What Moves Us

WHAT PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MOVES US TRANSPORT IN THE UK The roads, railways, and bus routes that criss-cross the UK serve as lifelines for industry, commerce, and everyday life. So how is everyone getting around? We break down the nuts and bolts of public and private transport in the UK today. Total public spending on transport in 2010/11 PUBLIC SPENDING reached £22.9 billion, with the largest portion ON TRANSPORT going toward railways. 33% Railways 25% Local Roads ... BREAKDOWN OF PUBLIC SECTOR 22% Local Public EXPENDITURE ON TRANSPORT IN THE UK Transport A 16% National Roads 4% Other Transport Overall, vehicle traffic is down slightly from a year TRAFFIC VOLUME before. And though rural minor roads make up the AND ROADS majority of roads in the UK, they have the least vehicle traffic. TOTAL MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC VOLUME IN 2010 TOTAL ROAD LENGTH IN GREAT BRITAIN IN 2010 245,000 MILES 1.6% LOWER THAN IN 2009 1% GREATER THÂN IN 2000 308.1 BILLION VEHICLE MILES ROAD TRAFFIC IN 2010 ROAD LENGTH IN 2010 20% MOTORWAYS 1% 28% RURAL "A" ROADS 9% 16% URBAN "A" ROADS 3% 14% RURAL MINOR ROADS 54% 22% URBAN MINOR ROADS 33% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% The majority of drivers on all road types drive at or below the speed limit. Motorways are CRUISING SPEEDS where you'll find the greatest likelihood of drivers speeding. AVERAGE FREE FLOW SPEED OF CARS (On Non-Urban Roads) 69 MPH 68 MPH 47 MPH On motorways On dual carriageways On single carriageways Speed on motorways 49% Speed on 30 mph roads 46% Speed on dual carriageways 42% Speed on 40 mph roads 23% Speed on single carriageways 7% WHERE DRIVERS ARE EXCEEDING THE SPEED LIMIT PUBLIC TRANSPORT So what mode of public transport is the most popular? Buses outpace the next closest options AT A GLANCE by more than double. PASSENGER JOURNEYS BY TRANSPORT (2010/11) 4.6 BILLION Bus Journeys 1.4 BILLION National Railway Journeys 1.1 BILLION London Underground Journeys 196.5 MILLION Light Rail and Trams Journeys 1 Billion 2 Billion 3 Billion 4 Billion 5 Billion SOURCES: DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT, OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS Confused.com