Transport Trends

The average annual distance travelled per person by car in 2005 was 5,746 miles, very similar to the 1995/97 figure.

Over the same period, the average annual distance walked fell very slightly, from 200 to 197 miles per year, and distance travelled by bicycle or motorcycle fell by 9 per cent, from 78 to 71 miles per year.

Distance travelled by local bus increased from 268 to 280 miles a year (an increase of 4 per cent) between 1995/97 and 2005. The distance travelled by rail increased by 39 per cent from 380 to 528 miles a year.

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Since 1980, the number of journeys made by national rail has gone up by 42 per cent, from 760 million to 1,082 million. It fluctuated, in line with the economic cycle, during the 1980s and early 1990s, but has risen sharply since 1995/96. Journeys increased by 3.5 per cent between 2004/05 and 2005/06.

Passenger kilometres travelled by national rail reflect passenger journeys and have increased by 43 per cent since 1980, from 30 billion to 43 billion passenger kilometres in 2005/06. The effects of the Hatfield crash in October 2000 briefly caused an interruption in this trend, but usage has increased again since then.

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The average age overall for rolling stock in 2005/06 is 13 years compared with 15 years in 2004/05 and 21 years in 2000/01.

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The Government has a target to reduce overcrowding on London commuter services by 2010. Overcrowding during the morning and evening peaks is monitored, in terms of Passengers In Excess of Capacity (PIXC). This is the proportion of passengers on trains in excess of the seat capacity for longer distance services, and with an allowance for standing passengers on shorter journeys of less than 20 minutes. There are limits on the level of acceptable PIXC at 4.5 per cent on one peak and 3.0 per cent across both peaks. The train operating companies conduct an annual autumn count.

The PIXC measure fell in the early 1990s but increased from 1996, particularly in the morning peak. In 2000 and 2001, the am peak figure exceeded 4.5 per cent but has since fallen. In 2005, the excess was 4.0 in the morning peak and 1.6 in the evening peak - an average of 2.9 across both peaks. The greatest overcrowding occurs in the morning peaks, and the highest levels of overcrowding in 2005 were in trains by South West Trains at 6.2 per cent, First Great Western Link and Thameslink, both at 5.6 per cent. Silverlink trains in the evening peak were at a level of 5.8 per cent. Last year, Southern had the highest level over overcrowding at 7.8 per cent in the morning peak.