The
Welsh population is more dependent on its cars and vans than any other part of
the UK.
Analysis
for the Welsh Assembly Government shows the changing pattern of transport
across Wales.
It
shows an increasing number of plane, train and car journeys being made with
more people owning a car, travelling by train and using Cardiff Airport.
TRANSPORT CUTS THREAT TO UK GROWTH AND PROSPERITY
Millions
of pounds invested in the system to keep Wales on the move has also been revealed with capital expenditure by
local authorities on roads and transport at £214m in 2006-07.
According
to the data, there were around 118,000 new vehicle registrations in Wales
during 2007, with Wales more reliant on the car than other regions and nations
in the UK. The number of vehicles licensed in Wales increased by 2pc between
2006 and 2007, to 1,728,800 vehicles. Of all road vehicles licensed, 76pc were
cars in the private and light goods category.
The
number of licensed road vehicles in Wales increased by 12pc between 2003 and
2007 compared to increases of 8pc and 11pc in England and Scotland.
People
in Wales are also more reliant on driving their car to work than elsewhere - 81pc
of people travel to work using a car, van or minibus, with 69pc in England and
70pc in Scotland using those forms of transport to get to their jobs.
Responding
to yesterday's leaked industry memo warning of a reduction in the Department
for Transport's capital expenditure plans by £28.9 B, Jo Tanner of
the FTA said, "Once again, it
looks as though the transport sector is the whipping boy.
"News of massive
cuts in much-needed road and rail infrastructure projects will send a shiver
down the spine of an industry that forms the backbone of business in the
country. "Although the UK's transport companies lead the way in terms of
investing in greener and newer technology, they are not being met half-way by
public investment in our roads and railways. "Clearly, the political will
to win votes supersedes the need to make meaningful, long-term commitments to
improving our country's economic prosperity. Yesterday's leaked memo
confirms that government policy is dangerously myopic."
There
was more volume of traffic on the roads in Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf than
any other areas of Wales, and traffic on motorways accounted for 12pc of all
road traffic during 2007.
Wales
exported less via road freight in 2007 than 2006; there was an estimated
479,000 tonnes of exports by road from Wales, a decrease of 32,000 since 2006.
In
2007, 80pc of the tonnage of exports by road from Wales was to Belgium,
Luxembourg, France and Germany. The same four countries account for 83pc of the
tonnage of imports by road.
Leading
trade body Freight Transport Association (FTA), has warned that spending cuts
on major transport projects, owing to a massive public investment
shortfall, will not only damage the UK's road and rail infrastructure, but
severely jeopardise Britain's economic future.
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