Main mode of transport to work

This section presents statistics on the main mode of transport that people used to travel to work.

Using active transport (such as walking and cycling) to get to work is a good way to increase physical activity and take care of the environment (by reducing air and noise pollution, and reducing greenhouse gases). Use of public transport also increases physical activity (because people may walk to cycle to and from stations) and has less impact on the environment (by not taking a private vehicle).

More than four in five commuters used a motor vehicle to get to work

More than four in five commuters (84.7%) used a car, van or truck as their main mode of travel to get to work in 2023. 

Women and young adults have the highest use of active transport and public transport

In 2023, women had a higher use of public transport (7.6% of commuters) than men (5.0%) as their main means of travel to work. Men and women had similar use of active transport (7.6% and 7.2% respectively).

People aged 15–29 years had the highest use of active transport (9.5% of commuters) and public transport (9.2%).

There were substantial regional differences in the use of active transport and public transport in 2023

The highest use of active transport (walking, jogging or cycling) was in Nelson (17.1%) and Wellington (13.2%), while Wellington had the highest use of public transport (buses, trains or ferries) (19.1%).

Census question changes and data quality

A question on travel to work has been asked every census year from 2001 (ie 2001, 2006, 2013, 2018, 2023). However, the question used in 2018 and 2023 was different from previous years, and the quality rating from the Census External Data Quality Panel for 2018 results was poor.

For these reasons, there is a gap in the timeseries reported here, and the latest results from 2023 should not be compared to those from previous years.