Charges will drive people away
Imposing a congestion charge in a town will drive people away, according to a recent survey.
One third of shoppers would drive to a different town or city centre to shop if a £5 congestion charge were introduced, reckoned the RAC Foundation’s director at the Association of Town Centre Management annual conference.
The figures come from a report “Motoring towards 2050: Shopping and Transport Policy” launched by the RAC Foundation and British Retail Consortium. The report reveals opinion data from GfK/NOP showing that shoppers are very cautious about road pricing schemes being considered by several towns and cities as part of the Government’s Transport Innovation Fund.
The RAC Foundation survey showed that:
- 31 per cent would drive to a different destination if a £5 charge were introduced to drive into their local town or city centre shops.
- 27 per cent would choose to travel by different means.
- 21 per cent would make the journey less often.
In order to stop one third of shoppers voting with their wheels and driving further to other destinations the RAC Foundation is urging town centre managers to consider lower off-peak congestion charges or no off-peak charges together with better parking provision.
The ACTM conference heard:
- 70 per cent of shoppers arrive by car
- Those without a car travel by car for a third of their shopping trips, by getting lifts from friends or taking taxis.
- 54 per cent have experienced congested roads when shopping.
- On average we make a trip to the shops every other day.
- Twice a week we go for personal business (such as hairdressers, dry cleaners etc).
- The average number of shopping trips has fallen 13 per cent over past 10 years. The average length of trips has increased by over 10 per cent
- Buses account for six per cent of all trips but nearly 30 per cent of bus trips are for shopping.
The car has become the shopping trolley of choice due to its convenience (63 per cent), carryability (56 per cent), and distances travelled (47 per cent), found the survey. Respondents also felt the car was cheaper than alternatives and safer. However people are often unaware of costs and availability of public transport. Others favoured the car as it allows for chained trips, for example visiting the shops on the way back from work before going to the gym.
While Internet shopping is still growing fast, the study found that almost 80 per cent of Internet shoppers still want to see products in a shop. This does not necessarily generate more car trips as the visit may be part of a trip chain or as they will not have to carry home heavy goods some may be more inclined to use pubic transport.
At the conference, King said that:
- A long-term vision is essential for a town’s vitality. The consequences of traffic management changes on the vitality of retail must be considered.
- Cars can’t be wished away – not even with Internet shopping – so they must be planned for. 60 per cent of shopping trips and 80 per cent of shopping mileage is done by car.
- Parking is a service not a source of revenue - and should be designed accordingly. 44 per cent shoppers could not find a space when out shopping in the last 12 months.
- Planning needs to reflect the realities of how people live – retail deserts with miles of houses and no local shops are dire. Each housing estate should have good transport links to at least one supermarket.
King said: "Good transport links – for cars and public transport - are vital for successful retail and successful retail is vital if town and city centres are to remain prosperous and attractive. Too many local authorities fall into the trap of looking at traffic and transport in isolation from the wider needs of the area. Minor changes such as parking controls or major changes such as congestion charging can ruin retail if not well planned. Cars are the shopping trolley of convenience but motorists will vote with their wheels if too many restrictions are brought in."
You could easily see how towns might compete with each other by lowering congestion charges to attract shoppers from larger nearby conurbations....
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)