In this podcast  we are talk about road transport and take a quick look into the crystal ball to see what lies around the corner for this vital mode of transport. 

Despite the volume and frequency of discussion about the UK’s approach to public transport – and specifically rail travel which continues to absorb huge amounts of public cash – the reality is that, rightly or wrongly, travel by road remains the overwhelmingly most relied upon mode of transport.

I say rightly or wrongly, because there is a view that, for all the convenience of road travel and the improvements made in design and usage,   our cars, vans and lorries still remain excessively polluting, congesting, expensive and dangerous as a mode of transport. 

Or is that changing? The move towards electric vehicles is certainly creating perhaps the biggest revolution in motoring’s century old history, rethinking the way we approach car travel and prompting a simultaneous revolution in the infrastructure that supports it. 

Add to this the huge improvements we are seeing in engine efficiency, vehicle safety and congestion and pollution busting technology and we have a transport mode which is certainly investing in the future.

Yet much of this investment relies on the largely state-owned highway networks to operate effectively – networks which remains under funded and heavily neglected in comparison to many other sectors and parts of the world. 

So where are we headed with road transport – a new era of personal travel or the highway to hell? 

To find out, and to guide us through the UK’s road transport challenges, my guest today is Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, a long-time observer and driver of UK highways policy and practice, and, in my experience, not someone who normally sits in the hard shoulder of current debate.

Resources:
RAC Foundation website
RAC Foundation data on TVs
DfT's RIS2
National Highways  pipeline of possible future schemes
Ashalt Industry Alliance ALARM survey results 2024
EV charging stats