Accredited official statistics

Road Traffic Estimates in Great Britain, 2022: Traffic in Great Britain by Vehicle Type

Published 13 July 2023

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

About this release

This release presents the 2022 annual estimates of traffic on Great Britain’s roads broken down by vehicle type.

Please see the companion releases for an overview of the 2022 traffic estimates, a breakdown by road type, a breakdown for England’s road networks.

Annual traffic statistics are compiled using data from around 8,000 roadside 12-hour manual counts, continuous data from automatic traffic counters, and data on road lengths. Please see our methodology note for more details.

The next annual traffic statistics release is expected to be published in May 2024, reporting 2023 traffic figures.

Overview

In 2022, cars continue to be the main contributor to changes in overall motor vehicle traffic.

Chart 5: Share of traffic by vehicle types in Great Britain, 2022

Chart 5 is a bar chart that shows that cars account for the majority (75%) of all motor vehicle traffic. Therefore, cars continue to be the main contributor to changes in overall motor vehicle traffic.

Vans have become more important over the last decades, accounting for 18% of all motor vehicle traffic in 2022.

Lorries, buses and coaches, and motorcycles have had similar shares of traffic over the last few decades. In 2022, lorries accounted for 5% of traffic; buses and coaches were 1% of traffic; and motorcycles were 1% of traffic.

In 2022, traffic levels for cars and buses and coaches remained below pre-pandemic (2019) levels, whereas all other vehicle types were above the 2019 pre-pandemic levels, including pedal cycles.

Chart 6: Vehicle miles travelled by vehicle type in Great Britain, 2019 to 2022

Chart 6 is a bar chart that shows that all motor vehicle types, except lorries, saw an increase between 2021 and 2022. However, overall traffic levels remain below pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Car and bus and coach traffic saw some of the biggest increases between 2021 and 2022, but still remained below pre-pandemic levels by -7.2% and -12.3%, respectively.

Although van and lorry traffic experienced smaller increases in vehicle miles between 2021 and 2022 than other vehicle types, they both rose above pre-pandemic levels by 7.6% and 1.0%, respectively.

Pedal cycle traffic levels decreased between 2021 and 2022 but remained above 2019 levels by 7.4%.

Car and taxi traffic

Definition

Cars and taxis Includes passenger vehicles with 9 or fewer seats, 3 wheeled cars and 4 wheel-drive ‘sports utility vehicles’. Cars towing caravans or trailers are counted as one vehicle.

Compared with 2021, car and taxi traffic in Great Britain increased by 10.2% to 244.0 billion vehicle miles in 2022. Car and taxi traffic in 2022 was 7.2% below the pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Chart 7: Car and taxi miles in Great Britain, 2012 to 2022

Chart 7 is a bar chart that shows that car miles travelled in Great Britain saw year-on-year growth in each year between 2012 and 2019. Following a sharp decline in 2020, traffic levels in 2021 and 2022 increased, but 2022 levels still remain lower than the 2014 levels.

Chart 8: Car and taxi miles by road type in Great Britain, 2022

Chart 8 is a bar chart that shows that in 2022:

• car traffic on motorways was 46.9 billion vehicle miles, 19% of the total
• car traffic on ‘A’ roads was 108.1 billion vehicle miles, 44% of the total
• car traffic on minor roads was 89.0 billion vehicle miles, 36% of the total

Chart 9: Monthly trend in car and taxi traffic, 2022

Chart 9 is a line chart that shows that during 2022 car traffic was lower in every month than pre-pandemic levels for the equivalent months in 2019. Car and taxi traffic levels were between 6% and 11% lower than the levels for the equivalent months in 2019.

Chart 10: Hourly car and taxi traffic trends on all road types in Great Britain, 2022

Chart 10 is a line chart that shows that on an average weekday in 2022, car traffic was highest in the afternoon peak, between 4pm and 6pm. On an average weekend in 2022, car traffic was highest in the middle of the day, between 11am and 1pm.

Van traffic

Definition

Vans (Light Commercial Vehicles - LCVs) Includes goods vehicle not exceeding 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight. Includes all car-based vans and those of the next largest carrying capacity such as transit vans. Also included are ambulances, pickups and milk floats.

Compared with 2021, van traffic in Great Britain increased by 5.8% to 57.5 billion vehicle miles in 2022. Van traffic in 2022 was 7.6% higher than 2019.

Chart 11: Van miles in Great Britain, 2012 to 2022

Chart 11 is a bar chart that shows that van miles travelled in Great Britain saw year-on-year growth in each year between 2012 and 2019. Following a decline in 2020, traffic levels increased to reach a new peak level in 2022 of 57.5 billion vehicle miles.

Chart 12: Van miles by road type in Great Britain, 2022

Chart 12 is a bar chart that shows that in 2022:

• van traffic on motorways was 12.8 billion vehicle miles, 22% of the total
• van traffic on ‘A’ roads was 24.1 billion vehicle miles, 42% of the total
• van traffic on minor roads was 20.6 billion vehicle miles, 36% of the total

Chart 13: Monthly trend in van traffic, 2022

Chart 13 is a line chart that shows that during 2022 van traffic was higher in every month than pre-pandemic levels for the equivalent months in 2019. Van traffic levels were between 2% and 11% higher than the levels for the equivalent months in 2019.

Chart 14: Hourly van traffic trends on all road types in Great Britain, 2022

Chart 14 is a line chart that shows that on average in 2022, vans had similar daily travel patterns to cars. However, for vans the weekday morning and afternoon peaks were a similar level, whereas the afternoon peak is higher for cars. The proportion of vans on the road at weekends was generally lower than weekdays, even at the peak periods.

Lorry traffic

Definition

Lorries (Heavy Goods Vehicles - HGVs) Includes all goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight.

In 2022 lorries travelled 17.4 billion vehicle miles, a slight decrease of 0.6% when compared with 2021. Lorry traffic in 2022 was 1.0% higher than 2019 levels.

Chart 15: Lorry miles in Great Britain, 2012 to 2022

Chart 15 is a bar chart that shows that lorry miles travelled in Great Britain saw year-on-year growth in each year between 2012 and 2019. Following a decline in 2020, traffic levels increased in 2021, and decreased very slightly in 2022 (-0.6%) when compared with 2021.

Chart 16: Lorry miles by road type in Great Britain, 2022

Chart 16 is a bar chart that shows that in 2022:

• lorry traffic on motorways was 8.2 billion vehicle miles, 47% of the total
• lorry traffic on ‘A’ roads was 7.8 billion vehicle miles, 45% of the total
• lorry traffic on minor roads was 1.4 billion vehicle miles, 8% of the total

Chart 17: Monthly trend in lorry traffic, 2022

Chart 17 is a line chart that shows that during 2022 lorry traffic varied around the pre-pandemic levels for the equivalent months in 2019. Lorry traffic levels were between 5% below and 10% higher than the levels for the equivalent months in 2019.

Chart 18: Hourly lorry traffic trends on all road types in Great Britain, 2022

Chart 18 is a line chart that shows that on an average weekday in 2022, lorries had a more constant level of traffic from 6am to 6pm compared to the morning and evening peaks seen in cars and vans. There were much lower numbers of lorries on the roads at the weekends than on weekdays.

Motorcycle and Scooter traffic

Definition

Motorcycles and scooters Includes motorcycles, scooters and mopeds and all motorcycle or scooter combinations.

Compared to 2021, motorcycle and scooter (excluding e-scooter) traffic rose by 12.1% in 2022 to 2.8 billion vehicle miles. Motorcycle traffic in 2022 was 6.3% above 2019.

Chart 19: Motorcycle and scooter miles in Great Britain, 2012 to 2022

Chart 19 is a bar chart that shows that motorcycle miles travelled in Great Britain saw year-on-year growth in each year between 2012 and 2016, followed by small falls between 2017 and 2019. Since the decline in 2020, traffic levels increased in 2021 and 2022, to reach the same level as 2016 of 2.8 billion vehicle miles in 2022.

Chart 20: Motorcycle and scooter miles by road type in Great Britain, 2022

Chart 20 is a bar chart that shows that in 2022:

• motorcycle traffic on motorways was 0.2 billion vehicle miles, 6% of the total
• motorcycle traffic on ‘A’ roads was 1.2 billion vehicle miles, 41% of the total
• motorcycle traffic on minor roads was 1.5 billion vehicle miles, 53% of the total

Chart 21: Monthly trend in motorcycle and scooter traffic, 2022

Chart 21 is a line chart that shows that during 2022 motorcycle traffic was higher in the spring and summer months than pre-pandemic levels for the equivalent months in 2019. Motorcycle traffic levels were between 18% lower and 22% higher than the levels for the equivalent months in 2019.

Bus and Coach traffic

Definition

Buses and coaches Includes all public service vehicles and works buses which have a gross weight greater than 3.5 tonnes.

Bus and coach traffic rose by 14.4% between 2021 and 2022, to 2.1 billion vehicle miles. Compared to 2019, bus and coach traffic fell by 12.3% in 2022.

Chart 22: Bus and coach miles in Great Britain, 2012 to 2022

Chart 22 is a bar chart that shows that bus and coach miles travelled in Great Britain generally saw year-on-year falls in each year between 2012 and 2019. Following a sharp decline in 2020, traffic levels increased in 2021 and 2022, but still remain lower than the 2019 levels.

Chart 23: Bus and coach miles by road type in Great Britain, 2022

Chart 23 is a bar chart that shows that in 2022:

• bus and coach traffic on motorways was 0.1 billion vehicle miles, 7% of the total
• bus and coach traffic on ‘A’ roads was 0.9 billion vehicle miles, 42% of the total
• bus and coach traffic on minor roads was 1.1 billion vehicle miles, 52% of the total

Chart 24: Monthly trend in bus and coach traffic, 2022

Chart 24 is a line chart that shows that during 2022 bus and coach traffic was lower in every month than pre-pandemic levels for the equivalent months in 2019. Bus and coach traffic levels were between 7% and 17% lower than the levels for the equivalent months in 2019.

Pedal Cycle traffic

Definitions

Pedal cycles Includes all non-motorised pedal cycles and includes electric bicycles.

*Cycling on roads Covers activity of cyclists on public highways, and on cycle paths and footpaths adjacent to them. Cycle activity elsewhere (for example on canal towpaths, byways or bridleways) is not included in road traffic statistics. DfT Statistics on walking and cycling provide further analyses from other sources, such as the National Travel Survey (NTS).

Pedal cycles travelled 3.9 billion miles on roads* in 2022, 7.2% less than in 2021. Pedal cycle traffic was 7.4% higher than in 2019.

Chart 25: Pedal cycle miles in Great Britain, 2012 to 2022

Chart 25 is a bar chart that shows that pedal cycle miles travelled on roads* in Great Britain saw year-on-year increases in each year between 2017 and 2019. Following a sharp increase in 2020, cycle traffic levels decreased in 2021 and 2022, but still remain above the 2019 levels.

Chart 26: Pedal cycle miles by road type in Great Britain, 2022

Chart 26 is a bar chart that shows that in 2022:

• cycle traffic on ‘A’ roads was 0.6 billion vehicle miles, 16% of the total
• cycle traffic on minor roads was 3.3 billion vehicle miles, 84% of the total

Chart 27: Monthly trend in pedal cycle traffic, 2022

Chart 27 is a line chart that shows that during 2022 monthly pedal cycle traffic levels were higher than the equivalent months in 2019, except in February and December 2022. During the months with higher levels, traffic levels were between 3% and 21% higher than the equivalent month in 2019, respectively. Note that cycling levels are likely to be influenced by the weather in all months in 2022 and in the 2019 comparators.

Further Information

Cycle Traffic Index for England This new monthly Index shows the change in cycling levels in England compared to a 2013 baseline. It is a rolling annual index, allowing us to look at changes compared to previous months and years.

Background Information

Annual estimates make use of data from around 8,000 manual traffic counts in addition to continuous data from a national network of automatic traffic counters. These data sources produce accurate estimates on traffic levels in Great Britain by vehicle type and by road type.

Whilst road traffic data is accurate at a high level of aggregation, it should be noted that:

• Although we produce traffic breakdowns by local authorities, traffic at this level is not as robust, due to the sample size of the minor road data, and must be treated with caution

• Estimates for pedal cycle traffic only include cycling on roads, or paths directly adjacent to the road, and do not include estimates of cycling on other routes such as canal paths. Therefore, they may not give a complete representation of cycling

Further information about these statistics is available, including:

• a detailed explanation of the methodology used to produce DfT road traffic statistics can be found online in the annual road traffic estimates: methodology note
• notes and definitions for the road traffic statistics
• the data tables, which give further detail of the key results presented in this statistical release
• a geographical website that allows users to view and download estimated traffic flows on every link of the ‘A’ road and motorway network in Great Britain

Further Information

National Statistics are produced to high professional standards, as set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure they meet customer needs. These statistics were designated as National Statistics in February 2013, details of which can be found on the road traffic statistics information page.

Details of Ministers and officials who receive pre-release access to these statistics up to 24 hours before release can be found on the pre-release access page.

To hear more about DfT statistics publications as they are released, please follow us on Twitter.

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