Eleanor Besley argues that we can't focus just on car drivers when it comes to transport policy - and that if we put all our effort on to fuel price, we risk subsidising the rich.
Earlier this week, Sustrans launched research showing that more than a million people in Wales may struggle to afford to run a car – and that a lack of alternatives is forcing many people to choose between getting into debt and being cut off from jobs, healthcare, shops and schools.
This morning the RAC Foundation launched a remarkably similar piece of analysis and used it to call for cheaper fuel across the UK. This ignores the fact that an increasing number of people are already excluded from car ownership as a result of extortionate costs.
Across the UK, transport poverty is a devastating reality for millions. Fuel prices are going up and will not be coming down. As the certainty of peak oil hits home, more and more of us will be priced out of car ownership and there will not be alternative options in place.
As things currently stand, car dependency is an assumed condition for the entire British population. This means that the transport system and spending on transport is focused on providing for car journeys. Those people who do no have a car often find themselves without public transport options and will no facilities in place for them to walk or cycle.
The government’s approach is unfair and outdated:
• About a quarter of households do not have a car
• Traffic figures for cars and taxis, which rose more or less every year since 1949, have fallen continuously since 2007.
• Over the last 20 years, 80-90 per cent of people have said they would find it very difficult to adapt to not having a car
• Over two thirds of car trips in Britain are less than 5 miles – many of these should be possible by public transport, on foot or by bike. Current transport funding does not seek to make this a reality.
Cutting fuel duty appears to makes sense in the short term, for car owners. But what about in years to come when the barrel cost of oil is itself so high that car ownership isn’t possible for anyone beyond the super rich?
We must invest now to ensure that large swathes of the population are not cut off from essential services, shops, education and employment when the inevitable happens.
The Welsh report, Access Denied, calls on politicians to recognise the complexities of and tackle the growing problem ‘transport poverty’. With a quarter of households in Wales having no car at all, and fuel costs set to continue rising, the report calls for more investment in alternatives such as public transport, car clubs and routes for walking and cycling.
The report is backed by Age Cymru, Citizens Advice Cymru, Save the Children and Sustrans Cymru who agree that without investment now, the problem will only get worse. The charities point out that many people in transport poverty aren’t just unable to afford a car, but also find it difficult to cover the costs of public transport.
Britain must see a transport system for all, not just for those who can afford a car.
One way to ensure we’re future-proofed would be to ring fence a proportion of fuel duty for spending on smarter travel (public transport, walking and cycling). In their 2010 report the Environmental Audit Committee recommended such an approach. This month’s response from government weakly refuted the idea without any argument.
The government revenue from Fuel Duty was £25.894 billion in 2009. Using just a small portion of the income from fuel duty to pay for alternatives to the car could help people to see that they were funding their own future.
See also:
• Wales faces 6,000 more children in poverty due to welfare cuts – Ed Jacobs, February 29th 2012
• Even if people prefer a 3rd runway to Boris Island, doesn’t mean they like either – John Stewart, February 29th 2012
• Conservative NIMBYism is scaring away the investment in renewables – Kevin Meagher, February 27th 2012
• Climate change sceptics and rural romantics – the Tories are a shambles on renewable energy – Kevin Meagher, February 7th 2012
• Aviation industry turn on Greening over her opposition to third runway – Justine Greening, October 17th 2011
35 Responses to “Transport poverty is hitting the headlines – it’s time for fair thinking on fuel”
CycleBath
"Britain must see a transport system for all, not just for those who can afford a car." http://t.co/03Wk9vYo
clarebelz
Public transport is not always a viable alternative as Nikki points out below.
For people on low incomes or benefits it is very expensive. In my area, which pays some of the lowest wages in the country, just to get to the next village 1 mile away costs £5 for a couple (since all the shops shut over the last 30 years that was the ‘village’ we lived in), and to the local town just over 3 miles away it’s £8, which is a big chunk out of benefits or minimum wage.
Added to the fact that dozens of routes have been cut over the last year, and we’ve just found out that our 3 an hour bus service is to be cut to once an hour, with only two-hourly buses in the evening. It’s going to cause havoc to those who need the buses to travel to the primary schools around here as well as those going to work who’ll have to stand around for up to an hour in the cold when finishing work if it doesn’t happen to coincide with a bus time.
Joseph Rowntree Fdn.
Transport poverty is hitting the headlines – it’s time for fair thinking on fuel http://t.co/urVrNynm via@leftfootfwd
Julia Holdsworth
Transport poverty is hitting the headlines – it’s time for fair thinking on fuel http://t.co/urVrNynm via@leftfootfwd
Birmingham FOE
RT @jrf_uk: Transport poverty is hitting the headlines – it’s time for fair thinking on fuel http://t.co/v23YEBum via@leftfootfwd