DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS Key Transport Facts: 1980-1999 Trend 1: Growth in passenger transport and freight compared with GDP Passenger transport and freight moved (billion tonne kilometres) have grown broadly in line with increased economic activity. Trend 2: Passenger transport by mode The majority of growth in passenger transport has been in car travel, which now accounts for 85 per cent of the total. Bus travel (the dominant mode until the mid 1950s) now only accounts for six per cent of total passenger travel. Rail accounts for 6 per cent (increasing from 5 per cent in the mid-1990s). However, it is an important commuting mode in the SE, accounting for over three quarters of people entering central London during the morning peak. August 2001

August 2001 Trend 3: Freight transport by mode The majority of the growth in freight moved (tonne-kilometres) has been due to road freight, which now accounts for 65 per cent of total freight (90 per cent excluding water and pipeline). Water accounts for nearly a quarter of freight moved, but more than half of this is traffic with islands and off-shore installations where there is no other practical alternative. The growth in tonnes moved (tonne kilometres) has been much greater than that in tonnes lifted: reflecting a 40 per cent increase since 1980 in the average distance that goods are carried by road. Trend 4: Real changes in the cost of transport compared with disposable income Ever cheaper cars have helped to keep the real cost of motoring fairly constant even with recent fuel price increases, whilst disposable income has risen. Bus and rail fares have continued to increase, but at a slower rate in recent years. August 2001

Trend 5: Uncoupling road traffic growth from economic and environmental impacts: 1980-1999 Road traffic has continued to increase, although more slowly than GDP since 1993 (the period when fuel prices were rising). It is forecast to increase by 17 per cent over the decade to 2010 (allowing for the impact of the 10 Year Plan). Over the last decade, due to fuel and technological improvements, levels of some pollutants (such as particulates and nitrogen oxide) have fallen despite the continued increase in road traffic. Road traffic is responsible for around 25 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions (the most important greenhouse gas). There has been limited success in uncoupling carbon dioxide emissions from road traffic growth. Trend 6: Households with regular use of car(s): 1960, 1980 and 1999 Seventy two per cent of households now have use of at least one car - this has increased from half of all households at the end of the 1960s. Over a quarter of households now have two or more cars. Twenty eight per cent of households do not have the regular use of a car, but this rises to 64 per cent for the poorest fifth of households. Three quarters of single pensioner households, and 61 per cent of single parent families, do not have a car. August 2001

Trend 7: Changing trip lengths (all surface modes) versus total trips: 1985/86 - 1998/2000 The total mileage travelled per person has increased significantly since the mid 1980s. This is because, whilst the total number of trips made by people has remained fairly static, average trip lengths have increased by a quarter from 5.2 miles to 6.6 miles. This trend is largely due to increased use of the car. Between 1985/86 and 1998/2000 the proportion of trips by car increased from 51 per cent to 62 per cent, and there was a corresponding decline in walking trips from 34 per cent to 26 per cent. For cars, total trips made per person have risen from 520 in the mid 1980s to 640 in 1998/2000, whilst average trip length also increased from 7.8 to 8.7 miles. Most of the increase in trips by car has been by women, linked with their increasing participation in the workplace and propensity to hold a driving licence. Trend 8: Fuel consumption: 1980 - 1999 Between 1980 and 1999, fuel use by road passenger vehicles increased by a third whilst distance travelled increased by half. Fuel consumption per road passenger mile is now ten per cent below the 1980 level. August 2001