RECORD DROP IN CONGESTION REFLECTS ECONOMIC CRISIS, SAY TRAFFICMASTER AND AA

Britain’s road network is wearing the scars of the economic climate on its sleeve, according to a new report published today by Trafficmaster and the AA. The report shows that since the subsequent economic decline when the credit crunch began two years ago, there has been a dramatic 31% reduction in road congestion across all major motorways and trunk roads.

Furthermore, the report also shows that congestion levels have become inextricably linked to major financial events and the economic climate, such as rising fuel prices and the collapse of Northern Rock. Gloomily, with the increase in unemployment and the report’s findings that nearly a quarter of commuters not currently working lost their jobs over the last 12 months, rush hour is now also becoming redundant, influencing the overall congestion figures.

Whilst congestion has dramatically dropped across the road network in the normal working week, the credit crunch has also delivered another phenomenon. Spiked rises in congestion have appeared on Fridays, school and Bank holiday getaways. With the cost of holidays in the UK cheaper than abroad, we have seen up to a 50% increase in congestion at these times as additional leisure traffic hits the roads. What’s more weekend breaks seem to be more popular as people are cutting back on the length of time they spend away – Friday is the only day of the week that is bucking the trend of a decrease in congestion levels.
The findings come from Congestion – Commuting, An Economic Barometer, a new report written and researched by Trafficmaster, the leading expert in road traffic information, and the AA. The report is based on comprehensive traffic information collated by Trafficmaster over the past five years and commuting behaviour research from the AA and its AA/Populus panel of 75,000 drivers.  

The report shows that:

•    23% of commuters currently not working said that they had lost their job in the last 12 months. This has had a definite effect on the morning and afternoon rush hours. This has certainly had a huge impact on weekday morning peak times which have seen the biggest decrease in congestion, with an overall average reduction of 15%.
•    20% of all commuters surveyed said that the economic circumstances had led them to work from home more regularly to avoid the cost of commuting.  In addition 14% had used public transport, whilst 12% had shared cars to reduce the cost of commuting.
•    67% of commuters said they would double the distance travelled in their daily commute in order to keep their job. A statistic that may well impact future congestion levels.

Obviously the dramatic fall in road casualties is also directly related to the fall in traffic volumes and not to increased numbers of speed cameras and other forms oe electronic surveillance.

Trafficmaster is able to provide drivers with smarter route planning and more accurate estimated arrival times than ever before because of the latest IBM data collation technology.  This is able to retrieve and process huge volumes of vehicle location data and collates this with historic data and real road speeds to identify congestion hotspots and give accurate journey times on any given day.

Trafficmaster's key product is the award-winning Smartnav, an intelligent satellite navigation system, which uses live traffic information and real-time road speeds to calculate optimum routes and avoid traffic congestion on the way.  Trafficmaster's comprehensive traffic data means Smartnav is continually updated with traffic information, road closures and speed camera locations, without the need for CDs or internet-sourced updates.

Trafficmaster also offers Trackstar stolen vehicle tracking, monitored 24 hours a day in the Trafficmaster Control Centre.  Stolen vehicles can automatically inform Trafficmaster and are then monitored remotely and police informed of their whereabouts for fast and efficient recovery.

The company provides live traffic information direct via mobile phone services and Radio Data System -Traffic Message Channel (RDS TMC) to other aftermarket and factory-fit satellite navigation systems.

Trafficmaster also maintains its own unique traffic monitoring network of road-side sensors, covering 8,000 miles of UK motorways and trunk roads.
In 2007 the company launched its fleet management solution, Fleet Director, in the UK. Combining all of Trafficmaster’s intelligent technology businesses can save time and money, whilst reducing the environmental impact of driving.

 
Trafficmaster was founded in 1988 and floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1994.  Teletrac Inc is a wholly owned US subsidiary company.

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