Walking activity and trends in New Zealand

How much walking happens in NZ?

The New Zealand Household Travel Survey (HHTS) shows that of the estimated 6000 million plus trips made by New Zealand households annually, nearly one in five (17 percent) was made by walking.[1] New Zealanders spend 205 million hours annually as pedestrians in the road environment and walk an estimated 807 million kilometres per year.

Around 84% of walking trips involve getting from A to B solely on foot. Around 16% were undertaken in association with other modes of transport (eg walking from a parked car or walking to and from public transport).

A recent study into Understanding attitudes and perceptions of cycling & walking (Waka Kotahi, 2021)[2] found that:

• 73% of urban New Zealanders view walking as a great way to get around town easily and efficiently.
• For walking there are fewer  perceived barriers than for cycling but there are more basic preconceptions to overcome; such as people don’t have enough time to walk or they live too far from destinations for walking to be practical.
• Overall, perceptions of safety are strong with 86% viewing walking as safe in their region. However, safety perceptions drop when walking at night (52%) and around cyclists on shared paths (56%).
• 70% of New Zealanders are walking for commuter trips including to/from work or study or to get around town. 21% are committed commuters and are walking for these trips most days.
• The level of walking differs at a regional level; Auckland and Hamilton have the lowest levels of walking, while Wellington has the highest.

Types of walking

Walking for transport

Walking for transport includes walking for any non-recreational purpose, such as to or from schools, shops, work, visiting friends or family, or to public transport stops/stations. Although walking for transport is a broad definition it can be helpful particularly when planning and designing for walking to replace or support other modes of transport and therefore can have a greater impact on mode shift.

The HHTS 2015-2017 found that on the average day, 81% of New Zealand adults reported no walking for transport.[3]

Between the late 80’s and 2014, the average daily time spent walking dropped from 10 minutes to 8 minutes while the length of time spent driving has increased slightly (see image below).[4] Over the same time period, car-dominated urban sprawl[5] and resulting increasing trip distances (estimated at 1% increase per year)[6] has made walking a less practical mode for many people.

Change in time spent driving and walking since the late 1980s. (Source: Ministry of Transport, 2014)

Walking for leisure

Although there has been a decline in walking for transport, New Zealanders’ love walking for leisure. Walking is New Zealanders’ preferred recreation activity with 64% of adults walking regularly.[7] This suggests that improving the attractiveness of the walking environment could increase the amount that people walk for transport.

Most walking trips are short

As shown below ninety percent of walking trips are less than 2km long[8]. For trips of 2km or less, the walk mode share is 30%. Only 4% of trips longer than 2km are made on foot. The implication is that towns and cities designed to have shorter trip distances will have more walking.

Mode distribution of trip legs by distance of trip leg, main urban areas. (Source: HHTS 2015-2017 data)

Twelve per cent of all car trips in New Zealand are under 1km; if all these short car journeys were made on foot instead (scenario 'a'  in graph below), it is estimated that would lead to a 3% mode shift overall. That translates to 23,900 quality adjusted life years (QALYs) and nearly half a billion dollars in healthcare costs saved over the lifespan of the current adult population.[9]

New Zealand healthcare savings from mode shift. (Source: Mizdrak et al 2019)

Walking journey times

People tend not to walk for trips that take more than 30 minutes, and walk more when trip durations are short.

In New Zealand’s main urban areas, 99% of walking for transport trips are less than 5km, and 90-91% are less than 2km [10].

School travel trends

Walking to school is also declining:

• An estimated 54% of primary school students and 33% of secondary students who live less than two kilometres from school do not walk the full journey.[11]
• The rate of walking to school dropped from 42% to 29% between 1990 and 2014.[12]

Some of the key barriers to active school travel include personal security (‘stranger danger’) and traffic safety concerns.[13] [14].