More than half of Britain's drivers would rather take a chance on being stuck in a traffic jam than use public transport – and opposition to "tolling" UK roads has hardened in the past eight years.
These are the key findings of "The Congestion Challenge", a report by the RAC Foundation on car use and congestion. It shows that Britons seem to have resigned themselves to a congested, slow moving future. They remain unconvinced about alternatives to their cars and are generally unsupportive of ways to reduce congestion – especially if they have to pay for them.
The survey found:
* 53 percent of drivers would rather risk being stuck in a traffic jam than use public transport.
* 41 percent of drivers consider congestion a serious problem, way down from the 63 percent of 1999.
* 61 percent of drivers think congestion will worsen over the next five years.
* 44 percent of drivers oppose any form of congestion charge even if the money is spent on improving local transport - compared to 32 percent in 2001.
Only three out of ten UK drivers think it likely they will use public transport in the next year and most believe the performance of bus and train services will stay constant or worsen.
RESIGNED TO IT
This begs the question of who will use the Bus Rapid Transport system being installed in South African cities. If the only passengers are people who don't have cars it won't reduce congestion at all.
RAC Foundation director Stephen Glaister said: "People have come to regard congestion as less of an issue although it's actually getting worse so the depressing reality is that British drivers have become resigned to it.
"They're also extremely pessimistic about tomorrow's transport system, which is an indictment of the politicians who have repeatedly failed to tackle it in a meaningful way.
"Radical approaches to easing congestion will be difficult for politicians to sell to a sceptical population. But doing nothing is not an option and some sort of national scheme might be necessary.
UNPALATABLE TRUTH
"However almost three quarters of divers support the widening of freeways and 65 percent support variable speed limits on motorways to keep traffic flowing smoothly.
"It might be an unpalatable truth for some but cars are the true public transport - they transport most of the people most of the time. The challenge is to make vehicles smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient, not eradicate them."
Co-author of the report Ben Marshall said: "There is scepticism about alternatives to the car and a very strong sense that things will only get worse. More than four in five of those drivers who say they are personally affected by congestion say they couldn't adjust to life without their car. And 53 percent of drivers would rather be stuck in a traffic jam than have to use public transport.
"We have found a declining sense among the public that congestion is a problem, plus growing public distaste for flagship policy solutions such as congestion charging."
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