Latest figures show the coronavirus pandemic took almost one in 20 car journeys off the roads. And the number of weekday journeys has still only hit 95% of what it was pre-Covid.
The figures suggest that could also be inflated by home delivery takeaways, which have seen an increase of 17.5%, says the AA. The Department for Transport figures show that, after the summer holiday period, both weekday and weekend travel levels have fallen.
Meanwhile rail travel has recovered, but is below 90% what it was. Bus travel outside of London has continued to struggle, reaching 85% of its pre-pandemic levels.
National Travel Survey figures suggest car travel, and possibly cycling - the AA says - has been boosted by takeaways. Approximately 91% of all UK households that had ordered delivered goods and services last year, 60% had had takeaway meals driven or biked to their homes – up from 50%-52% in the two years before Covid.
More than half - 51% - of households that had home deliveries said they received at least one a week. Around 27.8 million households across the UK in 2020, and 25.3 million in 2021, arranged home deliveries.
That, the AA says, suggests more than half of the 60% that ordered takeaways may have therefore initiated at least one car or bike trip each week. That may have added seven million or more car, motor scooter or bicycle trips to UK travel each week, or close to 400 million a year.
AA president Edmund King said: “Covid’s legacy has been to shake up UK travel patterns, whether that is in part down to more home working, less commuting and more home deliveries by car and bike. While the former may become ingrained, increased home deliveries of takeaways face the challenge of higher inflation and customers struggling with their budgets.
“The introduction of a £2 bus fare cap in January for three months could be an interesting test if linked to park and ride facilities on the outskirts of major towns and cities. A £3 round-trip to use the park and ride in Cambridge has been hugely successful in converting millions of commuter car journeys into bus trips.
“With petrol retailers stubbornly refusing to bring the pump price down to the 160p a litre it should be, averaging 167p instead, a five-mile car trip with a fuel consumption of 25 miles per gallon in rush-hour traffic costs £1.52 (£7.59 a gallon divided by 25 = 30.36p a mile). Without inner-city parking costs, and with much less hassle when sitting on a bus and the time to catch up on emails and social media, this may be a chance to inspire another change in travel patterns – while reducing congestion and improving the environment.”
