Shopping with the car

When you go to the shops do you walk, use public transport or use the car? A new report from the RAC Foundation and the British Retail Consortium shows that around 30% of the trips that we undertake each year are for shopping or related activities.

The report shows that each UK resident makes around 200 shopping trips a year. Of these trips 63% are made by car with only 25% made on foot.

The authors use this information and other statistics on shopping and transport to make a series of recommendations on the future of retail and transport policy. The key recommendations from the report are:

· A long term vision is essential for a town’s vitality

· Cars can’t be wished away, so they must be planned for

· Parking is a service not a source of revenue – and should be used creatively

· Planning needs to reflect the reality of how people live

A full copy of the report can be downloaded from: www.racfoundation.org/