RAC Report on Motoring 2016

RAC call to action: The state of our roads: see page 90

RAC Report on Motoring 2016

3.0 The state of our roads

Given the rising concern about congestion, it is not surprising that problems associated with parking are also on the up. There has been a sharp increase in concern about the availability of parking this year: 14% of motorists say this is a top-four concern as opposed to just 8% in 2015. Parking charges are also a bigger issue, with 18% saying this is a top-four concern compared with 12% a year ago. Motorists’ claimed level of vehicle use has changed relatively little in the last 12 months, with a quarter (25%) saying they use their cars a little or a lot less this year. Only 22% say they use their vehicles more. The most common reason for declining vehicle use was given as increased difficulty in parking: a quarter (24%) of those who use

their cars less cited this factor compared to only 14% who cited the same reason 12 months ago. Other reasons cited this year include a loss of income (21%) and the fact that they now work from home (16%). Views on public transport have changed little over the past 12 months: in 2016, 54% say they would drive less if public transport were better (56% last year), with the biggest obstacles identified as high fares, lack of proximity, and the fact that services do not run frequently enough. Meanwhile, two-thirds of drivers (66%) agree that a greater proportion of motoring taxes should be invested back into public transport – this represents a small increase on 2015 (64%).

“There has been a rise in the proportion of motorists who say they want to see more of their taxes invested back into public transport. But their view might actually be, ‘We want the state of public transport to be improved so everyone else can use it and we can have the roads to ourselves’.” DAVID LEIBLING Transport and Motoring Consultant

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