The data for 2023 (Released in May 2024) shows that 78% of the UK has seen an increase in traffic comparative to 2023 and there are certain areas that have seen an increase vs pre-covid levels.
Here Descartes Systems UK unpack the data and reveal which areas of the UK have seen the biggest increase in traffic.
Looking specifically at England there are certain regions which see the most traffic miles driven annually. The two with the highest volume are the South East and East of England. The East of England as a region also contains two of the counties that have seen the biggest increase in traffic volume vs 2023, Cambridgeshire and Essex.
Other areas like the North East and North of England have on the whole seen a smaller rise in traffic comparative to the previous year.
The table below shows the total number of local authorities that have seen an increase in traffic vs 2019 in terms of total volume.
Local authorities that have seen an increase in traffic vs 2019
| Local Authority | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | vs 2019 | YoY |
| Cambridgeshire | 4,973 | 5,013 | 5,108 | 135 | 95 |
| Essex | 9,564 | 9,410 | 9,686 | 122 | 276 |
| Highland | 1,843 | 1,831 | 1,916 | 73 | 85 |
| Leicester | 958 | 992 | 1,012 | 54 | 20 |
| Derby | 1,143 | 1,180 | 1,196 | 53 | 16 |
| Middlesbrough | 764 | 788 | 806 | 42 | 18 |
| North Lanarkshire | 2,063 | 2,039 | 2,103 | 40 | 64 |
| Plymouth | 957 | 964 | 994 | 37 | 30 |
| South Tyneside | 483 | 497 | 512 | 29 | 15 |
| Trafford | 945 | 939 | 969 | 24 | 30 |
| County Durham | 2,769 | 2,701 | 2,792 | 23 | 91 |
| Worcestershire | 4,452 | 4,352 | 4,472 | 20 | 120 |
| Bedford | 859 | 847 | 874 | 15 | 27 |
(000’s) of miles driven | Data from Gov.UK (Accessed 11/06/2024)
Where does Warrington rank?
Looking specifically at Warrington data, the local authority has seen a decrease in the total traffic vs 2019 but an increase vs 2022. Looking at the total number of miles driven, Warrington is also one of the busiest local authorities in terms of the total volume of traffic.
What does the above mean for professional drivers?
An increase in the number of road users is generally viewed as bad news for professional drivers, but the challenges can be alleviated with tools that can optimise route planning and streamline the last mile delivery process such as the software offered by Descartes and other providers. Keeping your order tracking up to date will also help drivers meet customer expectations.
Leveraging these tools can help companies to optimise their delivery operations, good news for both the business, the drivers, and of course, UK road users in general.
The full dataset can be found here.
