Rail passenger growth in the West Midlands has continued to out-strip London and the South East, according to Government figures released today.
Over the last decade the number of people travelling by train has shot up by almost 50 per cent – compared to under 30 per cent in the capital. Regional public transport bosses say this continues to reinforce the argument for investment in the West Midlands rail network.
“We need to remind Government that rail commuting is not just an issue for the South-East,” says West Midlands PTA chairman Cllr Gary Clarke. “In the Birmingham rush hour we now have one in five commuters travelling by train and around half of them have left a car behind. That makes a significant impact in cutting congestion on our roads. It is clear that without public transport improvements we face even greater gridlock,” he says.
Today’s figures also show the West Midlands already has some of the busiest roads in the country.
Traffic levels on motorways in the Centro-PTA area have reached an average of 96,500 vehicles per day last year, the highest figure in Britain and more than for motorways in the London and Greater Manchester regions, according to the Department for Transport.
The amount of traffic on minor urban roads in the West Midlands metropolitan area was also the highest in Britain with an average of 3,600 vehicles per day, 50% above the national average. Traffic on urban A-roads averaged 22,500 vehicles per day, a figure surpassed only in London.
“These official figures confirm what the public and business in the West Midlands know only too well - the West Midlands has the busiest roads in Britain. We’re taking action now to tackle this through better use of existing road space, and improvements to public transport”, says Councillor Roger Lawrence, Leader of Wolverhampton council and transport lead on behalf of all the West Midland Metropolitan Authorities.
"But we are in no doubt that bold action is needed if we are to avoid future gridlock in the West Midlands, with a knock on effect for the rest of the UK transport system, and the economy as a whole,” he says. “That’s why we have submitted a bid to the Department for Transport for money from the Transport Innovation Fund to undertake a study into a range of long-term solutions, including road pricing. Progress is vital not just for West Midlands but for the sake of keeping the country moving.”
According to today’s figures, the West Midlands region has suffered one of the largest falls in traffic speeds on trunk roads, with the average speed in the morning peak down to less than 50mph in 2003, compared with more than 55mph in 1995. In the evening peak, the average speed has fallen even further to just 47 mph, the lowest of any region in England outside London.
Link: DfT Regional Transport Statistics
