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.

August 2001

Figure 1: Overall growth in passenger transport and freight transport compared to GDP: 1980-1999

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1980 1985 1990 1995

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Total passenger kmTotal tonne kmGDP

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.

Figure 2b: Non-car passenger transport by mode: 1980 - 1999

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1980 1985 1990 1995

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Buses and coachesRailMotorcyclesPedal cyclesAir

Trend 2a: Passenger transport by mode: 1980-1999

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1980 1985 1990 1995

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Billio

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Other

Cars, vans and taxis

August 2001

Figure 4: Real changes in the cost of transport and disposable income: 1980-2000

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1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

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Petrol/oil

All Motoring

Rail

Bus and coach fares

Disposable income

Trend 4: 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.

Figure 3: Freight transport by mode: 1980-1999

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1980 1985 1990 1995

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Road RailWater PipelineAll modes

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.

August 2001

Figure 6: Households with regular use of car(s): 1960, 1980 and 1999

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1960 1980 1999

Pe

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No car One car Two cars Three or more cars

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.

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.

Figure 5: Uncoupling road traffic growth from economic and environmental impacts: 1980-1999

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1980 1985 1990 1995

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Motor vehicle kmTotal CO2 (as carbon) from transportGDPNox from transportPM10 from tansport

August 2001

Figure 8: Passenger transport fuel consumption, passenger miles and their ratio: 1980-1999

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1980 1985 1990 1995

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Road passenger milesFuel consumption for road passenger transportFuel consumption per passenger mile

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.

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.

Figure 7a: Number of trips by car drivers and passengers: 1985/68 - 1998/2000

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1985/86 1989/91 1992/94 1995/97 1998/00

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Car drivers and passengers All modes

Figure 7b: Average trip length per year by car drivers and passengers:

1985/86 - 1998/2000

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1985/86 1989/91 1992/94 1995/97 1998/00

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Car drivers and passengers All modes