Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the contribution of home and flexible working to reducing congestion on (a) rail and (b) road networks.

The Department considers all aspects that may affect the rail and road network when assessing the changes of demand for the future.

1. The Department updated its rail forecasting guidance in 2016 to take into account different trip rates for people in different age groups and occupations. This was based on analysis of the National Travel Survey. The Department continues to review its forecasts, including analysing the impact of flexible working. The Departments’ guidance feeds into business cases for rail investments and franchise analysis. The guidance is called ‘WebTAG’ and is published on the Department’s website

2. The ‘Latest Evidence on Factors Impacting Road Traffic Growth’ review published by the Department in May 2018 included reviews of tele-commuting and the impact of e-commerce and social media on travel. The findings from this research informed the development of the Draft ‘Road Investment Strategy 2’.