The Car in British Society Launch - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

• The Car in

British Society Launch

• Welcome

David Holmes Chairman Royal Automobile Club Foundation

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The Report….

Looks at the role of the car in

contemporary British Society

Provides an update on the 1995 RACF

Car Dependence Report (Trends to 1990)

Was carried out by researchers at

Imperial, UCL and Oxford Universities

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What we Did….

Analyse GB National Travel Survey data,

from 1989 to 2006: 7 day diaries

Review literature and attitude surveys Five focus groups with the public Interviews with professionals Workshop with experts

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Headline Findings - 1

NOTE: analyses up to 2006/2007 (pre fuel price increases and current recession)

Car ownership and use now the norm in most

British households

Car is central to most people’s daily travel Cars are used through a mix of choice and

necessity, but with growing reliance over time

Most people without car access are seriously

disadvantaged

For most individuals, benefits of car ownership/

use far outweigh disbenefits, but growing concerns about environment

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Headline Findings - 2

Since 1990, car ownership and use have grown

and extended across the population, to reach poorer people, older people and more women.

BUT, in recent years, growth in use per person

has stabilised – despite increasing car ownership – so each car now used less

Reasons for halt in growth in car use unclear Likely future political and economic pressures to

sharply reduce car use from current levels – but this will cause widespread hardship and be strongly resisted, unless carefully planned for

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Dominance of the Car

Over 80% of people live in a household with a car 70% of adults have a driving licence Nearly two-thirds of all daily trips are by car Three-quarters of daily mileage is by car People in households in bottom income quintile make

45% of daily trips & 65% of mileage by car

40% of people in non-car owning households make at

least one outing per week by car

But use is moderate: 46% travel less than 5,000 miles/

year by car, only 37% travel more

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Importance of Cars to People

‘I’d do everything I could to keep the car. I’d probably get another job. It wouldn’t bother me really, the freedom you get from your car compared to the time you spend working to provide for it just doesn’t compare.’

‘It would mean my children wouldn’t get as many

different places as what they do now, they wouldn’t be able to do as many clubs and social things. Shopping would be difficult because I’d have to try and get to work, get out to the shop, get back, pick the children up, pick them up and take them, it would be very difficult time-wise for me.’

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Benefits Disbenefits To users

• Freedom to travel where &

when desired

• Cheap travel at point of use
• Access to wider range of

goods and services

• Ease of movement (for

passengers & goods)

• Sense of power & identity
• Costs of car purchase and

maintenance (if on low income)

• Stress of driving
• Lack of physical exercise
• Chauffeuring requirements
• Traffic accidents

To society

• Expands labour and customer

markets

• Facilitates greater diversity of

skills and activities

• Important manufacturing and

service sector

• Congested road networks
• Contributions to local air and

noise pollution

• Contribution to CO2 emissions
• Car-based developments

preclude non-car access

The Car Benefits Score Card

• Car Use: Choice or Necessity?

There is a spectrum of car dependence Most people recognised that, for some of

their car trips, there were alternatives

But there were many trips where there

was no viable alternative

Where there were alternatives, sometimes

they were inconvenient or expensive

• Growing Reliance on Cars

‘I don’t see myself living in a world where I have no car... I think the problem is at the back of my mind I’ve got this psychological barrier that says I cannot abandon ship.’ ‘It’s the same as a mobile phone, everyone survived before, never had one before and now can’t live without them.’

• Trends Over Time

For much of study period, continuation of

historic pattern of increasing car ownership and use

Increasing ‘level playing field’, as car use

spreads across the population, both socially and geographically

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Gender Equality in Car Use

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Decreasing Income Inequalities

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Car Use/Person is Stabilising

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Car Use/Person is Stabilising

Though national car traffic continues to grow, due to increases in population of driving age

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Why is Car Use Stabilising?

We don’t know for sure:

Greater overseas travel? Car ownership spreading to less mobile

population groups?

Completion of land use adjustments to motorway

building programme?

Increase in congestion (door-to-door speeds are

falling)?

Policies to encourage modal switch are working?

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Facing the Future

Likely to be growing pressure over time to

reduce current levels of car use:

CO2 targets: 80% reduction by 2050 Resumption of high fuel prices after recession

Study shows that people have already

shown some flexibility, but will be resistant to major reductions in their car use

Need to better understand adjustment

processes and options……..

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The Adjustment Process

• ‘The Car in

British Society’

Professor Stephen Glaister CBE Director Royal Automobile Club Foundation

• The RAC Foundation – What we do

A self-funded Charitable Trust Explore economic, mobility, safety & environmental issues & campaign for a fair deal for responsible road users. Independent, authoritative research & informed debate.

• This report is a statement of …

Facts about how ordinary people chose to own and use cars Reported opinions expressed by groups of private individuals transport planning professionals It is not views about what is “good” or “bad” Nor policy prescriptions

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The RAC Foundation’s views

• n some of the implications for policy…

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The car has become commonplace

80% households have a car Two-thirds of all trips are made by car

The car is becoming available to rich and poor alike

Lowest 2nd 3rd 4th Highest

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Public transport is used by higher income households

20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 141 160 233 261 303 362 479 584 683 990 We e kly house hold gross income (£) Weekly expenditure (£) Operation of pesonal transport Purchase of Vehicles Bus and Coach Rail and Tube Combined Fares

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People value cars very highly

Average household spend on cars is similar to housing and food And this is why … “Cars provide flexibility, convenience and freedom, and are associated with status and self esteem” “Our focus groups have indicated that car owners value highly the freedom and independence having a car offers them, as well as the wider access to goods and services it can provide.”

(Lucas and Jones, 2009)

Are people’s real needs given appropriate weight in policy, compared to public transport?

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Policy Challenges

Traffic Congestion Climate Change Energy security Public Health Air Quality and Noise Social Exclusion and fairness Well-being

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MOBILITY can be protected!

Many problems can be addressed without damaging fundamental benefits from cars

Smaller, lighter, more efficient petrol & diesel vehicles Eco-driving: correct tyre pressures, gentle acceleration Courteous and compliant driving Hybrids All-electric (& Hydrogen?) vehicles

• but only when the electricity source is “clean”

• Demand management

Smarter Choices – soft travel demand management Fuel duty, VED, vehicle scrappage and other fiscal policies Will the Budget recognise the impacts on private car users? Road pricing – together with recycling of some of the revenues reform of motoring taxes improvement in public transport where appropriate more road capacity where economically justified

• Clear and consistent policies give people time to adjust

and can greatly reduce the inconvenience of the adjustment Dealing with climate change and managing demand does not remove the responsibility to provide adequate road capacity in the future. High speed railways are unlikely to be an adequate response

• Balance:

benefits to users vs cost to others

Good policy must recognise the disadvantages of cars and their use … … and seek an acceptable balance The report shows that transport planners now recognise this “find the appropriate place for the car” Not simply “cars are bad and public transport is good”

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Policy towards the car

If car use must be curtailed in certain areas as part of a balanced policy response… … then the loss of welfare to “responsible road users” must be properly accounted for and minimised What are these losses and to whom? More research to be done.

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Conclusions

Britain is a car reliant nation Car use is engrained in our everyday lives Congestion and climate change are important policy

challenges

Much can be done whilst protecting the benefits of

mobility

Action to reduce car use has important consequences If mobility has to be curtailed, the detriment to quality of

life must be properly assessed and minimised

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Forthcoming RAC Foundation publications

Regulation of transport safety Rates of return to transport investment Governance and administration of roads Quality of service to the travelling public Gaps in road safety research