Road traffic is finally above pre-Covid levels, but will it last?
Experts believe that sustained high fuel prices could eventually take its toll on the number of miles driven in the UK
Road traffic in Britain has finally surpassed pre-pandemic levels, five years after the Covid-19 epidemic, which saw the number of miles driven tumble by more than 20 per cent year-on-year. However, experts believe that whether things remain above this mark could ultimately depend on whether the current spike in fuel prices continues.
According to data published by the Department for Transport, 342.6 billion miles were driven in Great Britain in 2025 – an increase of 1.9 per cent over the previous year. This is the highest amount of traffic the nation has experienced since 2019, when 338.6 billion vehicle miles were covered.
Yet, take a look closer at the data and you’ll see that car usage isn’t quite back to where it once was; with car traffic covering 262.4 billion miles in 2025, it remains 0.2 per cent shy of 2019 statistics. There are concerns, though, that high fuel prices caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran could continue to hold back car usage from returning to pre-Covid levels.
A spokesperson for transport analytics firm INRIX told Auto Express that If high fuel prices persist, there could well be an overall decrease in car usage: “Looking ahead to 2026, sustained or sharper fuel price increases could begin to influence discretionary travel and driving behavior at the margins, particularly for longer leisure trips or less-essential journeys.
“However, based on current INRIX data trends, we would expect any demand softening to be gradual rather than an immediate or dramatic reduction in traffic volumes.”
They added: “While higher fuel prices typically raise expectations of reduced driving, INRIX analysis so far has not identified evidence of a broad behavioral shift among consumers. In both the UK and US, key indicators such as trip volumes, uncongested driving speeds, and overall distances traveled have remained relatively stable, despite rising fuel costs.”
In fact, the RAC estimated that the recent late-May Bank Holiday weekend was the busiest for leisure journeys in two years, with over 19 million trips undertaken. Drivers will have paid through the nose for these, though, because the average price of petrol and diesel, according to the RAC’s Fuel Watch scheme, currently sits at 159.43p and 184.96p respectively. This is the highest the price of petrol has been since the outbreak of the conflict, although diesel remains below the peak of 191.54p per litre experienced in mid-April.
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