A staggering new survey has found that 40 percent of Brits claim that they have no choice but to use their car in order to get to work, stating that public transport is impractical.
As the Government plans to make the UK carbon-neutral by 2050, many environmentalists have targeted private car owners, encouraging them to use other forms of transportation wherever possible.
However, Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, highlighted that nearly half of Britain’s drivers do not have a reliable alternative to their car.
He explained: “Our research shows that the car remains central to so many people’s lives. While those in more rural areas are most car-dependent, half of those in urban centres also don’t see public transport as a viable alternative for their daily commute.
“What’s more, while there’s a definite willingness to make greater use of alternatives to the car, driving is still the mode of choice when it comes to running errands or making leisure trips, possibly because drivers see it as the most time and cost-effective option.”
According to the RAC, who surveyed the views of 2,691 drivers from across the country, only 31 percent stated that taking a bus to work would be a viable option – a figure that drops to just 11 percent for those in rural areas.
As a result, nearly two-thirds of drivers taking part in the study stated that they always commute to work by car, whereas 57 percent always drive when shopping for groceries.
The dependency that many Brits have on their car means that a shocking 81 percent stated that they would struggle to adjust to a different lifestyle that would be required without it.
Simon noted that older drivers are particularly dependent on owning a car, calling on the Government to invest more in order to make public transportation more easily accessible.
He added: “Car dependency also seems to increase with age. Young people clearly have a desire and, in many cases, a need to drive, but the convenience and freedom it brings seems to become more important as the decades pass.
“While the current Government is very focused on improving public transport across the board, we suspect the car will always be essential to many people’s lives.”