ABSTRACT
One of the salient features of British transport development in the fifteen years between 1971 and 1985 inclusive was the continuing growth in personal travel. As Table 22 illustrates, total passenger miles increased by an impressive 37 per cent over the period. However, this general increase masked important discrepancies between the use of private and public transport; whereas travel by private car or van rose by over 51 per cent, travel by bus and coach declined by as much as 18 per cent. Rail travel, at 58 billion passenger miles, was broadly the same at the end as at the beginning of the period; but the railway’s share of total passenger travel fell from ten to seven per cent. The biggest percentage increase was in air travel, with passenger miles flown in 1985 being double what they had been in 1971. However, this form of passenger travel within a Britain which was ‘Great’ in name rather than in surface area, remained of minor importance, although it was increasingly significant for travel overseas, especially in the holiday seasons.1
