Drivers to spend extra working week a year in car

UK Government told the "Way to Go" to make urgent changes to transport policy

Drivers will spend an extra working week a year stuck in traffic by the end of the decade [1] unless the devolved governments urgently change their transport policies, according to new figures published today by a coalition of over 25 major environmental and social justice groups [2]. On average drivers currently spend around 6 working weeks a year traveling by car.

The figures are released by the Way to Go coalition as it launches a major public campaign to lobby MPs on transport policy. The UK Government is currently revising its 10 year plan for transport [3]. The revised plan, due to be published this summer, will set out policy priorities and spending plans up to 2016. The coalition is asking tens of thousands of people to send postcards to tell the Government the sort of transport system they want to see [4].

The Way to Go coalition believes that spending on road building encourages more traffic on longer journeys which only results in more congestion across the network. In 1985 the average miles traveled per person by car was 3,796 miles per year. In 2001 it had risen to 5,354 miles per year, a 41% increase in 15 years. The coalition want to see more focus and funding of transport schemes which reduce dependence on the car and lorry, including improved public transport, road user charging, bus lane networks, rail-freight projects and safe routes to schools.

These measures would increase transport choice which could help reduce average traffic levels nationally by up to a tenth and by up to a quarter in peak periods [5], thereby reducing the amount of time spent traveling by car.

The coalition is calling for the revised 10 year transport plan to give more funding to 12 measures that will help reduce traffic levels and lead to safer and quieter neighbourhoods, cleaner air, less damaged countryside, greater social inclusion and less global warming emissions.

The measures are:

• Increased funding for local public transport, particularly in rural areas
• Services and facilities close to people so they don't need to drive
• Quality standards that bus and rail services must meet
• Discount nationwide railcard available to all
• Networks of bus lanes
• Safe routes to schools for all children
• Lower speed limits - 20mph default in residential areas
• A cycle friendly road network and cycle training for all
• Increased grants for encourage rail freight projects
• Streets, lanes and paths in good condition and pleasant for walking
• Greater incentives to buy smaller, cleaner vehicles
• Pay-as-you-go road user charging

Despite the importance of the issue and the widespread level of public concern about transport, there is no formal public consultation process as part of the review. The Way to Go coalition is working to rectify this. It is asking tens of thousands of people to send postcards or emails to their MP asking them to tell Transport Secretary Alistair Darling to commit to more funding for these measures in his revised transport plan.

Friends of the Earth Executive Director Tony Juniper said:

"Everyone apart from the Government accepts that Britain's transport system is in a state of crisis. It's failing people, failing the country and failing the environment. Transport is the fastest rising UK source of emissions of gases causing climate change, the biggest environmental threat facing the world. The Way to Go campaign gives a clear vision of what we need to do to tackle this crisis and reduce transport's impact on the environment. Hopefully tens of thousands of people will tell Alistair Darling the way to go".

Transport 2000 Executive Director Stephen Joseph said:

"Local communities around the country are feeling the brunt of our unsustainable transport system. Speeding drivers, traffic rat-running down residential streets to avoid congestion, inadequate public transport and poor conditions for pedestrians and cyclists all impact upon the quality of life of millions of people around the country, including children. The way to go for transport is to make it much easier for people to leave their cars behind, especially for local journeys, by investing far more heavily in walking, cycling and local public transport."

CPRE Executive Director Kate Parminter said:

"The Government is at an important crossroads. It can continue to let the countryside bear the brunt of rising traffic levels, damaging road building and noise, or it can choose a new direction and ensure the Plan really delivers genuine transport choices for people which don't wreck the countryside. It's vital that we show the Government the way to go".

Notes

1] According to the National Travel Survey 1999 - 2001, the average person spent 22.51 minutes per day as a car or van driver, and 13.31 minutes per day as a passenger. This gives a total of 35.82 minutes per day spent traveling by car or van. Analysis of the Government's 10 year transport plan by Professor Phil Goodwin of University College London has shown that the Government's original forecasts for the 10 year transport plan would result in a reduction of only 0.7% in the average time spent per mile driven.

After factoring in the 10 year plan's predicted 17% increase in traffic levels (miles driven), this results in approximate daily travel times in 2010 of 26.14 minutes as a driver and 15.46 minutes as a passenger, totaling 41.6 minutes per day. This is an increase of 16% in time spent traveling by car or van, equivalent to 5.78 minutes per day or 2103.92 minutes - just over 35 hours - per year.

2] The Way to Go coalition is campaigning to influence the Government's review of its 10 year plan for transport. It is made up of Age Concern England; Campaign to Protect Rural England; Council for National Parks; CTC - the national cyclists' organisation; Carplus - the car club network; Citizens Advice; DaRT (Dial-a-Ride and Taxicard Users Ltd); Environment Transport Association; Friends of the Earth England, Wales & Northern Ireland; Friends of the Earth Scotland; Help the Aged; Joint Committee on Mobility of Blind and Partially Sighted People; JMU Access Partnership; Living Streets; London Cycling Campaign; National Council of Women of Great Britain; National Federation of Bus Users; National Federation of Women's Institutes; Railfuture; Ramblers' Association; Royal National Institute for the Blind; SERA (Socialist Environment and Resources Association); Slower Speeds Initiative; Sustrans; Transform Scotland; Transport 2000; TSSA (Transport Salaried Staffs' Association) and UNISON.

3] Transport 2010, the Government's 10 year plan for transport, was published in July 2000. It sets out the Government's transport priorities and spending plans for this decade. A progress report was published in December 2002. The revision of the plan is being carried out alongside the Government's Spending Review, in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer decides how much each Government department can spend for the next three years.

4] Postcards are available from any of the Way to Go member organisations. Emails can be sent to MPs via the coalition's website at www.waytogo.org.uk/

5] Figures from 'Less Traffic Where People Live: how local transport schemes can help cut traffic' written by Lynn Sloman from the Transport for Quality of Life Consultancy. Summary available on request from Transport 2000.