RISING CAR OWNERSHIP AMONG WOMEN AND THE ELDERLY CONTINUES TO FUEL GROWTH IN TRAVEL DEMAND

This article examines the factors that have caused the growth in car ownership in the UK, and identifies their likely impacts on future traffic levels. In the 1950s, only 14% of British households had access to a private vehicle; this proportion had risen to 57% by 1979 and 68% by 1994, and seems likely to continue to increase. Households have also become smaller, and their number has risen from 17M in 1964 to 23M in 1994. The proportion of households with one car has remained fairly constant at about 45%, and the proportion with more than one car has risen sharply. It is estimated that the number of cars on British roads has increased by 5.4M from 1986 to 1996, with 2.3M coming from extra households and 3.1M from more cars per household. One recent report attributes the growth in car ownership and the prevalence of multi-car households to falling car costs and fuel costs relative to income. Its authors argue that cars should be made more expensive in relation to incomes, and that car use should be managed through higher fuel tax and urban road pricing. Car owning households make more of their trips by car and more trips than non-car-owners. One cause of rising car ownership is inadequate public transport to meet women's shopping and other needs.