New research using a first-of-its-kind model shows that 8% of the UK population is pushed into poverty by transport costs
The research by the Social Market Foundation found that Politicians have consistently trained their fire on the wrong targets — ULEZ, fuel duty, low traffic neighbourhoods — which grab headlines but do little for people’s wallets
Instead, they recommend that government should take measures that reduce dependency on expensive cars
Transport is the single largest household expense (excluding mortgage repayments) for families in rural areas, and the second for those in urban areas.
Yet unlike housing and energy, no metric is in place to track transport poverty
Transport poverty is deepest in poorer areas of the country – 11 per cent are affected in the North East, compared to 3.5 per cent in London
The study found that Cars are the most expensive form of transport. The average car journey costs £6.20, compared to £2.41 for the average single bus fare
Driving is also the biggest contributor to transport costs. The average household spends £5,740 on cars, £87 on buses and £121 on trains a year
However fuel duty freezes aren’t the answer, as fuel duty only contributes 17% of motoring costs
Fuel duty freezes since 2011 have cost £100 billion, but only reduced transport poverty by 0.3 percentage points in 2019
The report says that thid money would better be spent providing people in transport poverty with a cheaper alternative by extending public transport
Every 10% reduction in public transport journey time relative to driving saves the average household £400+ per year
the Government has announced that bus services in parts of England will get a one-time £150 million boost by re-routing funds from the scrapped Manchester HS2 leg. It comes with a promise to address transport issues that “matter most to people”, in the Prime Minister’s words. Whilst this funding is welcome, the SMF urges the Government to use its transport poverty metric to ensure funding is directed where it is most needed and can have the greatest positive impact on transport poverty.
Gideon Salutin, Researcher at Social Market Foundation, said:
“Transport is the single greatest household expense for rural homes and the second biggest for urban ones. But we still don’t understand those struggling to pay for it the way we understand other forms of poverty like housing and heating. Understanding and tracking transport poverty is a long overdue endeavour.
Fuel duty gets all the headlines, especially now that so many policymakers have convinced themselves that they have to defend motorists from fictional attacks. Yet it is far from the best tool at their disposal if they really want to help the hard pressed. Our research shows that transport poverty can be rigorously tracked, and therefore can be alleviated – but only by investing in public transport and making alternative private transport like electric vehicles cheaper.”
