About the Transport Statistics Programme

The automobile has become woven into the fabric of modern society, playing a central role in people's expectations for how they organize their work, family and social life. Society has, in many respects, restructured itself around the car.

The Transport Statistics Programme began in 2001 through funding by the FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society for the collection of selected transport data from several countries. The objectives were to collect transport data for eight countries to common criteria, including data on the wider impacts of road transport and information not easily or presently available, and to publish the data and their interpretation.

The main aim was to provide objective, basic facts about the automobile and society on which FIA Foundation members and others could rely, providing a context for the place of the automobile in society and a ready reference source for commentary.

Data collection was overseen in Phase I by a Statistical Review Group chaired by Christian Gerondeau of the FFAC (France) and with the participation of a number of motoring organisations globally, including Ton Llado Goma-Camp from RACC Fundacio (Spain), Wolfgang Steichele, ADAC (Germany), Michel Deniau, FFAC (France), Bella Dinh Zarr, AAA (United States), Enrico Pagliari, ACI (Italy) and Hiroshi Nakamura, JAF (Japan). Research and statistical analysis was conducted throughout by Dr Christopher (Kit) Mitchell. Saul Billingsley and John Pap represented the FIA Foundation. Phase I was managed for the FIA Foundation by Dr Steve Lawson, with all subsequent elements in Phase II led by Dr Joanne Hill (both International Road Assessment Programme, iRAP).

The target audience for the information collated through the programme includes both those who will benefit directly and/or the policy and decision-makers with whom it wishes to engage, ranging from opinion formers to all those who have an interest in transport. Users of the material produced in Phase I have included policy makers within motoring organisations, national and local government, the media, transport specialists, students and school children.

The Transport Statistics Programme aims to go beyond the presentation of available transport related data by collecting information from many different sources. Where different sources give different statistics, the figures used are those in which the compilers have greatest confidence, with secondary sources provided to indicate the degree of uncertainty in the data. The information presented here also includes raw data provided through national motor clubs and other national sources that would be difficult to obtain directly.

Read more about the Transport Statistics Programme:

• Phase I
• Phase II