Britain sees declining transportation as recession continues

• Source: Xinhua
• [09:14 May 13 2009]
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FEWER LORRIES, TRAVELERS

The haulage industry is also seeing less trade. As ships are bringing in fewer goods, there is less cargo to transport around Britain.

There are now 40,000 fewer lorries on Britain's roads, a 12 percent fall since last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The drop in business has resulted in more job losses. The ONS said that more than 15,000 lorry drivers have been out of work, a dramatic rise compared with the 3,000 jobless in the same period last year.

The situation is getting no better, the Road Haulage Association (RHA) said.

The RHA said nearly three quarters of its members it surveyed have seen at least a 10-percent drop in business and the pressure on firms was expected to increase in the coming months.

Figures from the Department of Transport (DoT) showed a 3.5-percent drop year on year in overall traffic levels on Britain's roads in the first quarter of 2009.

Motorway traffic has also fallen some 5 percent, according to the DoT. The British driving services firm Trafficmaster, which provides drivers with road speed data and live incident information, recorded even higher falls on some routes.

Some major roads, much used for commercial traffic, showed a slump of nearly 50 percent year on year, Trafficmaster said.

Even as early as last October, the British leading provider of traffic information said it had seen a fall in traffic levels.

Air traffic has also reported a decline in business. Britain's leading airport company BAA said it saw a 11.3-percent slippage in passenger travel in March, compared to the same period last year.

The Eurozone has also suffered from a decreasing influx of British travelers. The devaluation of the pound against the euro has encouraged holiday makers to seek other destinations.

Many of those Britons traveling abroad were heading to Turkey and Egypt to "gobble up" cheap package deals, said the BAA, which runs most of Britain's major airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick.