GRIDLOCK BRITAIN
With population booming and electric cars set to cut cost of driving, traffic jams can only get worse warns report
THE switch to electric cars and a surge in population could cause gridlock on Britain’s roads, according to official forecasts.
Drivers coping with record levels of traffic have been warned that congestion is set to get much worse in the decades to come as cars become cheaper to run.
A report published by the Department for Transport (DfT) has predicted that traffic levels in England and Wales – measured by the total number of miles travelled – could rise by between 17 per cent and 51 per cent by 2050.
In the worst-case scenario this equates to a jump from 286.2billion vehicle miles travelled in 2015 to 430.8billion vehicles miles. The number of miles clocked up by vans could more than double over the same period, amid growing demand for goods and the continued boom in internet shopping.
According to the official forecasts, the number of cars on major A roads and motorways could also soar by up to two thirds by the middle of the century.
Without any improvements to the road network, the DfT warned that an average car journey taking 17 minutes in 2015 could take 20 minutes in 2050. Average speeds on the roads could slow from 34mph to 31mph.
In the worst- case scenario the DfT said the proportion of drivers stuck in traffic at any given time could more than double from 7 per cent to 16 per cent by the middle of the century.
The forecasts prompted one motoring group to complain that efforts to cut air pollution could ‘clog up the roads with electric cars’. Although the move away from diesel and petrol engines to electric cars may be good for the environment, the DfT said it could also lead to a surge in traffic as cars become cheaper to run.
Alongside growth in population, it singled out ‘decreases in vehicle running costs’ caused by the move away from petrol and diesel as the key reason why congestion is likely to get even worse.
The Government has announced plans to ban the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars by 2040 as part of its ‘Road to Zero’ strategy to reduce pollution. Ultra-low emission vehicles such as electric cars currently make up just 0.4 per cent of cars on the roads but the DfT is expecting ownership to soar.
Assuming that all new cars sold from 2040 are zero emission, it says cars powered by electricity – or even hydrogen – will account for 97 per cent of miles travelled by 2050. This is likely to push down running costs for drivers and encourage greater use of cars.
Motoring campaigners urged the Government to step up improvements to the road network.
AA president Edmund King said: ‘Drivers will be dismayed by the prospect that roads are set to become more congested. This shows you can have clean tailpipes but the roads could be clogged up with electric vehicles. We must continue to invest in our roads.’
Howard Cox, of the FairFuelUK campaign group, said: ‘ With our road network already a grumbling, constipated wreck, under-investment in our roads is risking public health and economic productivity.’