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Back in 1980 there were 215 billion vehicle kilometres of traffic on the UK's roads. Sounds a lot but as I sat in a queue on the way to work this week I was one of the many frustrated motorists wishing that we could go back to those levels. In fact last year the amount of traffic had more than doubled since the 80's to 513 billion vehicle kilometres which is why congestion is a growing concern and road pricing schemes are growing in popularity.
Building more roads is one method of addressing congestion, although in the past this tactic has been discounted as the best solution. However, according to new research from the RAC foundation, the arguments that building additional roads is an expensive option and bad for the environment are no more than myths.
They argue that increased road capacity will reduce congestion and is affordable because of the £45 billion a year paid in motoring related taxes. They also say that, if well designed, the effect on the climate is negated by the long term benefits. To quantify the potential impact, the research says that new tarmac combined with a road pricing element could reduce emissions by up to 10%.
In fact, it's not like we are overrun by roads in the UK compared to other countries. Our reliance on roads is at a similar level to our European neighbours, but in comparison we have the lowest proportion of motorways and main roads relative to our population.
Despite these arguments, my concern with the research is that it misses the point. Shouldn't we be doing all that we can to encourage drivers to change their driving habits.
There is no doubt that improved infrastructure must have a role to play because at peak times there are more vehicles travelling than the roads can cope with. But maybe it's the peak time that we should deal with first. For example, how many companies offer their employees the opportunity to work flexibly, effectively spreading the rush hour out over a longer time period?
Another option is to make public transport more attractive; the problem is, if you live outside of London it just doesn't cut it. Despite the fact that we are encouraged to use it at every opportunity, public transport only accounts for 13% of all personal travel largely because it just isn't as easy or convenient as getting in your car.
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