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Data commentary

Data commentary

This section is intended to provide a useful interpretation of some of the key data in each RoadFile section, highlighting how the data may provide further insight/support investigations into road-related issues. Any reliance placed on the data and/or this interpretation is strictly at the user’s discretion. (see guidance section)

Road network

The length of the GB road network remains constant with just a 0.25% increase reported in 2023 over 2022. Across the EU27 the road network grew by 0.57% between 2021 and 2022. 

GB road-traffic vehicle miles were significantly lower in 2020 and 2021, than in previous years due to Covid-19 related restrictions but have since started to recover. A 17.9% increase  in all road traffic is reported in 2023 compared to 2020, but this is still 7.1% below pre-pandemic levels. Car and taxi traffic shows the biggest increase at 19.9% and HGVs the smallest at 3.0%.

  • The length of the GB road network has remained constant over the last two decades. The latest figures report an increase of 601 miles in 2023 on 2022 data. It is likely that the increase relates predominantly to the adoption of new roads on housing and commercial developments . (Please note the methodology used by the Department for Transport (DfT) for its classification of road length by road type has differed in some years. This has resulted in broader definitions of road types in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2019-21 and 2023, which is why there are no road lengths reported for C and U roads in these years – with these road lengths accounted for by the DfT under the ‘all minor roads’ category.)
  • 2022 data shows that the UK is ranked 11th out of 28 European counties in terms of motorway density per 1,000km2.
  • The European average for the number of cars per km of motorway is 4,196. In the UK, the number is approaching three times this figure – with 11,689 cars per km of motorway, the second highest behind Poland.

GB Regional Data

GB traffic volume (billion miles) increased by 8.2% between 2013 and 2023 , with the North East reporting the highest regional increase. This hides a large drop in traffic volume as the result of the Covid-19 pandemic with figures showing a 24% increase between 2020 and 2023.

  • The motorway network across England, Scotland and Wales increased by 68 miles (2.9 %) in the decade between 2013 and 2023 . In England, this was mostly as a result of the reclassification/upgrading of some A roads. See http://maps.dft.gov.uk/road-investment-strategy-2/
  • Scotland saw the largest change in miles of motorway in the period 2013-2023, increasing by 4.9%. There was no change in Wales .
  • The East of England experienced the largest growth in major road lengths – up 3.5% between 2013 and -2023.
  • The GB minor road network decreased by 0.28% between 2013 and 2023. This includes the results of the DfT’s R199b road length consultation, which is run every three to five years and asks local authorities in England (including London) to provide road length estimates, The DfT compares these with Ordnance Survey data to provide the most accurate road length estimates possible.
  • The growth in ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) on GB roads continues – rising from 72,169 in 2013, to 446,010 in 2023 – an increase of 518% in five years.
  • The number of battery electric cars in GB has multiplied almost 50 times between 2015 and 2023 while the number of public charging points has only increased by a factor of 15.

Road usage

The impact of Covid-19 is still apparent across all modes of Britain’s transport, with passenger kilometres travelled in 2022 reported to still be 15% lower than 2019 pre-pandemic levels. 

However, some modes of transport are taking longer to recover than others with air travel passenger kilometres in 2022 less than half of the 2019 figure, but the ‘all road users’ figure down 14.0%.

  • Passenger journeys by rail in 2022 were still 20% down on 2019 figures, while passenger kilometres travelled by bus/coach are 27% lower and the figure for cars is down 13.7%.  
  • Motorcycle and pedal cycle kilometres returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022.
  • The DfT defines the difference between freight moved and freight lifted as follows: “Freight activity is either measured in terms of the weight of goods (tonnes) carried, taking no account of the distance they are carried (termed ‘goods lifted’), or as ‘goods moved’ (tonne kilometres) which does take into account distance. ‘Goods moved’ for each loaded journey is the weight of the load multiplied by the distance it is carried, and therefore a better measure of the activity done by heavy goods vehicles.” See https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/852327/freight-notes.pdf
  • Following the pandemic in 2020 when GB roads goods moved declined by 11.6%, the figures recovered to a new high of 180 billion tonne kilometres in 2021 but have since dropped and were 167 billion tonne kilometres in 2023.
  • The data (average number of trips per person per year by mode in England) highlights a big increase in the number of people switching to walks of more than a mile during 2020. Although these figures have subsequently fallen back, they remained 21.3% higher in 2023 than in 2019.
  • The spike in cycling reported in England in 2020 (up 26.2%) has not been sustained and in 2023 is reported to be the lowest since 2016, indicating the continued challenges facing policy makers in making the shift to active modes of travel permanent.
  • The number of miles travelled per person in England in 2023 is reported to be 5,974, 13.2% lower than the 2011 high of 6,764 but 37.8% up on the 2020 low of 4,334.

Traffic volume

The growth in the number of GB licensed light commercial vehicles continues to outpace the growth in the number of other types of vehicles, with buses/coaches seeing the largest drop in numbers.  

  • There were 13.9% more new licensed vehicles on GB roads in 2023 than in 2013, including 41,000 more HGVs and more than 1,214,000 light commercial vehicles.
  • The number of licensed HGVs dipped in 2020 by 3.1% on 2019 figures but have more than bounced back.
  • The number of light commercial vehicles grew by 3.7% between 2021 and 2023 while the number of cars grew by 2.1%.
  • Overall traffic (billion vehicle kilometres by road class) in 2023 remained 2.3% down on 2019 pre-pandemic figures.

Environment

CO2 emissions from GB vehicles peaked in 2017, falling 11.5% between 2017 and 2021.

  • There was a 19.3% drop in the CO2 emissions from vehicles between 2019 and 2020 –exceeding the 12% drop in traffic volumes reported over the same period, thereby suggesting that vehicles on the road continue to emit less/are cleaner. In 2021 the figure increased slightly but is still significantly lower than it was in 2019.
  • This is supported by the continued growth in the number of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) on GB roads which increased by 71% between 2020-2021.
  • The reasons for the spike in fuel prices in recent years are well-known, including the impact of the war in Ukraine, rising inflation etc. Petrol prices reported in 2022 were 28.8% higher than the previous year but dropped by 9.9% in 2023.
  • In 2013 59.1% of the petrol pump price comprised of taxes – rising to a peak of 71.7% in 2016. In 2023 52.7% of the petrol pump price comprised of taxes.

Safety

The number of fatal or serious accidents recorded on UK roads fell in 2020, mirroring the decline in all types of traffic as a result of restrictions introduced due to Covid-19. However, since 2012 the overarching trend is one of a steady decrease in the number of both fatal and serious accidents across all road types.

  • The number of accidents of all severities on Britain’s motorways and A Roads fell by 21.9% between 2010 – 2019.
  • In contrast the number of accidents of all severities on non- A roads has increased by 17.1% across the same timeframe.
  • The total number of fatal or serious accidents on all types of GB roads dropped to a new low of 91,199 in 2020, reflecting the lower traffic volumes as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • The UK recorded one of the lowest rates of road fatalities in Europe in 2022.

Road User Charging

Across Europe, The Netherlands generates the least amount of income from road user charging.

  • The net income generated by the London Congestion Charge increased 37.1% in 2021-22 on the figures reported for the 2020-21 year.
  • In 2021-22 Transport for London (TfL) received £307.3m net income from the London Congestion Charge. London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) was introduced in 2019 to discourage drivers of high-polluting vehicles from using roads in central London.

Funding

In 2023, for every £ from the public purse spent on the UK’s railways, 45p was spent on roads.

  • The amount raised in GB fuel and excise duty remained stable between 2012 and 2023, increasing just 0.45% over that period.
  • Between 2013 and 2023, UK public expenditure on all roads increased by 43.9%, while on rail it increased by 192.3%.
  • The AIA’s 2024 ALARM survey reports the carriageway maintenance backlog on local roads in England and Wales is now £16.3 billion, up 34.7% on the figure reported in 2015.

Guidance notes:

  • Transport is a devolved issue in the UK with the devolved Governments for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland having responsibility for many transport-related policy and operational issues. See https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn03156/.
  • The term Britain used across RoadFile refers to Great Britain (GB), including Scotland and Wales, but excluding Northern Ireland. All figures relate to GB unless otherwise stated.

    • All Department for Transport (DfT) figures relate to GB unless otherwise stated.

    • The Asphalt Industry Alliance’s Annual Local Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey covers England, Wales and London.

    • Eurostat data includes the former EU 28 with its data for the UK covering Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland.

  • Freight data refers to domestic road freight transport by goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gross weight.
  • Disclaimer: While we have used our reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy of the data used in this website, RoadFile, its associated organisations and/or their employees do not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, or completeness of any information provided. The burden of fitness of the data lies completely with the user.


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RoadFile is a hub for road-related statistics collated by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA).

RoadFile provides the latest available data from a range of UK and EU sources presented in an easy-to use-format. Please see the guidance section for more.

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