National Highways and Transport Survey 2013

Just one in ten (9%) residents across 70 local authority areas (including six in Scotland) think there are fewer potholes and damaged roads compared to a year ago. Seven times this number (71%) think the problem has got worse.

These are among findings from the sixth annual survey conducted by Ipsos for the National Highways & Transport (NHT) Network. The survey also recorded a fall in residents’ satisfaction with highway condition, the speed and quality of repair to damaged roads and pavements. These measures are all at their lowest levels since the survey began in 2008. Postal and online survey questionnaires were completed by 53,676 residents during July and August 2013, making it the largest survey of local opinion about transport and highways services designed to support local service improvement. Data allows local councils to benchmark customer satisfaction with important services including highway condition, local bus services, congestion, cycling facilities and road safety.

Among the 26 Key Benchmarking Indicators (KBIs) generated by the survey – and shared with the 70 participating local authorities last month – the sharpest fall between 2012 and 2013 was for “KBI23”, the condition of local highways. Now, satisfaction levels are as low as 7% for some councils, while across the 70 areas 37% of local residents are very dissatisfied with highway condition, up from 31% last year. Dissatisfaction is stronger still when it comes to the quality and speed of repair – respectively, 35% and 43% of residents are very dissatisfied. Reflecting this, the survey also found road condition top of residents’ priorities among transport and highways services for the third year running. While a higher proportion of residents in all 70 local areas thought that the number of potholes had increased than thought their number had fallen, some councils received better ratings on how they have dealt with the problem.

Across the KBIs, analysis for the Network found the widest variation in resident satisfaction occurring for KBI07 ‘Local Bus Services’ (a gap of 35.7 points between the highest and lowest rated authorities) with “KBI23 ‘Condition of Highways’ (35.2) just behind.

The survey also found:

• Year-on-year declines in residents’ ratings of highway condition, and repair, across the 54 areas who took part in both 2012 and 2013 surveys (allowing like-for-like comparisons).
• Year-on-year improvements for 10 of the 26 KBIs across all areas compared to 2012 (75 local councils took part then).
• In the last 12 months there has been an improvement in KBIs for local buses but a dip in those for cycling facilities.
• There are higher levels of satisfaction with street lighting than any other service; 68% are satisfied overall and, outside London, 49% are satisfied with their speed of repair.
• Bus users and cyclists are more positive about services than residents more generally.
• 87% of residents say they drive a car at least once a week with 58% saying they use a car daily.
• 22% say they cycle at least once a week.
• Satisfaction with the condition of cycle routes/lanes among those cycling at least once a week is 42%. Half (51%) of this group are dissatisfied with the number of cycle routes/lanes provided.
• A third, 32%, of residents say they use a bus at least once a week.
• Two thirds of this group (68%) are satisfied with the local bus service overall.

Responding to the survey, Steve Kent, Chair of ADEPT, said:

“These results show that, despite good work by many local councils, the condition of our road network remains at the balance point between slow improvement and steady decline. The looming financial constraints on local government revenue funding mean that further improvements and efficiencies in highway service will have to be found if we are to avoid progressive deterioration, not least in the area of public perception.”

Peter Radford, Chairman of the Survey Steering Group, said:

“What is clear from the survey is that the ratchet of wear and tear, and weather extremes, have taken their toll on the highway network and the public are getting increasingly frustrated. No public service wants public satisfaction languishing at these levels. However the NHT Survey has given the public a robust voice across the nation: politicians and the industry must listen and respond to it”

Technical note

Ipsos dispatched questionnaires to 352,200 randomly generated addresses across 70 local authority areas in England and Scotland. A total of 53,676 responses were received representing an average response rate of 15.3%. Data has been weighted to match the population profile for each local authority area. An additional weight, reflecting the population sizes of all 70 authorities, has been applied for the aggregate data.

Survey findings are based on all expressing an opinion (i.e. excluding don’t know and not stated).