Roads and motorways are Britain's primary domestic transport routes. There are some 225,000 miles (362,000 km) of roads in Britain.

Travel by car, van or taxi is by far the most common means of transport, accounting for 85 per cent of passenger mileage in Great Britain.
(London Transport)

Cars

Most people in Britain travel by car. About 75% of households have at least one car.

A small white van parked in between cars

Motorcycles

Motorcycling is popular in Britain, both as a means of transport and as a pastime with over one million motorcyclists.

A moped with an engine capacity up to 50cc can be ridden at the age of 16 with a provisional licence. The maximum legal speed a moped can be ridden is 30 mph (50kph).

A full motorcycle licence can be obtained at the age of 17 after passing a test.

Lorries

Most goods are transported by roads in lorries

At the beginning of the 20th century, railway trains and canal barges were the main means of transporting heavy goods. Now around 65% are carried by lorries.

Buses and Coaches

We have single decker and double decker buses. You can see them in our towns and cities. We use coaches for travelling longer distances or for going on school outings.

The red double decker buses (pictured below) are famous all over the world. You can see loads of them in London.

A Double Decker bus for you to colour

Make a London bus out of paper

A double-decker bus

There are two main kinds of buses in London: the red double-decker and the red single-decker.

A single decker bus

The main places a bus goes to are shown on the front of the bus. Some double-deckers have automatic doors and you pay the driver when you go in. On single-deckers you sometimes buy your ticket from a machine in the bus. Most London buses have a conductor who will come round and collect fares.

Sightseeing buses

There are many sightseeing, open top, buses in London and other cities.

A sightseeing bus

Trams

A tram in Blackpool

Taxis

In London, the taxis are black but in the rest of the country they are different colours.

Black Cabs are the only taxi you can hail from the street (though they now come in other colours as well). With the "for hire" sign lit, the driver is obliged to stop for you.

A london taxis for you to colour

Trains

The rail network in Britain is one of the most extensive in Europe with over 11,000 miles (17,500km) of lines, some 2,500 stations and around 1,500 trains a day.

The major stations in London are:

Euston, St Pancras, Victoria and Charing Cross.

The Tube

"The Tube" is the name of London's underground system

The London underground railway system (or 'tube', as it is known locally) celebrated its centenary in 1990 and is internationally famous, ranking alongside the Paris metro and the New York subway. London's tube network covers the largest area of any underground rail system, with 242 miles (391km of tracks, of which around 106 miles (171 km) is underground, and 267 stations. The tube runs to all areas of central and greater London, connecting all mainline stations.

When in London, "the Tube" is a great means of getting around!