Save £900 a year on travel

Six million people in the UK could save £900 a year each on travel costs, simply by walking to work.

That is according to new research from private medical insurer PruHealth, but the total £5.4 billion saved on transport costs is not where the story ends.

Along with the savings on fares and petrol, consumers choosing to walk or cycle into the office can make significant savings on health and life insurance.

And for people whose journey to work makes walking or cycling impractical, PruHealth points out that getting off the bus or Tube a stop or two early can provide similar health benefits, and possibly make journeys cheaper too.

"Walking some or part of the way to work, or cycling, is an easy way to burn off some of those excess calories without having to go to the gym or play sport or unduly disrupt your daily routine. It can be as easy as getting off the bus one stop early," said Rosan Meyer, nutritional advisor for PruHealth.

To help people see the impact of leaving the train or tube a little earlier, PruHealth has devised a calorie counter that lets London's commuters work out how much fat they can burn on their specific journey.

Stephen Rowe, marketing director at PruHealth, commented: "We're hoping to encourage people to integrate walking into their everyday routine as walking is one of the simplest and most accessible forms of exercise there is.

"Whilst a brisk half hour walk won't have quite the same impact as, say, a gym workout or a run, doing it regularly can have a significant impact on your health and wellbeing."

But there are strong disincentives to walking to work as well.

PruHealth's found that time was the biggest problem, the nation's average commute is over 61 minutes, rising to 84 minutes in London, and around half of those who could walk to work are rejecting the idea of waking up even earlier to get in on time.

The weather was found to be a problem for 33 per cent of people while 22 per cent said safety was a concern.