England’s most and least popular motorways revealed by drivers

Drivers have voted for the most popular motorway in England in a new survey from the independent watchdog, Transport Focus.

The Strategic Roads User Survey report found that the M5 motorway between the Midlands and the South West had the highest overall satisfaction at 82%.

The M5 motorway has improved both its overall satisfaction rating (74% last year) and its position in the rankings.

Road users were most satisfied with the M5 due to the time their journey took, good traffic flow and the road not being too busy during their journey.

Coming second was the M40 with an overall satisfaction rating just shy of 82%, after being the most highly rated road last year (79%).

As for ‘A’ roads, the A303 has been rated the best road in England.

The road which connects the M3 and the A30 from London to Devon and Cornwall had the highest overall satisfaction at 85%.

The M6 was rated the least popular motorway with the lowest level of satisfaction (66%).

The A27 receives the lowest level of overall satisfaction (59%), followed by the A12 (61%).

More than 9,000 road users took part in the watchdog’s survey about their last journey on a motorway or major ‘A’ road managed by National Highways.

Anthony Smith, chief executive of the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: “England’s motorways and major ‘A’ roads are at the heart of how many of us move around the country. It’s good to see the M5 and M40 perform well.

“As the so-called backbone of Britain, the M6 is a vital route which National Highways must continue to focus on delivering safe, smooth journeys. We’ll continue to keep pushing National Highways to improve these issues.”

Journeys on smart motorways had lower levels of satisfaction with road users than those that did not include a smart section (smart 69%; not smart 76%).

The survey is used by the Government’s second Road Investment Strategy to hold National Highways to account for delivering good customer experience.

Key findings

• Overall, 73% of road users were satisfied with their last motorway or major ‘A’ road journey, an improvement on last year’s 69%.
• 71% of users were satisfied with the time their journey took.
• The management of roadworks is the lowest performing area, just 48% of those surveyed were satisfied.
• Drivers rated the M5 the best motorway with 82% satisfied overall.
• The A303 has the highest overall satisfaction at 85%.
• The A27 receives the lowest level of overall satisfaction (59%), followed by the A12 (61%).
• Of the motorways, the M6 has the lowest level of satisfaction (66%).