This indicates what steps may be needed to encourage people to travel by train
New polling from YouGov has indicated what steps may be needed to encourage people to travel by train rather than flying. In a recent poll, YouGov asked whether people would be more likely to travel within the UK by plane or train, testing whether cost or journey times are a bigger influence on people’s decisions.
YouGov first asked people if they had to make a journey within the UK, and there was no difference in how long it took, but the train journey cost a bit more than the plane journey, which they would generally choose. 45% said they would travel by train, 45% said they would travel by plane.
However, when asked if they had to make a journey within the UK, and there was no difference in cost, but the train journey took a bit longer than the plane journey, which they would generally chose, the results were very different. 66% of respondents said they would take the train, whereas just 25 per cent said they would fly.
The polling suggests that price is a far bigger factor in influencing people’s decisions about what transport method to take than journey times, and may provide some insights into how to make people’s transport choices more sustainable.
In the UK, travelling by train can often be more expensive than flying. This is true of both domestic travel and when travelling from the UK to mainland Europe.
The polling suggests that if rail fares were reduced, more people might chose to travel by train, rather than flying.
Following the publication of the poll, campaign groups and rail unions have reiterated their calls for the railways to be brought into public ownership in order to lower fares.
Johnbosco Nwogbo, lead campaigner at anti-privatisation group We Own It told Left Foot Forward that bringing the railways into public ownership would enable people to more easily chose to travel by train, rather than flying.
He said: “If we had a railway system that works for people, not profit, it would be far more convenient to use than flying. Privatisation has transformed our railway system into a profit-extraction machine for private train companies, including those that are publicly owned by other countries. Our railway should be taken into public ownership. Our polling is clear, it is what the public wants. 67% of the public say our whole railway taken into public ownership and run for people, not private shareholder profit.”
Similarly, a spokesperson for the rail union ASLEF told Left Foot Forward: “Privatisation has led to record fares for passengers and record profits for the privateers – the privatised train operating companies. Bringing Britain’s railways back into public ownership- the policy of ASLEF and the Labour Party and a policy popular with voters – will end the haemorrhaging of cash from the system and mean cheaper fares for everyone who wants – or needs – to travel by train.”
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
Image credit: Les Chatfield – Creative Commons
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