The Department for Transport has forecasted that the amount of time motorists spend stuck in traffic will double by 2040.
The latest predictions emerge following the Government’s £28 billion investment package, which will see many major roads widened. The figures outline that drivers will spend substantially more time in traffic by 2040 even if population growth is modest and petrol prices soar.
52 major projects will be funded by the Government to tackle some of the worst congestion hot spots in the country; however the increase in the number of cars on the road will counter these efforts and more, producing even greater levels of traffic. It is predicted that there will be 38 million cars on the road by 2040, compared to 28 million in 2010.
The Department for Transport projects that, assuming the rise in the number of cars is steady, average road speeds will fall by 8% and delays will increase by 114%. If accurate the calculations, which are based on a 20% rise in population growth and a rise in living standards and economic growth, would mean that at peak times 15% of cars on major roads would be stuck in traffic jams.
There could be even more congestion than predicted too, if the cost of motoring continues to fall through improved fuel economy of new vehicles, which the Department of Transport believes it will; it projects the cost of motoring will fall by a huge 24% by 2040.
The study notes: “With constrained road space, road traffic growth means greater pressure on the network and therefore higher levels of congestion.”
It seems that despite the best efforts of the British Government, the increase in the number of cars on the road is going to make it very difficult to reduce traffic in the future.
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