Despite the soaring cost of running a car, traffic has risen sharply in the last ten years in almost every part of England, it has been reported.
Motorists face record fuel prices, higher taxes and more cameras lining the roads but still choose to avoid public transport in favour of the car.
Apart from central London, which has the Congestion Charge, traffic has increased greatly all over the country, with motorists ignoring a drive by the Government towards a greener transport system.
Many areas are now gridlocked and the Government will face further pressure to get people onto buses and trains.
Rail travel is said to have grown by 40% in the past decade but figures published yesterday show that across England road traffic rose by 12 per cent between 1997 and 2006.
Northamptonshire recorded the biggest increase, while Cornwall, Durham, Gloucester-shire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland and Somerset all showed increases of 17 per cent.
The Freight Transport Association has warned that the remorseless increase in traffic levels now threatensthe UK’s primary trade routes.
FTA’s Director of External Affairs, Geoff Dossetter said, ‘The Government must not ignore these trends, presently estimated to be wasting the economy over £20 billion every year.
‘FTA’s concern is that growth in car traffic on the key trade routes will severely inhibit supply chain efficiency, increasing costs and reducing service levels.
‘The supply chain delivers almost everything we use or consume every day and the roads network is a fundamental ingredient in making those deliveries work, to the benefit of the whole population.’
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