Road congestion at worst ‘for over 10 years’
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has released figures which suggest that congestion on UK roads is at its worst level for more than a decade.
The rate of deterioration in reliability on the road network is at 55 per cent – the worst level since 2002 – according to FTA’s quarterly transport activity survey, to which more than a hundred logistics operators contributed.
The association says the results of its survey will be seen as an indication of the impact of increased domestic road freight activity, and of a decline in the motorway network’s reliability.
Karen Dee, FTA director of policy, said: “This FTA survey is a clear indication that congestion on our roads has increased again, and drivers are getting stuck in traffic on a regular basis.
“Reliability on the UK road network is crucial for road freight operators. The freight and logistics industry needs road infrastructure that it can rely on to ensure that products are moved efficiently and at reasonable cost. As the economy grows there will be increasing demands which will mean more pressure to deliver, and more vehicles on the roads – so it is only going to get worse.”
FTA previously declared its support for the £15 billion road investment strategy laid out by the Department for Transport late last year, which will see 1,300 new lane miles on motorways and trunk roads to help ease congestion.
Announcing the details of the strategy in December, the transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said roads had suffered from under-investment for too long.
In 2012, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) predicted that by 2035, 32.3 seconds would be lost per mile due to congestion on UK roads, compared to 19.2 seconds during 2010.
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