Journey's taken by car have continued to rise despite the best efforts of many left-wing councils to bully motorists off the road.
CAR Journeys are UP
Car journeys are now more frequent than ever. New figures from the ONS show that journeys this year were up on pre-pandemic levels. The latest data shows that the use of the car is now at 104% of 2019 levels, and at one point even rose to 108% during the year.
Transport [car] Usage as a proportion of pre-Covid levels, Great Britain, January 2022 to July 2023
The actual number of journeys taken using the car went UP over a million AFTER hundreds of LTNs were installed by local authorities in their ongoing war on the car.
BICYCLE trips are DOWN
Even more damning for those anti-car councils is that the data reveals that the massive increase of trips by bicycles has also failed to materialise. There was an increase in cycling during lockdowns (up approximately 46%) but that evaporated as soon as lockdowns ended. Following the relaxation of restrictions cycling dropped by 2 BILLION Kilometers and has continued to fall in 2022.
The great 'cultural change' failed to happen.
This year, trips by bicycle (of all lengths) have gone DOWN again, and are now at approximately the same levels as they were pre-pandemic. Crucially, pre-LTNs and Boris Johnson's GEAR CHANGE plan that wanted us to all cycle everywhere, like Chinese peasants under the CCP. That great "cultural change" has failed to materialise.
The evidence bears out the conclusion of anti-LTN campaigners who always maintained that cars were simply forced onto other roads.
Despite now having overwhelming evidence that LTNs have spectacularly failed councils are said to be 'doubling down' on the schemes with even more road closures, bus-lanes, speed reductions and road pricing planned.
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