Transport
Congestion concerns rise while cars are still the county's dominant mode of travel
Transportation has become an essential part of modern life. Whether it is commuting to work, to school or to see friends and family, we all travel regularly and demand goods and services that require transportation. The private car remains the main form of transport, despite promotion by councils of alternative forms, creating congestion and pollution that could be reduced.
Indicator TR1 - Volume of motor traffic
Traffic volume is a good measure of the extent people travel and can indicate levels of pollution being generated. Generally, increased traffic raises noise and air pollution levels which impacts on residents quality of lives. In 2005 30.21 million km were travelled by vehicles on roads in Hertfordshire per day.
Countywide vehicle kilometres
Source: HCC, Traffic and transport data report 2006
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Volume of motor traffic by district
Source: Hertfordshire County Council (HCC), Traffic and transport data report 2006
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Indicator TR2 - Modal Split
This measurement shows types of transport people use from a three-year cycle of urban area peakperiod counts. It is an indication of trends, rather than a complete image (i.e. rail, off-peak and rural journeys are excluded). Figures for urban areas vary considerably, e.g. the modal share for the car varied from 70% - 90% over the last 3 years across the county, whilst bus use ranged from 4% - 20%.
| Mode | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car | 82.6% | 80.1% | 83.4% | 82.1% | 82.0% | 82.2% |
| Bus | 12.1% | 12.1% | 10.5% | 11.3% | 11.6% | 11.3% |
| Walk | 3.9% | 6.2% | 4.8% | 5.1% | 4.9% | 5.0% |
| Cycle | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.7% |
| Motorcycle | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% |
Source: HCC Traffic and Transport Data Report 2005
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Indicator TR3 - Mode of Travel to School
The mode of travel to school is measured every 3 years as part of a countywide travel survey. Last carried out in 2005, the two main modes of transport to school remained walking and travelling by car.
Mode of travel to school
Source: Hertfordshire County Council Traffic survey 2005, Traffic and transport data report 2005 (sections 3 & 4) - download and view this data in excel
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School Travel Plans1
School travel plans are a package of measures aimed to improve safety and the sustainable development of transport to school through the use of walking, cycling and passenger transport schemes. Action is monitored, reviewed annually and used as evidence for the 'Healthy School' accreditation.
Government funding helps Hertfordshire schools to develop their travel plans through advice received by school travel advisors, as well as awarenessraising and increasing the support to school travel volunteers. It also helps those with approved travel plans, via the School Travel Plan Capital Grant. This provides on-site improvements which encourages the use of sustainable travel to school. The funding, of which £1.6 million has been accessed by Hertfordshire to date, has been used for cycle storage, parent waiting shelters and improved access arrangements.
In Hertfordshire, schools with travel plans in place rose from 245 to 307, with 287 (48%) meeting government standards compared with 212 (35%) in the previous year. Initial monitoring results show 63% of Hertfordshire schools report a shift away from the car towards other modes of travel. The average % change in car use has risen to 4.2% from 3.2% and 13% of schools show a reduction of more than 10%.
Indicator TR4 - Mode of transport and average distance by journey purpose
This indicator is measured every three years and the table below shows the latest results. The car remains the dominant mode for all journey purposes yet the mode levels vary according to purpose.
| Mode (%) | Work | Shop | Recreation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walk | 7 | 19 | 13 |
| Bicycle | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Bus | 3 | 10 | 2 |
| Train | 11 | 0 | 4 |
| Car Passenger | 4 | 10 | 11 |
| Car Driver | 67 | 57 | 64 |
| Taxi | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Motorbike | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 100 | 99 | 100 |
|
Mean Average Distance (miles) | 16.7 | 3.6 | 9.9 |
Source: Table 5.17a and 5.24 (CTS - 2005)
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Journeys to work
The 2005 County Travel Survey2 showed that almost two thirds of people within Hertfordshire aged 16-74 used the car as their main mode for travel to work. Compared with the rest of England, car and rail mode shares are higher in Hertfordshire due to high levels of commuting flows, mainly into London. Both the 2005 County Travel Survey and 2001 Census showed that a quarter of Hertfordshire residents work in London and over half work within the county.
Indicator TR5 - Public perception of transport
An annual survey is carried out for Hertfordshire County Council's Environment Department by MORI to find out residents' attitudes towards a range of social and environmental issues. Of the 501 surveyed an increasing number of residents (64%) felt that road congestion was a major issue in the area they live with, compared with the 56% previously. There was also an increase in the number of who felt that the provision of local bus services was a major issue, rising from 25% to 29%. The changes in perceptions are illustrated below for 2003-2006.
Local transport issues of concern
Source: Hertfordshire County Council annual MORI survey, 2006
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