Transport -
Commuting
British
commuters have the longest journeys to work in
Europe with the average trip taking 45 minutes,
according to a study. That is almost twice as
long as the commute faced by Italians and seven
minutes more than the European Union average, the
RAC Foundation said. The motoring organisation
said it now wants the government to "take a
fresh look at commuting from the perspective of
the commuter" and to improve 'telecommuting'
by computer and video links. It said seven out of
ten people outside London travel to work by car
and more must be done to improve roads and public
transport so that journey times can be cut.
According to the report, the average distance
travelled by UK workers is 8.5 miles - 17%
further than a decade ago. Outside the capital,
only 11% of people get to work by public
transport and just 5% of commuting is by national
rail. Only 3% cycle to work, while one in 10
walks. There are some strong regional variations
however - with 28% of people in Cambridge cycling
to work, and more Norwich people walking to work
than anyone else in Britain. The RAC Foundation's
Kevin Delaney said, "The UK's ongoing love
affair with the car could be blamed on the lack
of improvements in public transport under Labour.
In the last six years, life for the driver and
people who use the roads has not improved, in
fact it's probably got worse."
He said there had been no improvements in public
transport to compensate, adding, "The trains
are running just as late now, or they certainly
seem to be, as they were six years ago. Outside
London there don't seem to be the same level of
improvements in bus services either." The
foundation also showed that liking an area was
the main reason why people did not live closer to
their work. The main reason given for using the
car to drive to work was that it was quicker than
other options. Almost half of the motorists
questioned said that if their car journey time
doubled, they would simply allow more time for
their journey.
Only 7% would make the switch to public
transport. The foundation said its findings
showed that people are "wedded to the car
for practical reasons" and must be catered
for by planners. The RAC Foundation's executive
director Edmund King said, "Our research
shows that we are a nation of car commuters. We
have the longest commute in Europe and even if
our commuting time doubled most of us would just
shrug and leave more time for the journey."
The study asked whether people would pay a £5
workplace parking charge scheme. More than half
said they would park on the road if a charge was
introduced, with only 2% saying they would pay
the charge.
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