Road Traffic up 84%
Somebody mentioned this statistic on one of those comedy TV shows last week and we though we would check it out. And sure enough we found that very same phrase in its entirety:
“Road traffic in Great Britain has grown by 84% since 1980“
That is a LOT of traffic, nearly double in under 30 years. It does add credence to the commonly held view that
“Weren’t the roads much quieter when we were kids?”
Absolutely, and there is the proof - half as much traffic when we were young and the population increase doesn’t justify that increase in road traffic. The dramatic increase in traffic is due to the fact that motoring costs have remained fairly stable during the last 30 years and disposable income has increased. Also more women are driving than ever before.
And as for our much-maligned public transport system (in private hands), there isn’t much change except that train use is up by 50%. More people use the bus in big London now, the elderly have subsidised travel and there has supposedly been significant investment in the buses and railways. Although how bus & train companies can make their owners into millionaires at the expense of passengers is fascinating reading. Must have something to do with plans to extort 20% from some rail users.
For more detailed reading look at the Department for Transports Transport Trends 2007 edition (1.48Mb PDF)