London 'least car dependent city'

28 August 2012

London is the UK's least car-dependent city but those relying on public transport should give Wigan a wide berth, according to a survey.

The Greater Manchester town was the worst place for dependency on the car, the survey by the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) showed.

CBT selected, on a representative geographical basis, 26 towns and cities in the UK to test car-dependency levels.

London got the top marks overall, and was particularly praised for its bus services.

In contrast, Wigan was shown to have poor access to key services for those without a car, although the town scored well in the cycling and walking categories.

After London, the next least car-dependent place was Brighton and Hove, followed by Nottingham.

Colchester in Essex and Peterborough in Cambridgeshire were, apart from Wigan, the most car-dependent towns.

The most improved city since a similar survey in 2010 was Southampton, which climbed five places to fifth.

CBT sustainable transport campaigner Sian Berry said: "The cities that have topped our ranking show how good planning and investing in transport infrastructure can provide decent transport alternatives and reduce the number of people having to make every-day journeys by car.

"Heavy investment in transport for London 2012 is already starting to show its impact with the capital moving up to top the ranking."

She went on: "But local authorities need to realise the most cost-effective way to reduce dependence is to invest in cheaper, more-efficient public transport and build new developments that can be accessed by cycling and public transport and which reduce the need to travel, rather than throw money at expensive road plans that in reality fail to cut congestion."

These were the rankings for the towns and cities, with London the least car-dependent and Wigan the most car-dependent:

1. London

2. Brighton and Hove

3. Nottingham

4. Cambridge

5. Southampton

6. Plymouth

7. Manchester

8. Liverpool

9. Newcastle upon Tyne

10. Bristol

11. Derby