Accredited official statistics

Travel time measures for the Strategic Road Network and local ‘A’ roads: April 2020 to March 2021

Travel time statistics on the Strategic Road Network and on locally managed ‘A’ roads for the year ending March 2021.

• From: Department for Transport
• Published: 8 July 2021

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Travel time measures for the Strategic Road Network and local ‘A’ roads: April 2020 to March 2021 tables

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Details

On the Strategic Road Network (SRN) for the year ending March 2021, the average delay is estimated to be 5.9 seconds per vehicle per mile compared to speed limits travel times, a 36.6% decrease compared to the year ending March 2020.

The average speed is estimated to be 62.6mph, 6.3% up on the year ending March 2020.

In the year ending March 2021, on average 34.1% of additional time was needed compared to speed limits travel times, on individual road sections of the SRN to ensure on time arrival. This is down 32.2 percentage points compared to the year ending March 2020, so on average a lower proportion of additional time is required.

On local ‘A’ roads for the year ending March 2021, the average delay is estimated to be 32.0 seconds per vehicle per mile compared to free flow travel times. This is a decrease of 26.8% on March 2020.

The average speed is estimated to be 27.8 mph. This is an increase of 9.9% relative to the year ending March 2020.

Please note that figures for the SRN and local ‘A’ roads are not directly comparable.

The outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a marked impact on everyday life, including on congestion on the road network. As these data are affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the UK, caution should be taken when interpreting these statistics and comparing them with previous time periods. The congestion metrics remain below the anticipated levels for March 2021.

Interactive maps showing the annual average delay and average speed on the Strategic Road Network and local ‘A’ roads in England, in 2020 are available.

Additional analysis on the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the road journeys is also available. This story map contains charts and interactive maps for road journeys in England in 2020.

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Published 8 July 2021