Transport Statistics for Somerset 2013 update

Transcription

1 Transport Statistics for Somerset 2013 update Introduction This document brings together a range of facts and figures relating to transport and accessibility within Somerset. All the data comes from public websites, using sources such as the Department for Transport, DVLA, Office for National Statistics (ONS), Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and local authorities. Where possible, comparisons are made with the South West region and/or national averages, and a transport map of Somerset follows the report. The topics featured are:- Licensed vehicles Access to a car or van Transport used for getting to work Length of roads by type Traffic on major roads Road speeds and conditions Bus journeys Road transport energy consumption Road casualties Accessibilty to key services Railway station usage Taxis and private hire vehicles Current transport strategies Summary Points Somerset is strategically well positioned between Bristol and the South West peninsula. The M5 and A303 trunk routes pass through the county, as do the main railways linking the peninsula to London and to Wales, the Midlands and the rest of England. 88% of Somerset s roads are in rural areas. West Somerset in particular faces challenges with regard to accessibility by road to key services and employment centres, especially on foot and public transport. Traffic volumes on Somerset s major roads have increased by around 14% since 2000, and by considerably more on the M5. However, there has been a slight dip since the start of the economic downturn.

2 The greatest expansion in traffic volume has been amongst LGVs, up 45% since This vehicle category is the only one to have continued to grow during the downturn. Since 2008, volumes for motor cycles and HGVs (lorries) have fallen the most. The 2011 Census estimated that there were 317,000 cars or vans available for use by Somerset households, 14 per ten households. DVLA figures show there are 363,000 licensed vehicles of any kind. Compared with the national average, Somerset has a high proportion of licensed vehicles in the category which includes farm vehicles and diggers (3.8%, more than 13,700 vehicles). Three in five year-olds in employment use a car/van as their main means of travelling to work. Somerset workers are more likely than the national average to travel to work by car, bicycle, on foot or to work from home. They are much less likely to use public transport. The average flow-weighted traffic speed on main roads in the morning peak period has barely changed in recent years and Somerset has one of the highest average road speeds in the South West. Bucking the national trend, passenger journeys by bus in Somerset have decreased in the past two years. The county has one of the lowest number of bus trips per population in England. The latest estimated road fuel consumption in Somerset (2009) shows the figure has dipped below 2005 levels, largely caused by a fall amongst petrol-driven cars. Road casualties have continued to fall. The number of more severe casualties (KSIs) in is down by about a quarter on the previous three-year period, a sharper dip than that experienced in most areas. Casualty rates per population and per billion vehicle miles also remain below the England averages. There are ten railway stations in Somerset, most of which experienced growth in passenger usage in the past few years. The largest, Taunton, had almost 1.3 million people entering and exiting the station in Frome has seen the highest increase since In 2011, there were 1,260 taxi or private hire vehicle (PHV) driving licences issued in Somerset, mostly in Mendip or South Somerset. Report produced by Mike Smith. mjsmith@somerset.gov.uk Somerset Intelligence, at Somerset County Council

3 Licensed vehicles In 2012, there were just over 363,000 vehicles licensed to addresses in Somerset. Of these, almost four in five were cars (see table 1). Table 1 Number of vehicles licensed in Somerset by type, 2012 Number of vehicles Cars 286,978 Light Goods vehicles (LGV) 39,200 Motor Cycles 16,183 Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) 5,675 Buses and coaches 1,425 Other vehicles (including farm, diggers, 13,736 3-wheelers, ambulances, etc) Total vehicles 363,197 Source: DVLA/DfT ( Compared with the national and regional averages, Somerset has a slightly higher proportion in the Other Vehicles category (see table 2). This is probably because of the relatively rural nature of the county, requiring farm vehicles. Indeed, few other local authorities in Great Britain have more in this category. Table 2 Proportion of vehicles in each type, 2012 Somerset South West Great Britain Cars Light Goods vehicles (LGV) Motor Cycles Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) Buses and coaches Other vehicles (including farm, diggers, 3-wheelers, ambulances, etc) Total vehicles Source: DVLA/DfT (

4 The South West region has more licensed vehicles per head of population than any other region in Great Britain 1. The rate of 664 vehicles per thousand people is 17% above the British average. Nationally and regionally, the number of vehicles licensed by the DVLA has increased steadily in the past ten years. Furthermore, vehicle growth in the South West has outstripped that in Great Britain as a whole. Access to car or van by Household The 2011 Census 2 estimated the number of cars and vans available to households in Somerset to be 318,697. This is only slightly below the total licensed by the DVLA, which may include vehicles no longer used, or licensed to individuals no longer living in Somerset and who have not notified the DVLA. According to the Census, the number per household has risen in the past decade to 1.4 per household, above the national average of 1.2 per household. Whilst the most common number of cars and vans accessed is one per household, almost one in six households (36,092) across Somerset have no access (see Chart 1) Chart 1 Number of households with access to number of cars or vans Three, 17352, 8% Four or more, 7011, 3% None, 36092, 16% Two, 68317, 30% One, 98217, 43% Source : Office for National Statistics/NOMIS 1 Based on Department for Transport statistics Office for National Statistics

5 Having no access to a car or van has implications for accessing jobs and services, too. While there is little variation between districts, there are considerable differences from one local area to another. In rural areas such as Chewton Mendip and Ston Easton, the Brendon and Blackdown Hills, fewer than 4% have no access to a car or van. However, in the town centre wards of Wells, Yeovil, Glastonbury, Taunton and Bridgwater, it is at least 30%. The highest figure is in Bridgwater Westover, at 37.5%. Length of roads by type Somerset has 6,765 km (4,204 miles) of roads km are motorway (the M5), 712 km are A roads and 458 km are B roads. The large majority are categorised as C roads or unclassified (see Table 3). Copyright Lewis Clarke and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence Table 3 Lengths of road in Somerset by type, 2012 km % total Motorway A road (Trunk) Other A road B road C road 2, Rural Unclassified 2, Urban Unclassified Total 6, Source: DfT ( 787 km are categorised as Urban, defined as being in an area of at least 10,000 people. This comprises less than 12% of the total road length in Somerset, well below the regional and national averages (see Table 4).

6 Table 4 Urban-Rural profiles of roads, 2011 Somerset South West Great Britain Urban total Rural total Source: DfT ( Traffic Volumes The estimated total volume of traffic has increased in Somerset by 7% in the past decade (see Chart 2). After growing steadily each year from 2000 to 2008, the figure has eased back slightly as the recession and rising petrol prices have had an impact. Copyright Michael W Beales BEM and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence Chart 2 Growth in Traffic volumes in Somerset, 2000 to 2012 Million vehicle miles 4,100 4,000 3,900 3,800 3,700 3,600 3,500 3,400 3,300 3,200 3,100 3,000 3,373 3,485 3,632 3,587 3,755 3,709 3,905 3,952 3,994 3,916 3,883 3, Source: DfT National Road Traffic Survey: 3,838

7 By comparison, the South West regional increase since 2002 is 5%. Within the South West region, only Swindon (11%) and North Somerset (8%) have experienced a greater increase in vehicle miles than Somerset in the same period. Traffic trends can be analysed in more detail by looking at trends for a selection of the 212 count points 3 across the county s road network (see charts 3 and 4). Chart 3 Trends in Daily Vehicle flow for selected roads (highest daily flows) M5, J24-25, Taunton-Bridgw ater M5, J22-23, Highbridge-Dunball Peak Daily Flow M5, J23-24, Dunball-Bridgw ater A303 nr Sth Petherton (A356-A358) A358 nr West Hatch (A303 - A378) Source: DfT National Road Traffic Survey: The M5 between Taunton and Bridgwater not only has the greatest volume of traffic of all roads in Somerset but also the steepest surge over the past ten years, and has not seen a notable dip since the start of the economic downturn. The A303 trunk road has also experienced some pre-recession rises, while flows on the A358 east of Taunton have been more stable. Chart 4 shows that some routes have actually witnessed slight decreases not only since 2008 but also over the past decade or so, including the A36 near Wolverton in Mendip district and the A30 between Crewkerne and Yeovil. 3 There are three main data sources which are used to calculate annual traffic estimates. Manual traffic counts are carried out at a number of sites throughout the counting season which runs between March and October. This raw data is then combined with information from a network of automatic traffic counters (ATCs) to calculate a series of annual average daily flows1 (average vehicles per day) for each count point. These daily flows are combined with road lengths to calculate the number of vehicle miles travelled each year by vehicle type, road category and region

8 Chart 4 Trends in Daily Vehicle flow for other selected roads A39, Nether Stow ey Peak Daily Flow A361, Pilton A3088 nr Montecute A30, East Chinnock (A3088 to A3066) A36 nr Wolverton (A361 to A366) A38 Upper High St Taunton Source: DfT National Road Traffic Survey: There have been variations in traffic volumes amongst the different vehicle types (see Chart 5). Chart 5 Growth in traffic volumes on major roads, Somerset by vehicle type (2000 Index =100) Index ALL VEHICLES Light Goods Vehicles Cars Source: DfT National Road Traffic Survey Buses & Coaches All HGVs 2002 Index = Pedal Cycles 2008 Index = Motorcycles

9 For most vehicle categories, there have been no steady rises or falls over the past decade, with fluctuations caused by a mixture of survey sampling error and genuine behavioural changes resulting from the economic situation. For instance, pedal cycle flows have been more resilient despite a dip in 2012, but both motor cycles and HGV lorries have declined since However, the growth in LGVs (vans) has been almost continuous since Road speeds and conditions As a relatively rural county, Somerset s roads are generally less congested in peak times than in more urban areas. The Department for Transport s annual congestion statistics show that on locally-managed A roads, average vehicle speed in the weekday morning peak ( ) is just over 31mph, consistently above the regional and national averages (see Chart 6). Chart 6 Average vehicle speeds in the morning peak, 2011/ miles per hour Dorset Cornwall Devon Wiltshire SOMERSET N. Somerset Gloucestershire SW Swindon England S. Gloucestershire Poole Bournemouth Torbay BaNES Plymouth Bristol Source: DfT Despite overall growth in traffic volumes, there has been very little change in peak hour speeds in the past five years.

10 Bus Journeys The Department for Transport Public Service Vehicle (PSV) Survey estimates that in , there were 8.6 million bus passenger journeys in Somerset. This represents a 12% fall since (see chart 7). This is in contrast to the upward trend in numbers experienced in most local authorities across the South West and in England as a whole. Chart 7 Trends in Bus passenger journeys in Somerset since Bus journeys (millions per year) / / /12 Source: DFT Bus Statistics ( At 16.2 bus passenger journeys per head of population, Somerset has the lowest figure in the South West and the sixth lowest of any upper tier or Unitary authority in England. In , 82% of non-frequent bus services in Somerset were on time (less than 1 minute early and six minutes late) 4. This is broadly in line with both regional and national averages but slightly below the proportions for Somerset in the previous two years Data supplied by local authorities

11 Road transport energy consumption After increasing between 2005 and 2007, estimated road fuel consumption in Somerset dipped in 2008 then more sharply in 2009, the latest year for which data are available (see Table 5). Table 5 Trends in Estimated fuel consumption (thousand tonnes of fuel) Buses Diesel cars Petrol cars Motor cycles HGVs Diesel LGVs Petrol LGVs Total Source: DECC, DEFRA, DfT rt/road_transport.aspx Note that these data are modelled using emissions data, road consumption factors and estimated traffic flows, and so are subject to modelling inaccuracies. Data has also been produced by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) at District level (see Table 6). Table 6 Estimated fuel consumption by Somerset districts, 2009 (thousand tonnes of fuel) Buses Diesel cars Petrol cars Motor cycles HGVs Diesel LGVs Petrol LGVs Total Mendip Sedgemoor South Somerset Taunton Deane West Somerset Somerset Source: DECC, DEFRA, DfT rt/road_transport.aspx

12 Sedgemoor is estimated to have the highest amount of fuel consumption, with a relatively high figure produced by HGVs, presumably skewed by M5 traffic flowing through the district. Road casualties This report focuses on a few key indicators, placing Somerset into the national context. For a fuller analysis of road casualty data in Somerset, please read the Road Safety Casualty Review 2011 and the locations paper on the Somerset Intelligence website here: In 2012, there were 1,529 casualties in road accidents reported to the police, of which 212 were killed or seriously injured (KSI). Reflecting the national and regional situation, road casualties in Somerset have been falling steadily in recent years, in total and for the KSI category (see table 7) Table 7 Trends in road casualties in Somerset Total casualties average ,382 2,479 2,228 2,019 1,792 1,652 1,529 KSIs Taking an average of three-year periods, in order to smooth any year-on-year fluctuations, the total casualties in Somerset have dropped by more than a quarter from 2,242 in to 1,658 in This is larger than the

13 norm for the South West and England, and any of the other local authorities in the region, excluding the Isles of Scilly (see Chart 8). The decrease in KSIs is similarly large relative to other areas, with only Bath and NE Somerset registering a larger dip than Somerset. Chart 8 Decreases in Road casualties, All and KSIs, to for SW local authorities SOMERSET Dorset South Gloucs Gloucestershire BaNES SOUTH WEST Cornwall North Somerset Swindon Devon ENGLAND Bristol Wiltshire Plymouth Bournemouth Poole All Casualties KSI Torbay % decrease since Source: Department for Transport/STATS 19 dataset 14% of all casualties in Somerset were in the more severe category (KSI), slightly above the regional and national averages. However, casualties in relatively rural areas like Somerset tend to be more severe because traffic speeds are higher. About half the more severe casualties (KSIs) in Somerset were car users, and just over one in five were motor cyclists (see Chart 9). Compared with England generally, Somerset s KSI casualties were more likely to be car users (50% and 36%, respectively) and less likely to be pedestrians (15% and 23%) or pedal cyclists (10% and 13%).

14 Chart 9 Breakdown of KSIs in Somerset 2011 Pedal cycle, 22 Bus or Coach, 1 Other, 2 LGV/HGV, 6 Pedestrian, 33 TOTAL 224 Car, 113 Motor cycle, 47 Source: DfT/ Somerset Road Safety, 2011 In terms of all casualties (including slight injuries) as a proportion of the county population, Somerset is roughly halfway amongst other local authorities in the region and better than the England average (see Chart 10) Chart 10 Total casualties per million population, 2011 Casualties per million population 4,500 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1, Bournemouth Cornwall 3,556 Source: DfT/Office for National Statistics ,174 Poole Plymouth England Devon Dorset South West Somerset North Somerset Bristol Wiltshire Swindon Torbay BaNES South Gloucs Gloucestershire Isles of Scilly Because accidents on, say, the M5 may be largely unrelated to the number of people living in its proximity, perhaps a more useful statistic to consider is that

15 of casualties per traffic volume. Chart 11 shows that Somerset has a relatively low rate of casualties per billion vehicle miles in comparison with other South West local authorities and England as a whole. Chart 11 Total casualties per billion vehicle miles, average Rate per billion vehicle miles 1,400 1,200 1, Bournemouth Plymouth 741 Torbay Bristol Poole Isles of Scilly Cornwall England BaNES Dorset South West Devon Somerset Swindon North Somerset Gloucestershire Wiltshire South Gloucs As in the country in general, Somerset has experienced a substantial decrease in its road casualties in the past years. Given the increase n traffic volumes, this is a remarkable achievement. A more comprehensive analysis of national and local road safety statistics can be found on the Department for Transport website 514

16 Accessibility of services Somerset, and particularly West Somerset, faces notable deprivation in terms of accessing major services such as schools, health services and employment centres 6. With regard to households with good transport access to key services and work, where the England figure represents an index of 100, Somerset s index is a modest 71, and other parts of the South West (Cornwall and Devon) are even lower. The average minimum travel time to reach the nearest key services has been estimated for each mode of travel (Table 8). While travel times for the whole county are not that much higher than the South West and England norms, West Somerset fares a lot worse than the other four districts. Table 8 Average minimum travel time to reach the nearest key services 7 by mode of travel, local authority, 2010 Public transport // Walking Cycle Car Mendip Sedgemoor South Somerset Taunton Deane West Somerset Somerset South West England Source: DfT/ Office for National Statistics Accessibility Statistics ( Average access times by car for Somerset in general are quite similar to the South West, apart from reaching hospitals (above average) and food stores 6 For more detail, see the SINe guidance paper on Indices of Multiple Deprivation and some indicators are mapped on INFORM Somerset: 7 Key services listed are Employment centres, Primary schools, Secondary schools, Further Education, GPs, Hospitals and Food stores

17 (below average). The average minimum travel times to reach the nearest key services by public transport or walking also show little variation from the regional average but considerable inequalities faced by those living in West Somerset. However, average times can disguise a lot of detail, and it is especially interesting to look at the proportion of users 8 who live within a reasonable distance on foot or public transport to understand the scale of the issue. More than one in five users in West Somerset live beyond the reasonable limit for accessing key services by this mode of transport, with the exception of hospitals and primary schools (see Table 9). Around three in four live more than 20 minutes from their nearest town centre and two in five from their nearest FE provision. However, South Somerset fares worst for access to a secondary school. Table 9 % of users within 20 minutes of services on foot or public transport Employment Prim y Sec y Further Hosp Food Town school * school Educn** GP* -ital** store centre Mendip Sedgemoor South Somerset Taunton Deane West Somerset Somerset * within 15 minutes ** within 30 minutes Source: DfT/ Office for National Statistics Accessibility Statistics ( 8 These are defined as appropriate to the service. For example, those aged 5-11 for primary schools, working age for employment

18 Railway station usage There are ten railway stations operated within Somerset, owned (in 2012) either by First Great Western or South West Trains. Almost half of station entries and exits are accounted for by Taunton (almost 1.3 million a year, plus an additional 80,000 interchanges). Bruton has the smallest number of users, with just over 25,000. Copyright Matt Buck and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence Table 10 shows the trends in station usage over the past few years. All of the stations have experienced passenger growth since , with the exception of Yeovil Junction. The largest increase in throughput has occurred at Frome, with a 20% rise in numbers. Crewkerne has seen the greatest year-on-year expansion, of 9% Table 10 Railway station users in Somerset, 2008/09 to Station Station Facility Owner Entries & Exits Entries & Exits Entries & Exits % rise since % rise since Taunton FGW 1,191,558 1,238,006 1,292, Bridgwater FGW 237, , , Castle Cary FGW 235, , , Yeovil Junction SWT 210, , , Highbridge & Burnham FGW 148, , , Frome FGW 121, , , Yeovil Pen Mill FGW 115, , , Crewkerne SWT 99, , , Templecombe SWT 98, , , Bruton FGW 25,576 25,544 27, Source: Delta Rail,

19 Taxis and Private hire vehicles The Department for Transport publishes data on licences for taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) every two years, the latest in These are for all regions and licensing authorities (mainly lower tier local authorities) within England and Wales. In the South West, the total number of vehicle and driver licences issued has increased steadily since In Somerset, the picture is more erratic, although at 31 st March 2011, the latest date at which data is published, there were more licensed drivers than there had been six years earlier, with a move towards dual licences. Chart 12 Type of driver licences issued in Somerset at 31 st March each year 1,600 Numbers 1,400 1,200 1, , PHV only Licenced Drivers Taxi only licensed drivers Dual taxi/phv driver licences Source DfT / Taxi Licensing Authorities, Taxi Statistics ( While the total number of taxis has varied in recent years, the number of PHVs has risen steadily, and the number of operator licenses has also increased to reach 125 in 2011 (Chart 13)

20 Chart 13 Number of vehicles and operators licensed in Somerset at 31 st March each year 1, Numbers Total taxis PHV licences issued PHV Operator licences issued Source DfT / Taxi Licensing Authorities, Taxi Statistics ( The number of taxis accessible to wheelchair users has also advanced from 99 in 2005 to 189 in 2011, in addition to 14 PHVs. At 31st March 2011, South Somerset and Mendip had more taxi and PHV driver licences issued than any other district within Somerset (see chart 14). Chart 14 Number of driver licences and vehicles by district at 31/03/ South Somerset Mendip Taunton Deane Sedgemoor West Somerset 368 Numbers Total driver licences issued Total taxis Vehicle licences issued Source DfT / Taxi Licensing Authorities, Taxi Statistics (

21 Transport Strategies Somerset County Council is responsible for highways and co-ordinates transport strategies in conjunction with other organisations in Somerset. Links to some of the principal documents are listed below:- The Future Transport Plan ts/environment/ftp/somerset's%20future%20transport%20plan.pdf Strategies for Active Travel, Freight, Motor cycling and Cycling: nt/sites/scc/web%20pages/services/services/environment/transport%20st rategy Road Safety Strategy March nts/environment/strategic%20planning/transport%20policy/road%20safety %20Strategy% pdf New Major Highway Projects 285a c10-7fa5-d6f51dde54aa

22 Map of Key Towns and Transport Routes in Somerset