Eighteen years of data reveal where residents think local highways and transport services are delivering and where public confidence is fading.
Eighteen Years of Public Insight
Since 2008, the National Highways and Transport (NHT) Public Satisfaction Survey is the UK’s most consistent and comprehensive benchmark of what people think about their local transport and highways services. Now in its eighteenth year, the 2025 results paint a familiar but increasingly concerning picture: satisfaction is slipping across most areas.
From potholes to public transport, congestion to communication, the latest findings capture the reality of growing public expectations meeting constrained resources. While the survey shows stability in visible services such as streetlighting and winter maintenance, the overall trajectory is downward — especially in the perception of road condition, congestion management and the handling of maintenance works.
Highway Maintenance: The Public’s Pain Point
The steepest declines once again lie in Highway Maintenance and Enforcement. The services people see and feel the most.
This theme’s score has dropped from 51 in 2017 to just 41 in 2025, its lowest in eighteen years.
Two benchmark indicators tell the story:
- Condition of Highways (KBI 23) has fallen from 36 to 27.
- Highway Maintenance (KBI 24) from 49 to 43.
Residents continue to cite potholes, repair quality and the slow pace of maintenance as key frustrations. These are the things that affect everyone everyday whether they walk, cycle scoot, drive or get the bus.
Benchmark data reveals all to common pattern: road surface quality, drainage and verge upkeep have deteriorated, while winter maintenance and street lighting hold steady. The message is consistent year after year — the public notices what is visible, tangible and directly affects daily travel.
When we look at what is invested in service area it is clear that winter and streetlighting funding has remain fairly consistent over time whilst all other service areas have suffered cuts and long-term underinvestment.
Accessibility: Still Strong but Slipping
Accessibility remains one of the better-performing areas, though its theme score has declined from 70 in 2017 to 66 in 2025.
Residents continue to rate access to local shops (ABI 03) highly at 78 with accessibility health facilities (ABI 05) and schools (ABI 06) in the mid-70s.
But not all groups are well served. Access to hospitals (ABI 04) has dropped to 63, and access for people with disabilities (KBI 04) has slipped to 62 — the lowest in this category. Linking this to the decline in Footways it indicates a need to focus more attention on the assets that support walking, cycling and wheeling.
There is one bright spot: satisfaction with electric vehicle charging points (ACQI 25) has risen sharply, from 26 in 2021 to 41 in 2025. This shows that residents recognise when investment is made in new infrastructure they want and need.
The underlying trend is nuanced: while the physical availability of services remains high, some groups particularly disabled users and those without cars are finding access harder.
Public Transport: Reliability and Information Falling Behind
Satisfaction with Public Transport has dropped from early-2010s highs of around 61 to 51 in 2025. Residents continue to value safety and personal experience:
- Helpfulness of drivers (PTBI 09) scores 67.
- Personal safety on the bus (PTBI 10) remains strong at 65.
However, measures around reliability and communication have worsened.
- Public Transport Information (KBI 08) has plunged from 48 in 2014 to 36 in 2025.
- Punctuality (PTBI 04) sits at 50.
- Frequency (PTBI 01) is 54.
Infrastructure provision remains positive, bus stops score 84. But the ability to plan and trust journeys has weakened. In short, passengers appreciate frontline staff but are frustrated by the service behind them.
Active Travel: Infrastructure Up, Satisfaction Down
Active travel continues to receive investment, but that hasn’t yet translated into greater satisfaction.
The Walking and Cycling theme has fallen from 55 in 2018 to 50 in 2025, with the sharpest declines in cleanliness (WCBI 03) and obstruction (WCBI 07) of pavements.
Provision scores — such as cycle routes (WCQI 15) at 55 and pavement provision (WCQI 30) at 78 — show improvement. However it is once again maintenance aspects that let the public down with condition and usability remaining low:
- Pavement condition (WCBI 02) = 46
- Cleanliness (WCBI 03) = 41
- Accessibility for people with disabilities (WCBI 21) = 43
The message is clear: infrastructure alone isn’t enough. Maintenance and day-to-day usability determine how people actually experience walking and cycling.
For local authorities, the message is clear. It is important to manage and maintain what already exists to a good useable standard through adequate maintenance be that capital or revenue funded.
Congestion and Roadworks: Persistent Frustration
Few areas evoke stronger public reaction than congestion and disruption. Be that from Utility works or highways maintenance.
The Tackling Congestion theme remains one of the lowest rated, slipping from 47 in 2017 to 41 in 2025.
Detailed indicators show why:
- Traffic levels and congestion (KBI 17) = 40
- Management of roadworks (KBI 18) = 42
- Time taken to complete works (TCBI 03) = 33
- Efforts to reduce delays (TCBI 02) = 38
Air quality scores are stable, with Traffic Pollution (KQI 04) = 46, but that offers little comfort to drivers sitting in queues.
The frustration is less about the existence of works and more about communication — residents feel uninformed about why, when, and how long disruption will last.
Road Safety: Stable but Uneven
The Road Safety theme has held relatively steady but shows a gradual downward drift since 2019, with an overall score of 49.
Strengths include:
- Local road safety (KBI 20) = 51
- Speed control measures (RSBI 02) = 52
- Provision of speed controls (RSQI 09) = 64
However, perceptions of vulnerable user safety are lower:
- Safety of walking (RSBI 04) = 57
- Safety of cycling (RSBI 05) = 49
- Safety of children cycling to school (RSBI 07) = 43
Education and training lag behind, with young driver training (RSBI 10) down to 43 and road safety education (KBI 22) at 46.
Public confidence in enforcement and engineering measures remains high, but engagement in education and behaviour-change campaigns is slipping. This is a reminder to us that technology and infrastructure alone cannot deliver safer roads.
Communications: The Persistent Weak Spot
Across eighteen years, Communications has remained stubbornly low
The 2025 score holds at 45, roughly unchanged since 2021, but still a weak performing theme.
Awareness of services remains poor:
- Public transport awareness (CMQI 04) = 46
- Highways and transport awareness (CMQI 05) = 43
- Information about road repairs (CMQI 06) = 29
- Air quality information (CMQI 07) = 25
Informing, warning and engaging communities is a core requirement of a modern highways service but we are still not meeting the needs of the people we are primarily here for, our public and our communities.
In contrast, awareness of climate change and personal actions (CMQI 18 & 21) scores 64 & 59. Proof that when authorities prioritise clear, consistent messaging, it pays off.
Contact and response measures are middling:
- Reporting a problem (CMQI 31) = 52
- Staff response quality (CMQI 34) = 47
Residents don’t necessarily expect perfection, but they do expect to be kept informed.
For councils, this remains an area of untapped potential — better communication costs less than infrastructure yet can deliver significant trust gains and result in higher public satisfaction.
A Consistent but Challenging Picture
Pulling the results together, the 2025 NHT Survey offers a consistent message: public satisfaction is gradually declining across most service areas, despite some still strong areas.
Street lighting and winter maintenance continue to command confidence because they are visible, predictable, reliably delivered and funded adequately.
Conversely, dissatisfaction centres on areas where services are highly visible but less responsive and lower quality in the eyes of the public: road condition, congestion management, communication.
Accessibility and active travel show that investment in new infrastructure can lift perception, but maintaining the basics, cleanliness, usability, and timely information remains the deciding factor in public confidence.
Why Does this all Matter?
For local councils and their contractors, these findings go beyond public opinion they are indicators of the authorities highways service health and risk and reputation. The NHT dataset offers a mirror on residents’ lived experience, complementing technical performance data with the “human factor”, the “so what!” that ultimately determines satisfaction.
Authorities that use the survey effectively are those that integrate its insights into asset management, service planning and communication strategies. Comparing results with peers through NHT benchmarking can help identify outliers, challenge assumptions and highlight quick wins.
Looking Ahead: Turning Insight into Action
The 2025 results underline the pressures facing local transport teams: limited budgets, ageing assets and rising public expectations. But they also point towards clear opportunities.
- Invest where visibility and reliability matter most. Lighting, winter maintenance and EV charging show that sustained attention and investment delivers consistent satisfaction.
- Re-engage through communication. Residents want to be informed, understand decisions and see progress. Clear, proactive updates on roadworks and maintenance can shift perception even when budgets can’t stretch further.
- Refocus road safety on vulnerable users. Campaigns targeting pedestrians, cyclists and young drivers could arrest the decline in engagement.
- Balance innovation with maintenance. Investment in active travel infrastructure should be matched with ongoing routine upkeep and cleanliness.
These are not quick fixes, but they are achievable. The survey shows that residents respond positively when they can see action and understand the “why” behind local decisions.
Conclusion: Restoring Confidence in Local Highways Maintenance and Transport
Eighteen years of data reveal that public satisfaction is not just about spending on assets. It is about visibility, communication and trust.
The 2025 NHT Survey confirms that residents still value their local services and recognise progress where it occurs, but patience is wearing thin in areas that matter to them that are neglected. For local authorities, the challenge is not only to maintain roads and, manage transport, but to maintain public confidence.
That will require sustained investment, clearer communication, and greater collaboration across highways and transport authorities
Because ultimately, public satisfaction is the clearest performance measure of all It tells us whether the network works for the people who use it every day. The people who the whole sector exists for
Key Service Areas – Importance, Satisfaction & Spend More
| Key Service Area | Importance (%) | Satisfaction (%) | Spend More (%) |
| Condition of roads | 96 | 27 | 88 |
| Road safety | 96 | 51 | 75 |
| Pavements | 92 | 50 | 71 |
| Local bus services | 86 | 58 | 69 |
| Rights of way network | 80 | 60 | 59 |
| Cycle routes/lanes | 79 | 42 | 68 |
| Traffic congestion | 78 | 32 | 68 |
| Levels of Traffic Pollution | 75 | 48 | 57 |
| Street lighting | 67 | 64 | 52 |
| Community transport | 58 | 51 | 49 |
| Local taxi Services | 54 | 62 | 36 |
| Demand responsive transport | 51 | 50 | 46 |
