Rich picture of driver satisfaction across England in new survey

04 July 2019

Drivers on the A19 through North Yorkshire, Teeside and County Durham were  the most satisfied (95 per cent) users of motorways and major ‘A’ roads managed by Highways England at the end of the first full year of the new Strategic Roads User Survey (SRUS). The best motorway (92 per cent overall satisfaction) was the M11 from London to Cambridge. The least satisfactory routes were the M20, M6 and M25 along with the A34 and the A52.

Launching the Strategic Roads User Survey 2018/19 Summary report highlighting results from the first full year of the Strategic Roads User Survey Anthony Smith, chief executive of independent watchdog Transport Focus said today:

“The Strategic Roads User Survey gives Highways England the most robust picture ever at a national, regional and individual road level of driver satisfaction on the motorways and major ‘A’ roads that it manages,.

“This survey reflects the experience of all drivers – whether in cars, vans, lorries, coaches or on a motorbike – across a range of key issues. The results show where Highways England should focus its efforts to maximise satisfaction, including reducing delays arising from accidents and improving user experience with journey time and road surface quality.”

SRUS gathers insight from interviews with over 8500 road users across the motorway and major ‘A’ road network managed by Highways England.

The first year of SRUS data shows:

• 82 per cent of road users are satisfied overall with their last journey using a motorway or major ‘A’ road managed by Highways England.
• For journey time overall satisfaction stood at 81 per cent
• Overall satisfaction with road surface quality fares less well at 81 per cent
• The management of roadworks is lower – only 65 per cent of those surveyed were satisfied
• Most drivers – 94 per cent –feel safe using Highways England’s roads.
• The top scoring Highways England region is Yorkshire and the North East – ranked most satisfactory by road users for journey time, road surface quality, roadworks management, feeling safe and overall satisfaction. Alongside Yorkshire and the North East, the South West earned the best satisfaction score for journey time and roadworks management. Yorkshire and the North East also earned the best regional overall satisfaction score for road surface quality.
• For individual roads the A19 earned the highest score for overall satisfaction and surface quality. The M11 is the highest ranking motorway for overall satisfaction and journey time satisfaction. The M20 was ranked lowest for overall satisfaction, journey time, feeling safe and surface quality.

 

Notes for editors

All satisfaction scores highlighted in the report are drawn from routes with a minimum of 100 survey responses.

SRUS data is updated monthly on the Transport Focus Data Hub https://www.transportfocus.org.uk/data-hub/. Data can be ‘sliced’ in lots of ways at the touch of a button by anyone from a fleet manager to a leisure driver.

SRUS asks questions about a range of aspects of journey experience on a motorway or major ‘A’ road in England, including overall journey experience, journey time, surface quality, roadworks management, permanent and electronic information, and feelings of safety. Data can be viewed for specific roads or regions and be subject to comparison.

SRUS has been designed to provide the official measure of satisfaction among users of the roads managed by Highways England from 2020-25 (the period covered by the Government’s second Road Investment Strategy).

The Strategic Roads User Survey (SRUS) runs alongside the existing National Road Users’ Satisfaction Survey (NRUSS) until March 2020. SRUS employs improved methodology and a better questionnaire than NRUSS to provide more detailed insight into the experience of road users. SRUS results cannot be directly compared to any from NRUSS.

Since 2015, Transport Focus has represented the interests of those who use motorways and major ‘A’ roads in England – the Strategic Road Network, managed by Highways England on behalf of the government.