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 ��������������������� !

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 ��������������������� "

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 ��������������������� #

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 ��������������������� $

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 ��������������������� %

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.’ ��������������������� &

The Car Benefits Score Card Benefits Disbenefits Freedom to travel where & Costs of car purchase and � � when desired maintenance (if on low income) Cheap travel at point of use Stress of driving To users � � Access to wider range of Lack of physical exercise � � goods and services Chauffeuring requirements � Ease of movement (for � Traffic accidents � passengers & goods) Sense of power & identity � Expands labour and customer Congested road networks � � markets Contributions to local air and � Facilitates greater diversity of noise pollution To society � skills and activities Contribution to CO 2 emissions � Important manufacturing and � Car-based developments � service sector preclude non-car access ��������������������� �'

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 ��������������������� ��

Gender Equality in Car Use ��������������������� �!

Decreasing Income Inequalities ��������������������� �"

Car Use/Person is Stabilising ��������������������� �#

Car Use/Person is Stabilising Though national car traffic continues to grow, due to increases in population of driving age ��������������������� �$

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? ��������������������� �%

Facing the Future � Likely to be growing pressure over time to reduce current levels of car use: � CO 2 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…….. ��������������������� �&

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 ��������������������� ��

The RAC Foundation’s views on some of the implications for policy… ��������������������� �!

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 2 nd 3 rd 4 th Highest

Public transport is used by higher income households 160 Operation of pesonal transport Purchase of Vehicles Bus and Coach Rail and Tube Combined Fares Weekly expenditure (£) 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 141 160 233 261 303 362 479 584 683 990 We e kly house hold gross income (£) ��������������������� �$

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? ��������������������� �%

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