Individual research recommendation details

Recommendation ID

NG90/5

Question

Reducing car ownership:- Does reducing car use or ownership change physical activity levels? Are effects maintained over time?

Any explanatory notes
(if applicable)

Why this is important:- People who use more public transport can build physical activity into their daily lives through walking or cycling between stops and stations. There was some evidence from expert testimony that in London people who own cars are less likely to do half an hour of active travel in a day than those who don't own them. However, this evidence is limited and did not consider factors such as
the effects on different groups, and in different areas. For example not all areas have ready access to public transport; and for some groups, such as some older people, having access to a car may provide an opportunity for incidental physical activity at destinations reached by car.
Longitudinal research on interventions to reduce car ownership or use, with a follow-up period of at least a year and a matched control group, is needed to understand how it interacts with physical activity and, in the longer term, health status. An objective measure of physical activity is valuable even if that is not a focus of the intervention.
Research is needed on the effects of:
- the location – for example, rural or urban, and how easy it is for people to walk around their local area; and availability of public transport
- individual characteristics, such as baseline mobility, health, age, ethnicity.

Source guidance details

Comes from guidance

Physical activity and the environment

Number

NG90

Date issued

March 2018

Other details