Least and most used motorways in England
Case reference FOI2026/01246
Received 30 July 2026
Published 29 October 2026
Request
I'd like to have a list of the five most used and five least used motorways in England based on average numbers over the most recent period that is possible to find. I'd like this to be in the form of a spreadsheet file or a table.
Response
The attached table shows the five most used and five least used motorways on National Highways' Strategic Road Network (SRN) in England, based on National Traffic Information Service (NTIS) traffic flow data for the most recent 12-month period available, covering July 2025 to June 2026.
The ranking is based on the average traffic flow across the links that make up each motorway, rather than the total volume of traffic recorded on the motorway. This helps ensure that longer motorways are not ranked more highly simply because they contain more road sections.
The ranking includes all motorway routes in England, including motorways with an Aroad motorway designation (for example, A1(M)).
Caveats
• "Most used" and "least used" have been interpreted as the motorways with the highest and lowest typical daily traffic flows.
• The figures are operational estimates rather than official statistics.
• Operational data may be revised over time as additional data becomes available, data issues are corrected, or methods are improved.
Table of Results
|
Ranking Type |
Road Number |
Average Daily Flow |
Rank Position |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Top 5 |
M25 |
67,925 |
1 |
|
Top 5 |
M60 |
59,801 |
2 |
|
Top 5 |
M1 |
55,859 |
3 |
|
Top 5 |
M56 |
49,524 |
4 |
|
Top 5 |
M62 |
48,178 |
5 |
|
Bottom 5 |
M50 |
13,380 |
1 |
|
Bottom 5 |
A66(M) |
14,292 |
2 |
|
Bottom 5 |
M49 |
14,904 |
3 |
|
Bottom 5 |
A308(M) |
15,024 |
4 |
|
Bottom 5 |
M181 |
16,897 |
5 |
Documents
This is National Highways' response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.