The 2022 sustainable modeshare statistics remain the same as last year. There was no update this year as the Active Lives Survey 2020/21 data collection was significantly impacted by Covid restrictions. Transport for London, who source and supply the data, advised that they had to make changes to the method and sampling strategy, and the sample size was much smaller than in previous years, meaning borough level analysis was not possible.
We use 2021 data for the sustainable modeshare indicator.
This was our 2021 sustainable modeshare summary:
Sustainable modeshare is the proportion of trips made by ‘sustainable mode of transport’ i.e. walking cycling or public transport. This is for trips made by borough residents, rather than all trips made in and through the borough. The target in the Mayor’s Transport Strategy is to increase this across London to 80% by 2041.
London-wide mode share rose again this year by 1% to 66%. If London continues at this rate, the mode share in 2041 will be well over his target. But while some boroughs are likely hitting their ceiling for sustainable mode share, others have done little to boost theirs. And, of course, the Mayor’s Transport Strategy was written before London declared a climate emergency. With a backdrop of the government shifting forward targets, will 80% be enough by 2030, let alone 2041?
The City and Hackney retain the tops slots this year, with Bexley and Hillingdon at the bottom. But there remain huge variations in the contribution of each sustainable mode (walking, cycling and public transport) to the results, showing that most boroughs have significant scope to make changes to improve their score. And while some boroughs are rapidly increasing sustainable modeshare, others are falling back.
Our summary is that, to deliver on the climate emergency, all boroughs need to be far bolder on these results.