Who Regulates National Highways?
National Highways is regulated by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), which oversees its performance and ensures that it meets targets related to safety, efficiency, and road user satisfaction. ORR monitors how well National Highways manages and maintains the strategic road network, which includes major roads and motorways across England. ORR reports annually on National Highways’ performance, holding the organization accountable to government objectives and public expectations.
Additionally, the Department for Transport (DfT) provides strategic direction and sets policies for National Highways, ensuring that its operations align with national transport goals.
What criteria do the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) use to hold National Highways to account?
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) holds National Highways accountable through several key criteria, ensuring it delivers on safety, efficiency, and performance targets for the strategic road network in England. The criteria include:
-
Safety Performance: ORR monitors how well National Highways improves road safety, focusing on reducing road fatalities and serious injuries. Safety targets are tracked, including accident rates, response times to incidents, and maintenance of safety-critical infrastructure.
-
Network Performance and Reliability: ORR evaluates National Highways’ ability to keep traffic flowing smoothly. This includes monitoring road availability, reducing delays, and improving journey time reliability, especially on key routes.
-
Asset Management: ORR checks how effectively National Highways maintains and renews the road infrastructure. This covers the condition of the roads, bridges, and tunnels, ensuring that National Highways operates an efficient asset management strategy.
-
Environmental Performance: ORR holds National Highways accountable for its environmental responsibilities. This includes reducing carbon emissions, managing air quality, and minimizing the environmental impact of road construction and maintenance.
-
Financial Efficiency: National Highways is assessed on its ability to manage taxpayer money efficiently. ORR ensures the organization delivers its projects and services on time and within budget, meeting the value-for-money objectives set by the government.
-
Customer Satisfaction: ORR monitors how well National Highways meets the needs of road users, including drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Surveys and feedback mechanisms are used to gauge public satisfaction with the condition of roads, traffic management, and communication during roadworks.
These criteria are part of the Road Investment Strategy (RIS), which ORR uses to assess performance over multi-year periods, publishing annual reports to highlight achievements and areas needing improvement (Transport Action Network) (National Highways).
In Customer Satisfaction, what key performance indicators are measured?
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) monitors several Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to customer satisfaction for National Highways. These KPIs help assess how well National Highways is meeting the needs of road users. Some of the key indicators include:
-
Overall Road User Satisfaction: This is typically measured through surveys of road users, focusing on how satisfied drivers are with their experience using the network. This includes satisfaction with traffic flow, safety, and ease of use.
-
Journey Time Reliability: The percentage of road users who experience predictable journey times is a critical indicator of performance. It evaluates how often drivers reach their destinations within a reasonable or expected timeframe.
-
Information Provision: This KPI tracks how effectively National Highways communicates with road users. This includes the clarity and accuracy of road signs, as well as updates provided during roadworks, accidents, or severe weather conditions.
-
Road Condition Satisfaction: User feedback on the physical condition of roads, such as smoothness, absence of potholes, and general road surface quality, is another important indicator.
-
Incident Management and Response Times: Satisfaction with how quickly and effectively National Highways responds to incidents such as accidents, breakdowns, or road blockages. Quick response times and clear communication are crucial.
-
Satisfaction with Roadworks: This measures user satisfaction during periods of road maintenance or construction, including how well disruptions are managed and how clearly alternative routes or updates are communicated.
These KPIs help ORR assess and improve the customer experience on the road network, ensuring National Highways meets user expectations in both everyday travel and during disruptions (Transport Action Network) (National Highways).
Who receives the surveys? Is it the general public or commercial road users?
The surveys that inform customer satisfaction KPIs for National Highways are typically distributed to both general road users (private motorists) and commercial road users (such as logistics companies, freight drivers, and other professional road users).
This broad approach ensures feedback from a diverse range of road users, reflecting both everyday commuting experiences and the perspectives of businesses and commercial operators who rely heavily on the strategic road network. The National Road User Satisfaction Survey (NRUSS), for example, is a key tool for gathering input from the general public, while other industry-specific surveys may target commercial stakeholders.
Including both groups helps the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) gain a comprehensive understanding of how well National Highways is serving all road users, ensuring that improvements address both public and business needs (Transport Action Network) (National Highways).
Where can I find the results from the latest National Road User Satisfaction Survey (NRUSS)?
The National Road Users’ Satisfaction Survey (NRUSS) results, which have since been replaced by the Strategic Roads User Survey (SRUS), are available via Transport Focus. The latest reports, including user satisfaction insights, can be found on their website. The surveys collected data from both general road users and commercial users, focusing on areas like road safety, journey times, and overall user satisfaction.
For the most up-to-date survey findings, visit the Transport Focus data hub or the latest publications on their official website (Transport Focus) (Transport Focus).
I don’t know anyone who has participated in such a survey, and commercial operators are financially incentivised to participate as part of their lobbying activities.
Would you say the balance of representation between the general public and commercial road users is fair?
The balance of representation between the general public and commercial road users in surveys like the National Road Users’ Satisfaction Survey (NRUSS) or the newer Strategic Roads User Survey (SRUS) can indeed raise questions about fairness. While both types of road users are included, commercial operators may have more organized and structured channels to participate, driven by their vested interest in the road network’s efficiency and reliability. These businesses rely on strategic roads for financial reasons and often engage in such surveys as part of their lobbying efforts to influence road policies and infrastructure improvements.
In contrast, individual members of the general public might be less aware of these surveys or feel less incentivized to participate, particularly if the process of involvement isn’t widely advertised or convenient. Since commercial road users like logistics companies have the resources and motivation to advocate for improvements that benefit their operations, this can lead to a perception of an imbalance in representation.
However, organizations like Transport Focus, which administers these surveys, aim to capture a broad range of feedback. The SRUS, for instance, collects responses from thousands of general road users each year to ensure public voices are heard. That said, your point about commercial operators having a greater incentive to participate is valid, and it may skew results if not managed carefully (Transport Focus) (Transport Focus).
If you’re curious about how well-balanced the survey response demographics are, you could look into the methodology sections of the surveys, which typically outline the proportions of responses from different user groups.