Transport Focus Survey reveals growing dissatisfaction with England’s key roads

A Transport Focus survey confirms what haulage and coach operators across the country feel every day: England's motorway and major 'A' road network is simply not dependable in its current state.

The annual Logistics and Coach Survey reveals that only 36 percent of vehicle managers are (very or fairly) satisfied with the network, with a similar number dissatisfied.

Coach operators were slightly more positive overall (42%) than their freight counterparts (36%).

But beyond the single metric of road safety, satisfaction fails to pass the halfway mark on every other key issue which is a deeply concerning verdict on the infrastructure that’s the backbone of our economy.

How National Highways manage roadworks on the network also proved to be a key issue with only 20 percent of responders believing that roadworks are balanced cost effectively with need to minimise disruption to traffic.

The state of road surfaces reveal operators are overwhelmingly concerned with just 16 percent very or fairly satisfied that wear and tear on tyres and vehicles is minimised.

And only 31 percent are satisfied that National Highways make journey times as reliable as possible.

This survey also reveals that user satisfaction over the last five years is on the decline.

Our message is clear. The state of our roads needs to drastically improve with congestion already costing the country more than £30bn in delays and lost productivity every year.

Poor maintenance and management of our roads are key aggravators in that equation and continue to stymie the potential of UK PLC.

This is why we continue to campaign for ambitious, sustained investment in our road networks which will improve journey times, increase connectivity, and drive growth.