This is how the cost of travel has changed since 1997, according to the government’s own figures. In real terms, the cost of coach and bus travel has gone up 24%, rail travel by 13%. The cost of owning and running a car has fallen by 14%, and the average price of an air ticket, including taxes, has dropped by 35%.
There are two things wrong with this picture:
1) These are in ordered in favour of the most polluting. The most efficient form of transport is coach travel, then rail, then cars, and planes last of all. Why are prices falling on the worst polluting modes of transport, and rising on the least polluting?
2) Coincidentally, these are also ordered in favour of the wealthy. Buses are the main form of transport for the poorest 25% of the UK’s population, while air travel is disproportionately used by wealthier sectors of society. Why are prices rising for those least able to afford them, while those who have no problem flying or running a car see their costs falling?
If we take climate change seriously, or congestion for that matter, our transport policy needs to be hauled into the 21st century. If we believe in a fair society, we need to reverse the rising prices of transport for the poorest.
The Earthbound Report 