A majority of local government staff prefer driving to work despite their short commute, a survey suggests.
A poll from Automotive Leasing has found half of questioned council employees use their car every day of the week to travel to work, despite 86% stating their commute takes less than an hour.
Only 24% of staff in London claimed to commute every day in their car, in comparison to 63% of employees in Northern Ireland and 58% in the West Midlands – a figure linked to the availability of public transport.
Despite a significant number of workplaces offering cycle to work schemes, some 64% of council staff said they felt they had no alternative but to use their car.
Yet figures also question whether the appetite exists for alternative travel options, with half of respondents stating that they didn’t want to use a different form of transport for their commute.
The cost of parking was charted as the most significant deterrent to driving to work, ahead of congestion and the convenience of other alternatives.
Tim Meadows, brand director at Automotive Leasing, said it was clear that many workers ‘feel they have no option but to use their car’ with these vehicles often being ‘the only viable option for commuters’.
