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TSUG NEWS
TRANSPORT STATISTICS USERS GROUP Issue No. 59: September 2002
Contents
Editorial / 1Publications
Vehicle licensing statistics 2001
Transport of goods by road in GB 2001
Maritime statistics 2001
National road maintenance condition survey 2001
Road casualties Great Britain 2001
Bus quality indicators Jan-Mar 2002
Vehicle speeds in Great Britain 2001
National travel survey 1999/2001 update
Traffic in Great Britain Q2 2002
Road goods vehicles to mainland Europe Q2 2002
Light rail passenger journeys: England 2001/02
Scottish household transport, 1999 & 2000
Scottish key road accident statistics 2001 / 1
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News
Nottingham’s new trams
Bus subsidy consultation launched / 9
9
News of members / 9
Dates for your diary / 10
Next newsletter / 10
Editorial
I apologise to members for the tardiness of this edition of the newsletter. This was partly to enable details of the current – quite extensive - seminar programme to be publicised in the Dates for your Diary section below. Because of the delay in finalising the seminar dates I am sending this edition out somewhat incomplete, with the intention of issuing a supplement shortly with seminar reports and any other missing material.
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Publications
Vehicle Licensing Statistics: 2001
A report published in May by the then DTLR provided new statistics on the number of licensed vehicles in Great Britain in 2001.
Some of the main points are:
· Overall vehicle stock continues to rise as it has done since 1992 and now stands at nearly 30 million, 25 million of which are cars
· Between 2000 and 2001, total stock rose by 1–4% for cars, goods vehicles and buses. The number of licensed motorcycles increased by nearly 7%, continuing the sharp rises seen since 1997
· The number of diesel cars has increased by nearly 10% since 2000. Diesel cars now represent nearly 14% of the total stock of cars, compared with under 4% 10 years ago
· Nearly three quarters of cars first registered in 1991 were still licensed at the end of 2001, compared with under 30% of motorcycles and 44% of goods vehicles
· The total number of newly registered vehicles in 2001 exceeded 3 million for the first time. More than 80% of these were cars
· The number of new car registrations increased by more than 10% while registrations for most other vehicle types fell slightly
· Around a third of all new registrations are made in the peak months of March and September when the new licence plates are issued.
Copies of this publication are available from DfT, TSR4, 2/16 Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR tel: 020 7944 3046, or Email at
Transport of goods by road in Great Britain: 2001
This annual bulletin, published in May, shows that total freight moved by GB-registered heavy goods vehicles within Great Britain fell by 0.7% from 150 billion tonne kilometres in 2000 to 149 billion tonne kilometres in 2001. Other key findings include:
· tonnes lifted fell by 0.8% from 1,593 million tonnes in 2000 to 1,581 million tonnes in 2001
· the average length of haul was 94 km, unchanged from 2000; the increase in average length of haul for articulated vehicles - from 134 km to 136 km - was offset by a decline from 49 km to 47 km for rigid vehicles
· the total number of vehicle kilometres fell by 3.4% from 22,990 million km in 2000 to 22,207 million km in 2001
· tonne kilometres grew by 20% between 1991 and 2001 which was less than the rise in GDP (30%).
The bulletin is available free of charge from DfT on 020 7944 4442.
Maritime statistics 2001
Freight traffic through UK ports fell in 2001, according to provisional statistics issued in May by the DTLR. Key figures include:
· Total freight traffic fell by 7 million tonnes to 566 Mt in 2001, 1% down on 2000, mainly due to a reduction in the tonnage of crude oil handled at UK ports
· Inwards traffic rose by 13 Mt to 329 Mt, while outwards traffic fell by 20 Mt to 236 Mt
· Freight traffic through the 52 major UK ports was down 7 Mt on 2000 at 548 Mt, and accounted for 97% of total UK port traffic in 2001
· The top ports in 2001 in terms of tonnage were Grimsby and Immingham (54.8 Mt); Tees and Hartlepool (50.8 Mt); London (50.7 Mt); and Forth 41.6 (Mt)
These summary port traffic statistics for 2001 are provisional. They are based on returns of inwards and outwards traffic which port authorities and other undertakings are required to complete. Where necessary the figures include estimates for returns not yet received, or which require further validation. Final figures, together with much more detailed results, will be published in the annual report, Maritime Statistics 2001, due out in October. This will contain detailed statistics of port traffic based on information about thousands of maritime freight movements supplied by several hundred shipping lines or their agents. The information relates to all cargoes loaded or unloaded by ship at each of the 52 major ports in the UK in 2001. The published statistics will include the tonnage of the principal bulk commodities, and the numbers of as well as tonnage carried by containers, road goods vehicles and unaccompanied trailers.
Copies of the provisional statistics are available from the Maritime Statistics Branch in DfT (telephone: 020 7944 3087) or the Transport Statistics website http://www.transtat.dft.gov.uk/tables/2002/maritime/porttraf.htm
National Road Maintenance Condition Survey 2001
The report of the 2001 National Road Maintenance Condition Survey (NRMCS) on the condition of roads and footways in England and Wales was published in May. This report presents information on both the surface and structural condition of roads. Surface condition is measured using a visual survey of defects and a machine based survey of wet road skidding resistance. The structural survey uses a machine to measure the deflection of a road under a standard load. Best Value Performance Indicators for the structural condition of local roads are also included in the report for the first time.
In July 2000, the Government set the target to halt the deterioration in the condition of local roads, i.e. non-trunk roads, in England by 2004. This target is monitored by a surface condition ‘defects index’ derived from results of the NRMCS visual survey. A decrease in the index signifies an improvement in the road condition. In 2001, the defects index for English local roads fell from 112.5 to 110.5, following a series of annual increases. It is too early to say whether or not this signals a real reversal of that upward trend. The length of local roads in England accounts for almost 90% of all roads (excluding motorways) and so it is not surprising to find that there has also been an improvement in the overall condition of roads in England and Wales. In 2001, the all roads index fell by 1.4 points to 107.0, the first decrease since 1995.
Changes in condition vary across the different road types. Rural classified roads was the only class whose condition worsened in 2001 - the defects index increased by 1.8 points. The largest improvements were for all purpose trunk roads (down 8.3 points) and urban classified roads (down 7.5 points) but these changes will have had a smaller effect on the all roads index because of their relatively short network lengths. The smallest changes occurred on urban and rural unclassified roads and on rural classified roads, whose combined length accounts for around 80% of all roads. The defects index for all purpose trunk roads and rural principal roads is the lowest recorded since the survey began in 1977.
Ruts in the wheel-tracks contributed to almost half of the defects index on rural principal and classified roads. They also contributed to around 60% of the defects index for all purpose trunk roads.
To supplement results on visual road condition, structural surveys are carried out to determine the proportion of the major road network whose structural condition has reached the point at which close monitoring is needed to see whether maintenance is required. In England, motorways have the lowest percentage needing close monitoring and principal roads have the highest. In 2001, the percentage requiring close monitoring has increased for each of the three road classes.
In Wales, as with England, motorways have the lowest percentage needing close monitoring and principal roads the highest. The National Assembly for Wales has a target that no more than 10% of the all purpose trunk roads network should need close monitoring of its structural condition. The worsening trend for all purpose trunk roads has continued and the target has not been met. In 2001, around 13% of the all purpose trunk roads network needed close monitoring of its structural condition.
Road safety can be increased by ensuring that wet roads have a satisfactory level of skidding resistance. Motorways, all purpose trunk roads and principal roads in England and Wales are assessed to see whether the skidding resistance is below an investigatory level. Where this is the case, this does not mean that the roads are unsafe; it indicates that further investigation is needed to see if remedial treatment is required. The latest available results for England show that during 1999 and 2000 almost 30% of principal roads in metropolitan authorities and London boroughs needed further investigation to determine if remedial treatment in relation to skidding resistance was required.
As well as the condition of roads, the NRMCS also collects visual survey information on the condition of footways, kerbs and verges for all roads other than motorways. The percentage length of footways affected by deterioration and the number of ‘trips’ (spot conditions posing potential danger to pedestrians) per 100 metres continue to increase. Levels in 2001 – 24% and 2.3 respectively - were the highest recorded since the 1980s.
The percentage of verge area which is disintegrating or deformed has increased in the last two years. The percentage of kerb lengths which needs replacing or resetting has remained constant - at around 4% - since 1998.
Levels of maintenance expenditure on local roads in England and Wales were fairly stable in the early 1990s but were around some 25% lower towards the end of the decade. This is reflected in the visual survey results which showed the largest increases in the defects index - corresponding to deterioration - occurring in the latter half of the decade.
Copies of the report are available from: DfT Highways Maintenance Data Unit, Zone 2/18, Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR Tel: 020 7944 3092 Fax: 020 7944 2164
E-Mail:
A copy of the report is also available at http://www.transtat.dft.gov.uk/tables/2002/nrmcs/nrmcs.htm
Road Casualties Great Britain: 2001 - Main Results
Provisional figures published in June show that:
· There were 313,046 road casualties in Great Britain in 2001, 2% fewer than in 2000. 40,537 people were killed or seriously injured
· 3,443 people were killed, 1% more than in 2000, 37,094 were seriously injured (down 3% on 2000) and 272,509 were slightly injured (down 2%). As road traffic levels were an estimated 1% higher than in 2000 the all casualty rate per 100 million vehicle kilometres was 3% lower than in 2000
· There were 228,825 road accidents involving personal injury in 2001, 2% fewer than in 2000
· The number of children killed or seriously injured in 2001 was 4,986 (down 4% on 2000). Of those, 3,143 were pedestrians, 3% down on 2000. There were 218 child fatalities, 27 more than in 2000
· Pedestrian casualties were 40,563 in 2001, 3% lower than 2000. Pedestrian deaths fell by 4% to 823, and serious injuries fell by 5% to 8,242
· The number of pedal cyclist casualties fell by 7% in 2001 to 19,094. There were 2,541 seriously injured casualties, 4% less than in 2000. The number killed rose by 9% to 138 (though still below that in 1999). There was a slight fall in cycle traffic in 2001
· There were 28,768 two-wheeled motor vehicle user casualties in 2001, 2% more than in 2000. The number killed fell by 4% to 581 and the number of seriously injured fell by 1% to 6,718
· The number of deaths among car users in 2001 rose by 5% to 1,744 but the number of seriously injured fell by 2% to 17,648. Total casualties among car users were 2% lower, at 202,509.
In 2000, the Government announced a new road safety strategy and set new targets for reducing casualties by 2010. It wants to see a 40% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents compared with the average for 1994-98; a 50% reduction in the number of children killed or seriously injured; and a 10% reduction in the slight casualty rate, expressed as the number of people slightly injured per 100 million vehicle kilometres.
In 2001, the number of people killed or seriously injured was 15% below the 1994-98 average; the number of children killed or seriously injured was 27% below; and the slight casualty rate was 6% below the 1994-98 average.
These figures, and further details, are obtainable free of charge from The Department for Transport, TSR5, Zone 2/18, Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR. A more comprehensive analysis of casualty statistics will be published later this year in Road Accidents Great Britain: 2001: the Casualty Report.
The bulletin can be downloaded in PDF format at http://www.transtat.dft.gov.uk/tables/2002/rcas/rcas01.htm