Transport for London (TfL) has published new data from its annual Travel in London report, revealing ongoing rises in the levels of walking and cycling.

24% of Londoners report having cycled in the last financial year, up from 21% in 2019/20

The data shows the number of daily cycle journeys increased to 1.26 million in 2023, up by 6.3% since 2022 and 20% since 2019.

While central London has seen a smaller level of growth (1.7%), reflecting hybrid working and less commuter cycling, both inner and outer London have seen strong increases of 8.2% cent and 5.5% respectively compared to 2022 levels.

Separate data from the report shows that in the financial year 2022/23, the percentage of all journeys made by cycling reached 4.5%, a significant increase compared to the pre-pandemic level of 3.6%in 2019/20.

The new statistics reveal that a quarter (24%) of Londoners report having cycled in the last financial year (2022/23), up from 21% in 2019/20. This includes increases among all ethnic groups. However, in relation to the sociodemographic profile of all London residents, there is still under-representation on many of these groups. Earlier this year, TfL set out its vision for making cycling more representative of London’s diverse communities through its Cycling Action Plan 2.

Walking also continues to be central to travel methods in London, with levels increasing in 2022/23. The new report reveals walking accounts for 39% of all trips by London residents. Overall trip rates have increased from 0.66 trips per person per day on average in 2017/18 to 0.80 in 2019/20 and 0.84 in 2022/23.

Alex Williams, chief customer and strategy officer, said: “Walking and cycling are absolutely essential to a more sustainable future for London so it’s very encouraging to see this new data, which shows that there continues to be significant increases in the number of journeys cycled or on foot. We are extremely proud of our work on expanding the cycle network throughout London from 90km to 352km [56 to 219 miles] and are continuously increasing this number.

“We’re determined to ensure that the way people travel in London is healthy, sustainable and affordable, which is why we will keep working closely with boroughs to transform our roads and invest in our transport network, enabling even more people to choose to make their journeys by walking, cycling and using public transport.”