Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, If he will review his Department's estimates of projected traffic growth on the strategic network to take account of changed behaviours as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

The Department regularly reviews the evidence on the drivers of travel demand and sources of uncertainty and will publish an update to the road traffic forecasts 2018 in due course. The next set of National Road Traffic Projections (NRTP) will provide a strategic view of how demand for road travel may evolve in the future and explore uncertainties associated with future demand including the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. The Department collects numerous sets of data that help inform its view on travel demand, which will inform NRTP, including:

• National Travel Survey National Travel Survey - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Road Traffic Statistics Road traffic statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Transport use during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic Transport use during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• National Travel Attitudes Study National Travel Attitudes Study: Wave 5 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The National Travel Attitudes Study asks questions about changes in travel behaviours, such as levels working from home before and during the pandemic. This longitudinal survey data is a key element of the Department’s evidence on changing travel habits during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as people’s intentions going forward.