavier modes of transport.
People in cars regularly suffer three times as much pollution as pedestrians because they are sitting in the line of the exhaust fumes from the car in front (Environmental Transport Association)
Walking is available to almost everyone for free: only 4% of people in Britain either need help when walking outside the home or are unable to walk on their own at all (DfT 2003).
Walker-friendly places are people-friendly places. Putting walkers’ needs first results in a more attractive, “liveable” environment for everyone, where people not only walk but also linger, meet, interact and play. More people out and about on foot makes everyone feel safer and discourages crime and anti-social behaviour (Transport 2000 Trust/DfT 2003)

Walking is still very important as a mode of transport, especially over short distances.

Nearly all journeys involve some walking, often to connect with other modes of transport.
25% of all journeys in Great Britain are made entirely on foot
78% of journeys under 1 mile/1.6km are made entirely on foot.
The average person travels 307km/192 miles a year on foot, less than 3% of the overall distance travelled (National Statistics National Travel Survey)
People walk more in cities. 30% of journeys in London are entirely on foot, the second highest after driving at 62%. This is 16 times higher than cycle trips and more than all types of public transport combined (Transport for London 2003).
The average length of a walk journey is 1km/0.6 miles. Only 6% of journeys are over 2 miles/3.2km (National Statistics).
The most popular reason for walking is to go shopping (23%), followed by personal business or accompanying another person (21%) and leisure or social purposes (20%) (DfT 2003)
27% of British households do not have access to a car or van (National Statistics)

However, walking is in decline overall.

In the ten years to 2003, the number of walking trips fell by 20% (National Statistics 2004).
Total distance walked per person per year fell from 390km/244 miles to 302km/189 miles between 1986 and 2001
People living in households with a car walk less than those in households without a car: 261km/163 miles per year compared to 424km/265 miles. Men who are the main driver of a company car walk least of all: 221km/131 miles per year on average.
Car ownership has increased from 30% of households in 1961 to 70% in 1998
The decline in walking journeys is largely accounted for by trips that have transferred to the car.
(DfT 2003, National Statistics National Travel Survey and Social Trends).

Walking is still the single biggest means of accessing public transport.

In addition to journeys entirely on foot, the average British adult makes 78 journeys per year combining walking with public transport.
42% of these are mainly by bus (DfT 2003)
Improvements to both walking facilities and public transport can be combined very effectively to provide environmental benefits (see for example Hass-Klau 2001).

Walking to school

...gives children health, educational and social development benefits (DTLR 2000). It improves their sense of independence and confidence (Transport 2000 2003) and could help tackle the growing problem of childhood obesity as well as the congestion of the school run (DTLR 2000).

79% of primary school students live within walking distance (less than 2 miles/3.2km) of school, but only 54% of children walk to school (DfT 2003).
Between 1994 and 2004, the proportion of primary school children walking to school has declined from 61% to 53%, while the proportion being driven to school has risen from 30% to 39%, with shifts of similar magnitude for secondary school students (National Statistics 2004).
At its peak around 08:50 on schooldays, the school run accounts for 17% of traffic in urban areas. This has fallen from 20% in 1997 (Sustrans), but parents are still spending about £300 and driving 960km/600 miles annually on easily walkable journeys – equivalent to two thirds of the way from Land’s End to John O’Groats (DfT).
Safe Routes to Schools and school travel plans can help encourage walking to school, but only a minority of schools have them (Sustrans).
A walking bus is a group of school children walking to school under adult supervision, following a set route with a timetable of stops like a real bus. There are at least 150 walking buses now operating in Britain (Walking Bus)
A study of school children in Buckinghamshire showed that 80% of those taken to school by car would prefer to walk (Brunel University 2002).

Walking to work

...or at least part of the way, is a good way of building exercise into your everyday routine. Encouraging staff to walk to work also has benefits for employers.

Currently 2.6 million people walk to work, only 10.8% of the total number in employment, a decline from 13% in 1991. Twice as many women (15%) walk to work as men (7.3%) (DfT 2003).
The vast majority of workers travel to work by car: 70% in 2000.
A single car parking space can cost an employer at least £500 a year (Department of Health 2002).

People will walk more if they’re given good information and attractive facilities.

A Walking to Work promotion at Buckinghamshire council increased the number of employees walking to work by 60%.
54% of Walsall residents participating in the Groundmiles healthy walking scheme said it had increased the amount of exercise they did (Transport 2000 2003).
TravelSmart, an approach which uses personalised expert advice to help people switch to sustainable transport options, was first piloted in Perth, Western Australia, where it resulted in a 14% reduction in car trips. The single biggest increase, 35%, was in walking. TravelSmart is now being introduced in parts of Britain (Sustrans).
When people who have reduced their car use on short journeys are asked why they have done so, the most popular reason given is to get more exercise (34%). The least popular reason is to reduce congestion (3%).
Two thirds of people say that pedestrians and cyclists should be given priority in towns and cities even if this makes things difficult for other road users (Sustrans).

References (this page should open in a new window).