Get Fit, Get The Bus

Yes, catching the bus, can keep you fit!

Yes, it's official, new research commissioned by Greener Journeys indicates that regularly taking a bus journey can help achieve half the recommended 30 minutes of exercise, five days a week.

Daily bus users will clock up annual equivalent of 11 marathons with regular bus travel beating car commuting for health benefits. And that short walk to and from bus stop and your destination can help you burn 22,630 calories a year - just how amazing is that!

Commissioned by Greener Journeys, whose aim is to encourage more people to consider using buses, and conducted by Dr David Lewis of Mindlab International, the study investigated the health benefits of walking as part of the bus journey. The 100 participants recorded their steps with a pedometer when travelling the same journey by bus and by car. Steps were recorded ‘door to door'; to accurately compare distances walked to and from the bus or car as part of the journey.

Dr Lewis said. "Taking the figures from our study, someone who travels by bus daily will walk almost 460km per year. This would be of substantial benefit to the two thirds of British adults who, according to the 2010 Health Survey, do not achieve the recommended levels of exercise".

Dr Lewis stresses that while these seem like large numbers, they comprise of short bursts of regular exercise that can be easily incorporated into a normal routine especially as 87% of households in Great Britain are within a 6 minute walk of a bus stop. The real health benefits from exercise occur when it is regular. Start with something you can stick to for six weeks, such as walking as part of a bus journey and you'll have a much better chance of it forming a healthy habit that can be built on."

Dr Lewis concludes: "This Greener Journeys study clearly demonstrates that using the bus instead of the car could enhance both personal and national wellbeing."

Published 12th September 2011