1.1 The M25 suffers high levels of congestion and unpredictable journey times. Soon after opening, traffic levels exceeded the M25's capacity of 88,000 vehicles a day, with traffic growing at about two per cent a year. In the 1990s the Government widened the motorway between junctions 7 and 16, but high levels of congestion persist. In 2009, the average flow on the M25 East was 121,000 vehicles per day, with 147,000 on the M25 West.
1.2 Congestion on the M25 is due to the lack of an alternative orbital route or a public transport orbital route; developments around the M25 generating large volumes of traffic; and cultural changes increasing car use. In the year ending March 2010, 18 per cent of total vehicle delay in England was experienced on the M25.