Households with regular use of a car, Great Britain
The proportion of households in Great Britain with access to a car increased from 52 per cent to 75 per cent between 1971 and 2007. Over the same period, the proportion of households without access to a car almost halved, from 48 per cent to 25 per cent.
The percentage of households in Great Britain with access to two cars increased almost fourfold from 7 per cent in 1971 to 26 per cent in 2007, while the percentage of households with access to one car remained stable at around 44 per cent.
Although most households with access to more than one car have two cars, the proportion of households with access to three or more cars has increased steadily from 1 per cent in 1971 to 6 per cent in 2007.
People living in urban areas have better access to more frequent public transport than people living in rural areas, making it easier for them to manage without a car. In 2007, 43 per cent of households in London did not own or have access to a car compared with 31 per cent in other built-up metropolitan areas and 10 per cent in rural areas. About one-half (51 per cent) of households in rural areas had access to two or more cars compared with 16 per cent in London and 27 per cent in other metropolitan areas.
Source: National Travel Survey, Department for Transport; Family Expenditure Survey, Office for National Statistics; General Household Survey (Longitudinal), Office for National Statistics
Notes: Car includes light vans, company cars provided for the use of a particular employee, 4x4 vehicles, dormobiles and motor caravans.
Data sources relating to households with regular use of a car contained within this summary have been updated since Social Trends 39 went to print.
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General Household Survey