Active travel in the capital has shown a huge increase in usage during the pandemic after people heeded government advice to avoid public transport.

The proportion of journeys walked and cycled increased from 23.3% in 2019 to 33.4% in 2020

New Transport for London (TfL) stats reveal the proportion of journeys walked and cycled increased from 23.3% in 2019 to 33.4% in 2020.

Its Travel in London report found that while the total number of trips made in 2020 decreased dramatically as a result of the pandemic, the number of journeys cycled increased by 6.4%. Over the year, the proportion of journeys cycled accounted for 3.4%  of all journeys, up from 2.3% in 2019.

Leisure cycling in particular has boomed since the start of the pandemic, with the number of journeys at weekends regularly double those of equivalent weekends in previous years.

There was also a significant increase in the number of trips walked in London in 2020, with the proportion of journeys made on foot by Londoners increasing from 21% of all journeys to 30% – equating to a 43% increase.

The report also indicates that walking and cycling will continue to be vital forms of transport as the capital recovers from the pandemic. A total of 30% of respondents said that they are likely to walk more after the pandemic, compared to 10% who believed they will walk less. Meanwhile, 15% stated that they would cycle more after the pandemic.

Alex Williams, TfL’s director of city planning, said: “We’re determined to ensure that the way people travel in London is as healthy and sustainable as possible and will be doing all we can to support people to walk, cycle and use public transport as the capital recovers from the pandemic and customers continue to return to our network.”