Brief guide: Wales National Travel Survey

A brief guide

The primary aim of the Wales National Travel Survey (WNTS) is to provide Welsh Government and Transport for Wales with reliable, robust data to track progress towards our targets and commitments for the transport sector.

The data will inform decision making and improve the transport evidence base in Wales, enabling us to have a better understanding of our users’ needs.

The survey will collect data on travel attitudes and behaviour from people living in Wales. The information will allow us to publish data on mode share, average distance travelled per person and multimodal journeys, as well as the views of users and non-users of different modes.

Modes of travel

• Walking and wheeling
• Cycling
• Community transport
• Bus
• Rail
• Taxi
• Car
• Sea
• Air

Focus of modal questions

• Accessibility
• Affordability
• Encourage use or greater use
• Frequency of use
• Language use or preference
• Reasons for use and non-use
• Safety
• Satisfaction
• Ticketing
• Transport noise
• Welcomeness

Demographics

• All protected characteristics
• Welsh language ability
• Valid driving license
• Vehicle ownership and access
• Vehicle fuel type
• Ability to cycle
• Cycle ownership and type
• Economic activity
• Remote working

For each journey in the  two days (48 hour period) prior to completing the survey

• Origin and destination
• Journey purpose
• Time of departure
• Distance travelled
• Mode(s)
• Ticketing
• Travel party size (car only)
• Driver or passenger (car only)
• Vehicle fuel type (car only)
• Cycle type (cycle only)

We’ll collect data continuously in each survey year to account for seasonal travel patterns. A new batch of respondents will be invited to take part every week. The national and regional-level results will be published annually by Transport for Wales.

The first survey year covered the period from 10 March 2025 to 9 March 2026, all subsequent survey years will operate from 1 April to 31 March.  

First Results 

For the first survey year, preliminary 6-month data at the national and regional level will be published in April 2026.

Finalised 12-month data will  be published in Autumn 2026.

Data at the national and regional level for subsequent survey years will be published every autumn.

We aim to report at a local authority level by combining multiple years of data. October 2027 is the earliest this may be available.

We will be  seeking Accredited Official Statistics badging for the WNTS data and publications from the Office for Statistics Regulation.

Around 15,000 households will be randomly selected to be invited to take part each year. We expect around 6,000 responses annually. Households who have not been selected cannot participate.

The survey is designed to be representative of the population aged 16 or over living in private households in Wales.

The WNTS is available to complete in Welsh or English. It can be completed online or via a face-to-face or telephone interview.

The online survey instrument is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard and a copy of our accessibility statement can be found here.

We are working towards full compliance for the online version.

Please contact travelsurvey@tfw.wales if you have any questions or feedback.