Department for Transport counts
What is the busiest motorway in England?
The M25
The M25 is the busiest motorway in England that we measure: a typical stretch carries about 144,000 vehicles a day in both directions, and its busiest stretch about 213,000. Next are the M60 (136,000) and the M1 (120,000). Department for Transport counts, 2025 average.
The evidence
Every road in the comparison| Motorway | Typical stretch, vehicles a day | Busiest stretch | Lorries |
|---|---|---|---|
| M25 | 144,000 | 213,000 | 11% |
| M60 | 136,000 | 201,000 | 6% |
| M1 | 120,000 | 162,000 | 13% |
| M56 | 113,000 | 180,000 | 8% |
| M27 | 112,000 | 136,000 | 5% |
| M62 | 107,000 | 150,000 | 14% |
| M6 | 99,800 | 188,000 | 14% |
| M42 | 99,400 | 137,000 | 12% |
| M23 | 98,000 | 119,000 | 5% |
| M3 | 96,200 | 141,000 | 6% |
| M5 | 94,000 | 151,000 | 9% |
| M40 | 94,000 | 136,000 | 9% |
| M4 | 89,100 | 156,000 | 8% |
| M61 | 87,800 | 153,000 | 8% |
| M11 | 80,300 | 123,000 | 11% |
| M32 | 76,600 | 87,400 | 4% |
| M55 | 74,600 | 91,600 | 5% |
| M2 | 73,600 | 103,000 | 9% |
| A1(M) | 69,400 | 143,000 | 13% |
| M66 | 66,900 | 105,000 | 7% |
| M65 | 64,800 | 86,900 | 5% |
| M69 | 62,200 | 70,500 | 9% |
| M54 | 60,200 | 74,300 | 10% |
| M18 | 59,400 | 108,000 | 17% |
| M621 | 54,900 | 106,000 | 6% |
| M20 | 53,000 | 128,000 | 13% |
| M180 | 35,800 | 55,200 | 25% |
How this is worked out
Department for Transport Average Annual Daily Flow, 2025, England only, both directions. “Typical stretch” is the length-weighted median: half the motorway’s length carries more, half less. Motorways with fewer than 5 counted stretches are left out. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The full method.