Mobility

This report by Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, is a personal observation of the practicalities involved in driving a battery-electric vehicle around south-east England and trying to rec

More than one in six jobs being advertised in the UK requires applicants to be able to drive, analysis suggests. Research by the RAC Foundation shows that in the first week of October 2023 a total

The RAC Foundation report Driven by information, published in September 2020, sought to establish all the elements needed to achieve the benefits offered by the flow of data from and to increasingly �

An “overwhelming majority” of young people aged 17 to 24 expect to be driving regularly in the future. Aside from those unable to drive because of a disability of health condition, more than 8

Ensuring the roadworthiness of self-driving technology will be one of the key challenges to ensuring the success and safety of autonomous vehicles, the RAC Foundation has warned. In its evidence to

Three veteran cars built at the turn of the 20th century have travelled from the capital to the south coast while using the latest in connected technology in what is believed to be the world’s first

The average car or van in England is driven just 4% of the time, a figure that has barely changed in quarter of a century. For the rest of the time the car or van is either parked at home (73%) or

Councils in England made a combined surplus (profit) of £891 million from parking in 2019-20. This was 4.6% lower than the £934 million profit made in the previous year. The analysis by the RA

Car clubs – or car sharing as it is known the United States and elsewhere – are an increasingly feature of the transport landscape in the UK and have come a long way since the first ‘modern’ s

The new body that will have the job of monitoring and auditing the behaviour of private parking companies should have powers to carry out no-notice inspections of those firms it suspects of malpractic

Everyday technology already installed in vehicles or added by drivers could enable a range of connected services to be developed and deployed, making driving smoother and safer and traffic management

Creating innovative solutions to the travel problems facing those living in rural communities has been the focus of the latest challenge set by the RAC Foundation and Royal Automobile Club to students

The newest cars in Great Britain do an average of 10,377 miles in each of the first three years after they are registered. That’s the equivalent of 28 miles per day. However, there are big dif

In 2018-19 English councils made a combined profit of £930 million from their parking activities. The figure for the last financial year is up 7% on the £867 million councils made in 2017-18.

English councils are predicting that, collectively, they will make a £913 million surplus – or profit - from their parking activities in the current financial year, 2019-20. This is 4% more than

Councils in Scotland made a combined surplus of £44.6 million from their parking activities in 2017-18. This was a 5% increase on the £42.6 million 'profit' recorded in the previous financial yea

The fastest-acting councils in Great Britain aim to fill in the most severe potholes in their roads within minutes. Cumbria, Flintshire and South Lanarkshire aim to act “immediately” to repair

Councils in England have seen their parking ‘profits’ rise by almost a third (32%) in just four years. In 2017-18, the combined surplus made by the 353 English local authorities was £867 milli

Local authorities in Wales made a combined surplus of £14.4 million on their parking activities in the last financial year. The figure for 2017-18 was 3% higher than the £14 million made in 2016-

Analysis by the RAC Foundation of a snapshot of the government’s Find a Job database found that of the 182,062 vacancies on offer on the 14 September 2018, 34,067 (19%) stated that having a car or l

Almost one in five people in the UK have some form of disability and by 2035 over a third of us will be of pensionable age. With this in mind the RAC Foundation and the Royal Automobile Club commis

Councils in England are predicting to make a joint surplus of almost £900 million from their parking operations in the current financial year. The official figures supplied to government by the 35

Some 351,000 penalty charge notices (PCNs) were issued to road users in London for bus lane infringements in 2016/17. The analysis - based on data supplied by local authorities to central governmen

Councils in Scotland made a combined surplus - or 'profit' - of £42.6 million from their parking activities in 2016/17. This was an increase of 6% on the £40.3 million made in the previous financ

The RAC Foundation backs plans to introduce Expressways as part of the government's proposals to divide strategic roads into four categories.

The RAC Foundation has voiced its scepticism about the fairness and effectiveness of proposals to raise the level of penalty charges in London from £130 to £160 in an effort to

Local authorities in Wales made a combined surplus – or ‘profit’ - of £14 million on their parking activities in the last financial year. The figure for 2016-17 was 1.4%

The RAC Foundation has voiced its scepticism about the fairness and effectiveness of proposals to raise the level of penalty charges in London from £130 to £160 in an effort to

The RAC Foundation believes there is a future for lane rental schemes after the trials in London and Kent.

The RAC Foundation believes there is a future for lane rental schemes after the trials in London and Kent. In its response to the Department for Transport consultation, the Foundation said "it supp

Half (50%) of Britons are concerned about future driver-assistance technologies taking too much control away from the driver.  This compares with just one in five (20%) who are unconcerned.

The RAC Foundation has welcomed Sadiq Khan's ambitious draft transport strategy but is concerned that the target of dramatically reducing car journeys in the capital will be a "mighty challenge". The

The huge growth in UK van numbers is not being solely driven by people turning to online shopping. While there are now at least 3.7 million vans on the road, fewer than one in twenty-five (4%) are

The arrival of self-driving and connected cars will add weight to the case for improved highway maintenance, not only to tackle the huge backlog, but also to ensure the associated communication and

Local authorities in Scotland made a £40.3 million surplus or ‘profit’ from their parking activities in 2015-16. This is 12% higher than in the 2014-15 financial year when £36.1 million was reported.

The surplus produced from council parking operations in England has reached a record high of more than three quarters of a billion pounds. In the 2015/16 financial year the 353 local authorities in

More than 7 in 10 (71%) British adults aged 16-75 say they have shopped online within the last three months. The average UK household now places around 2.5 online orders per month – the

Local authorities in Wales made a combined surplus – or ‘profit’ - of £13.8 million on their parking activities in the last financial year. 

The RAC Foundation response to the Highways England consultation on a new Lower Thames Crossing.

Three in five drivers would be happy to use a ‘vehicle safe mode’ on their mobile phones and other electronic devices they bring into their car in order to avoid being distracted. The

Twenty-first century car use in Wales is more in keeping with historical experience than the rest of Great Britain according to a new report published today.

English councils have made another record surplus from their parking activities, hitting almost £700 million.

Driverless cars are not just part of an imagined future street scene; they exist today. Yet it’s an enormous leap from the prototypes being put through their paces under test conditions to a

Local authorities in Scotland made a £33.6 million surplus or ‘profit’ from their parking activities in 2013/14, the last financial year for which data is available. This is just

Hundreds of thousands of drivers are likely to have been illegally penalised for overstaying their welcome whilst parked on private land. The motorists could be entitled to repayments totalling many

Since the mid-1990s there has been a decline in car use among young adults, especially among young men. This decrease is associated with both a reduction in the proportion of young adults who hold a

English councils have made another record surplus from parking. In 2013-14 councils in England generated a combined ‘profit’ of £667 million.

Within twenty years there could be another seven million drivers in the UK meaning that, if current trends persist, the total will leap from about 36 million to 43 million. 

Since the sharp decrease since the 1990s in car use by young adults, we explore the extent to which similar trends have taken place among pre-driving age young people.

Between them the 22 parking authorities in Wales made a surplus (‘profit’) of £8.7 million in 2012/13.

The number of vans on Britain’s roads has been rising more than 2.5 times quicker than cars.

English councils have made another record surplus from their parking activities.

16.7 million people in England and Wales travel to work by car or van. This is 62.7% of the employed population aged 16-74.

The number of older people with driving licences has exceeded the four million mark.

Figures analysed by the RAC Foundation show the vast majority of local authorities in England generate a surplus from their parking activities.

A combination of more frequent and more extreme weather events will mean drivers having to change their habits and expectations.

How much are we travelling as a nation? More to the point, who is travelling? What changes have there been over time? What might happen in the future?

This think piece summarises the findings from a joint seminar held by the RAC Foundation and British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) in July 2012 on alternatives to car ownership

It is sometimes easy to forget just how important road transportation - especially that carried out by car - is to the citizens and commerce of this country.

The rise in the number of vehicles and the shortage of parking spaces means millions of front gardens have been paved over to make room for cars.

The success of the Boris bike scheme in London could pave the way across the UK for one-way car clubs based on the same idea.

In 2011, the RAC Foundation commissioned Sally Cairns (TRL & UCL) and Clare Harmer (TRL) to write a report on international examples of alternatives to the most common way of accessing cars

HS2 - the proposed high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham - is officially judged to return £1.60 for every pound spent on the scheme.

There will be at least four million more cars on the UK’s roads in the next twenty years as the population surges by more than ten million.

Ever think you are spending more time sitting at the lights? Well you probably are, because the number of sets of traffic lights in Britain jumped by some 30 per cent between 2000 and 2008.

There are already 28 million cars in the UK, the majority of them privately owned. And this number is likely to rise if the population grows as it is projected to.

Official figures show that of today's population an astonishing ten million of us will live to see our 100th birthday.

Some rivalries are enduring. Manchester United fans despise Manchester City fans. Die-hard Labour supporters cannot abide Conservatives. And it seems many car drivers loathe cyclists – a

William Rickett is a former civil servant who worked at board level in five government departments including Transport and Energy & Climate Change.

The car continues to dominate the traveling lives of the British public. Whilst there has been a marked increase in bus use in London, this is the exception.

Earlier this year the RAC Foundation commissioned MRC McLean Hazel to carry out research into the potential of moving towards a more integrated, retail-like system of transport where it is provided

The RAC Foundation has commissioned Professor Joyce Dargay from the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds to analyse the frequency of rail use in Great Britain.

Despite frequent discussions about the significant difference between countries and their transport usage the car remains the dominant method of travel for all nine of the countries assessed in this

Councils must resist the temptation to use on-street parking charges as a way of raising money simply to balance their books.

In the wake of the extreme cold weather experienced during the winter of 2009/10 the Transport Secretary Lord Adonis asked David Quarmby - chairman of the RAC Foundation - to undertake an independent

In a world where government has very little money and tough spending choices have to be made, it is important that decisions on expenditure should be based on facts and not faith. Choices should be

In October 2009 Boris Johnson invited people and organisations to respond to the draft Mayor's Transport Strategy for the capital.

It positions itself as one of the premier cities of the world, home to eight million people and cornerstone of the nation's economy.

It is an unwelcome feature of modern life that most of us encounter at one time or another; congestion on Britian's roads.

If there is one topic which has proved more emotive than any other for those members of the public who contact the RAC Foundation, this is probably it.

In 1995 the RAC Foundation published a report called Car Dependence highlighting the exent to which the motor car had pervaded modern life.

There have been persistant calls for a car scrappage scheme to operate in the UK, not least to boost the forunes of the car industry and rejuvinate the existing car parc.

Britain’s roads are notorious for traffic jams, but a smart motorist can take steps to avoid them.

We are just as car dependent today as we were in the early 1990s, according to the paper Trends in Modal Shift: An analysis of the British Social Attitudes Survey by David Leibling.