Factsheets - No.4: European Best Practice

This fact sheet accompanies a CfIT report on European best practice in the delivery of integrated transport. The report is based on pre-1998 data, the latest available across Europe.

Rail

Fewer rail passenger coaches per 1000 population than any other European country except Greece, Ireland and Spain and Portugal
Only Greece and Holland have fewer train kilometres per 1000 of population
Lower share of rail use than anywhere else in Europe

Buses

Over last 20 years, coach and bus use grew by up to 80% in most of Europe aside from a few countries, including the UK, where use declined
However, bus use has started to grow in the UK (up 0.9% last year), though largely driven by London
Coach and bus use is 35% below the European average
Average size of bus and coach fleets
The UK makes greater use of smaller vehicles
Germany and Holland have fewer buses - because they rely on trams

Revenue Support/fares

Lowest level of public subsidy for fares in Europe
We have the most efficient operators, but because of low subsidies we have the highest fares
Typical public transport journey in UK costs three times as much as in Holland
Our fares are among the highest in Europe - only behind Denmark and Sweden

Investment in Infrastructure

Below the EU average throughout the mid-1990s
France and Germany invested around double the levels of the UK in 1996 (0.6% of GDP, compared to 1.1% in France and 1.15% in Germany and 1.25% in Italy)

Cars

Car use up 52% in 80s and 90s - more than other European countries except the developing economies like Portugal, Greece and Italy
Highest proportion of passenger kilometres by car in Europe
Almost 9 in 10 motorised journeys are by car, compared with EU average of 8 in 10
Low differential in costs of car travel and public transport in London is a disincentive to modal shift

Roads

We have only half the road space per head of the European average (7 kilometres per 1000 people compared with 13)
We have less than half the average of the European motorway network for geographical density (0.06km compared with 0.14km)

Congestion

The UK has the most severe congestion in Europe with 25% of the most heavily used motorways and roads suffering from it
More than 11% of key roads have bottlenecks of more than three hours
Has detrimental effects on speed of public transport with London buses being slower than those in Rome, Berlin, Madrid and Athens
Helps explain why British workers spend more time commuting each day (46 mins.) than their European counterparts (e.g. Italy 23 mins.)
The now defunct European Centre for Infrastructure Studies attributes the cause of congestion in the UK to be persistent under-investment
The public perception is one of widespread congestion in the UK

Two Wheelers

Lowest number of powered two wheelers - one tenth those of Italy and Greece

Walking

We walk less than anywhere else in Europe except Greece (415 kilometres a year compared with the European average of 437)
This is down by about 10% in 25 years (from 469 kilometres a year to 415), but is starting to pick up again

Cycling

We have one of the lowest levels in Europe
Less than mountainous countries like Italy and Austria and similar to hotter, Mediterranean climates
We only cycle 77 kilometres a year compared with a European average of 189
The Dutch cycle 856 kilometres a year and the Danes 901
Journeys by bike make up just 2% of the journeys we take

Road Safety

We have the best roads fatality record in Europe (6 deaths per 100,000 compared with an EU average of 11.4)
However, injury accidents are well above the EU average - at 415 per 100,000 compared with 346, two to three times the level of Scandinavian countries
Cyclists and pedestrians are in greater danger than most industrialised countries in Europe
Motorcyclists and moped and scooter users are five times more likely to be killed as those in Italy and three times those in Finland
Cyclists are twice as likely to die as those in Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden

Transport Emissions

Emission savings through technological advances offset by increases in car use (below average increase in CO2, but above average in NOx ⁽¹⁾ and NMOCs ⁽²⁾ ).

(1) Nitrogen Oxides - affects immune system responses
(2) Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compounds - causes numerous health problems

Return to: Study of European best practice in the delivery of integrated transport index

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Factsheets - No.4: European Best Practice