The
Department for Transport produces on an annual basis a series of statistical outputs
from their Vehicle Licensing Statistics Databases. These outputs are useful in demonstrating how the car fleet is
changing over time and note such issues as the number of new car registrations,
the average emissions levels of new vehicles and the number of advanced
propulsion system vehicles (such as Electric Vehicles) registered. However, the
outputs omit an important dimension which involves how the fleet is changing
across space. Considering this spatial dimension can be quite important,
through its ability to illustrate how the car fleet varies across different
areas of the UK and allowing for areas which appear to be distinct in their local
car fleet profiles to be identified.
The interactive
map illustrated below describes some of the key performance indicators of the
car fleets registered across the local authorities of the United Kingdom at the
end of 2014. These indicators cover such issues as Electric Vehicle
registrations, average fleet emissions levels and the average age of the
registered cars. This map represents the first stage in the development of a spatial
tool-kit which aims to bring to light previously unknown issues surrounding how
the UK car fleet varies across the different parts of the United Kingdom. In subsequent posts,
some of these key performance indicators will be investigated in more detail to
demonstrate their spatial variation.
