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3.0
The state of our roads
Given the rising concern about
congestion, it is not surprising that
problems associated with parking
are also on the up. There has been
a sharp increase in concern about
the availability of parking this year:
14% of motorists say this is a
top-four concern as opposed to just
8% in 2015. Parking charges are
also a bigger issue, with 18% saying
this is a top-four concern compared
with 12% a year ago.
Motorists’ claimed level of vehicle
use has changed relatively little in
the last 12 months, with a quarter
(25%) saying they use their cars a
little or a lot less this year. Only 22%
say they use their vehicles more.
The most common reason for
declining vehicle use was given
as increased difficulty in parking:
a quarter (24%) of those who use
their cars less cited this factor
compared to only 14% who cited
the same reason 12 months ago.
Other reasons cited this year
include a loss of income (21%)
and the fact that they now work
from home (16%).
Views on public transport have
changed little over the past
12 months: in 2016, 54% say they
would drive less if public transport
were better (56% last year), with
the biggest obstacles identified as
high fares, lack of proximity, and
the fact that services do not run
frequently enough.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of drivers
(66%) agree that a greater
proportion of motoring taxes
should be invested back into
public transport – this represents
a small increase on 2015 (64%).
RAC call to action:
The state of our roads: see page 90
56
RAC Report on Motoring 2016
“There has been a rise in the proportion of
motorists who say they want to see more of their
taxes invested back into public transport. But their
view might actually be, ‘We want the state of
public transport to be improved so everyone else
can use it and we can have the roads to ourselves’.”
DAVID LEIBLING
Transport and Motoring Consultant