EFFECTS of credit crunch hit business, but free up traffic on roads. Report by the AA’s president, Edmund King.A NEW report published by Trafficmaster and ourselves at the AA shows that Britain’s road network is wearing the scars of the economic climate on its sleeve.

The report, called ‘Congestion – Commuting, An Economic Barometer,’ shows that since the credit crunch began two years ago, there has been a dramatic 31% reduction in road congestion across all major motorways and trunk roads.

The report also shows that congestion levels have become inextricably linked to major financial events and the economic climate, such as rising fuel prices and the collapse of Northern Rock.

Gloomily, with the increase in unemployment and the report’s findings that nearly a quarter those not working have lost their jobs over the last 12 months, rush hour is now also becoming redundant. This influences the overall congestion figures.

While congestion has dramatically dropped across the road network in the normal working week, the credit crunch has also delivered another phenomenon. Spiked rises in congestion have appeared on Fridays, school and Bank holiday getaways.

With the cost of holidays in the UK cheaper than abroad, we have seen up to a 50% increase in congestion at these times as additional leisure traffic hits the roads.

What’s more weekend breaks seem to be more popular as people are cutting back on the length of time they spend away – Friday is the only day of the week that is bucking the trend of a decrease in congestion levels.

The report is based on comprehensive traffic information collated by Trafficmaster over the past five years and commuting behaviour research from the AA and its AA/Populus panel of 75,000 drivers.

The report shows that:

• An astounding 23% of those not working said that they had lost their job in the last 12 months. This has had a definite effect on the morning and afternoon rush hours. This has certainly had a huge impact on weekday morning peak times which have seen the biggest decrease in congestion, with an overall average reduction of 15%.
• 20% of all commuters surveyed said that the economic circumstances had led them to work from home more regularly to avoid the cost of commuting. In addition 14% had used public transport, whilst 12% had shared cars to reduce the cost of commuting.
• 67% of commuters said they would double the distance travelled in their daily commute in order to keep their job. A statistic that may well impact future congestion levels.

Conclusions

The report brings both good news and bad news; congestion is falling, but that it is due to the recession, fuel prices and unemployment.

The motor vehicle is an integral part of British culture and our lifestyle that we have come to rely on – whether that is getting to work, taking the kids to school or delivering our goods. So when times are hard it is with reluctance that we look at ways of cutting down on car journeys and using alternative modes of transport.

This only strengthens our need to keep investing in the road infrastructure, so that when the recession ends we have a network that can support a thriving economy.