Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the average daytime speed of traffic in the five largest English cities; whether that speed has decreased since 2012; if so, what assessment they have made of the reasons for the decrease; and what is their assessment of the impact of a slowdown in average urban driving speeds on the national economy.

The Department for Transport has not estimated average daytime speeds in the five largest English cities. However, estimates of average speed and average delay have been published for locally managed ‘A’ roads by Local Authority, and for the Strategic Road Network. For local ‘A’ roads, estimates are published averaged across all 24 hours of the day, as well as for morning and evening peak periods. These average speeds can be found in table CGN0501, and average delays in table CGN0502: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/average-speed-and-delay-on-local-a-roads-cgn05.These have also been attached for ease.

Since the start of the statistical series in 2014, average speeds on urban classified local ‘A’ roads have decreased by 0.9mph (4.7%) to 18.4mph in 2017. Average delays have increased by 11.2% over the same period.

The Department provides Local Authorities with the underlying Travel Times dataset, to facilitate their own estimates of congestion. The Department has also undertaken sustained investment across a variety of initiatives to help manage traffic levels on both locally managed roads and the Strategic Road Network, and it plays an important role in ensuring the appropriate regulatory frameworks are in place.

There is no single cause of congestion. It occurs because of a range of factors including population increase, economic growth, access to alternative modes, traffic incidents and roadworks.

We do not have a current estimate of the cost of slower average urban speeds on the national economy. Urban congestion is frequently best managed by local areas, which have the knowledge and tools available to help manage traffic flows and ensure the availability of alternative modes of travel.