RAC Foundation

What RAC Foundation does

The RAC Foundation is a UK transport policy and research organisation established in 1999 as a registered charity (No. 1002705). It was created using a legacy granted by the individual members of the Royal Automobile Club after the sale of RAC Motoring Services, and is legally independent of both RAC Motoring Services and the Royal Automobile Club. The Foundation publishes independent, authoritative research on the economic, mobility, safety, and environmental issues relating to roads and their users, and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist.

Its core offerings are research publications organised under four themes (Economy, Environment, Mobility, Safety), recurring data resources such as the Motoring Price Index, weekly fuel fact sheets, pump-price-over-time datasets, and oil price tracking, and the DriveFit and DriveFit 2.0 pre-driver education programmes developed by Research Director Dr Elizabeth Box. Research and analysis are produced both in-house and via external commissions, with outputs made freely available through racfoundation.org and a dedicated press office that provides expert commentary to journalists and policymakers.

The Foundation is funded primarily by the original 1999 legacy, supplemented by project-specific grants from bodies such as the Road Safety Trust (£100,000 in April 2025) and earlier government funding (£480,000 in 2018 from the Department for Transport and National Highways). Its go-to-market is community- and policy-led: publishing free research, participating in government consultations, supplying media commentary, and maintaining partnerships with academic institutions and transport organisations. It serves central and local government, UK motorists, transport researchers and academics, and journalists, and operates from a small headquarters at 89-91 Pall Mall, London with a team of approximately seven staff.

Name

RAC Foundation

Legal name

RAC Foundation

Website

https://racfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The RAC Foundation is a UK-registered charity that publishes independent research and data on motoring economics, road safety, mobility, and the environment, advising policymakers, media, and motorists since 1999.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Transport Policy Research

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Environmental, Climate & Sustainability Standards & Reporting Cooperation (BPADANAI)

Keywords

• Transport policy research
• Road safety research
• Motoring economics
• Independent motoring charity
• Transport data analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable funding and grants: As a registered charity (No. 1002705), the RAC Foundation receives funding from legacies and grants. In 1999, RAC Motoring Services was sold and club members granted the Foundation a legacy to guarantee its long-term future. The Foundation also receives project-specific grants such as the £100,000 grant from the Road Safety Trust.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The RAC Foundation is a UK transport policy and research charity that publishes independent, authoritative research on the economic, mobility, safety, and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. It provides research publications, data resources (motoring price index, fuel price data), and road safety education programmes (DriveFit), and engages with government, media, and academic stakeholders to advocate for policy in the interest of the responsible motorist.

Product overview

RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organization offering research publications, data resources, and educational programs. The core offerings include DriveFit (a pre-driver education program) and DriveFit 2.0, along with extensive research publications on Economy, Environment, Mobility, and Safety topics. Data resources include the Motoring Price Index and Fuel Price Data tracking UK pump prices, oil prices, and related motoring cost metrics. The organization publishes independent research both in-house and through external commissions, with programs like DriveFit delivered in collaboration with partners such as Agilysis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• DriveFit A pre-driver education intervention programme designed by Dr Elizabeth Box, Research Director at the RAC Foundation, aimed at enhancing road safety education for young road users through film and workshop materials.
• RAC Foundation Research Publications Independent and authoritative research publications covering four key thematic areas: Economy, Environment, Mobility, and Safety relating to roads and their users.
• Motoring Price Index Data tracking the cost of motoring over time, including fuel prices, oil prices, and related metrics.
• Fuel Price Data Weekly fuel fact sheets and pump price data showing cost of Iran War to UK drivers, UK pump prices over time, and percentage of UK pump price which is tax.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research influencing government policy on fuel duty, road safety, and electric vehicle taxation

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• AgilysiscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 April 2025Transport safety and behaviour consultancy working with the RAC Foundation on a £100,000 grant from the Road Safety Trust to explore links between deprivation and vehicle safety.
• Department for TransportcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration on transport policy research, road safety initiatives, and data sharing. RAC Foundation has worked with DfT on Safer Roads Fund and Road Safety Investigation Branch pilot.
• Road Safety FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint collaboration on Safer Roads Fund which won Prince Michael International Road Safety Award. Both organizations host receptions and work together on road safety research.
• Transport Technology ForumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRAC Foundation Director Steve Gooding chairs this DfT/Innovate UK-sponsored forum focused on transport technology.
• London CouncilsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on data sharing framework for car clubs to understand usage patterns in London and elsewhere.
• Urban Systems Lab (University College London)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in car clubs data sharing framework report alongside London Councils.
• UK Advanced Propulsion CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNeville Jackson, RAC Foundation Chair, serves as Non-Executive Director of the UK Advanced Propulsion Centre.
• Royal Academy of EngineeringminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNeville Jackson, RAC Foundation Chair, is a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering Research Committee.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• RAC Motoring Services: The commercial breakdown and motoring services business from whose 1999 sale the RAC Foundation was endowed. Although legally independent, both organisations share the RAC brand and serve overlapping motoring audiences.
• Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT): UK professional body for highways and transportation practitioners that publishes research, runs awards (including the CIHT Road Safety Award won by the RAC Foundation), and shapes practitioner opinion — adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a direct research competitor.
• Rees Jeffreys Road Fund: UK charitable trust funding transport research and education — closely comparable operating model (charitable funding of road/transport research), and RAC Foundation Director Steve Gooding is a listed trustee.
• Royal Automobile Club: The original motoring club whose members endowed the RAC Foundation in 1999. Both organisations operate in the UK motoring and road policy space, though the RAC itself is a members' club rather than a research charity.
• ITS UK (Intelligent Transport Systems UK): UK membership body promoting intelligent transport systems and convening industry, government and academia — adjacent to RAC Foundation through shared partners in the Transport Technology Forum (chaired by Steve Gooding) and shared transport-policy advocacy.
• Centre for Transport & Society (University of the West of England): Academic transport research centre where RAC Foundation Director Steve Gooding is a visiting professor — comparable as a UK transport research producer, though operating within an academic rather than charitable funding model.

Direct peers

• Road Safety Foundation: UK charity that produces independent road safety research, manages the Safer Roads Fund, and collaborates with DfT — directly overlapping the RAC Foundation's safety research remit and a named collaboration partner.
• Campaign for Better Transport: UK charity advocating evidence-based transport policy — comparable as a UK advocacy charity publishing independent research to influence government on mobility, economy and environment, though from a more pro-public-transport stance.
• PACTS (Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety): Independent UK parliamentary advisory body producing transport safety research and policy briefings — directly comparable in mission (independent transport safety research) and customer base (UK policymakers and parliamentarians).

Broad incumbents

• Transport Research Laboratory (TRL): The UK's largest dedicated transport research organisation with commercial testing labs and a broad portfolio spanning road, rail and vehicle safety — overlaps with RAC Foundation's research remit but as a much larger, commercially-funded incumbent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rac-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about RAC Foundation