High costs of public transport may stop Britain from meeting its carbon emission target

Date: 1/7/2009

Source: roadtraffic-technology.com

The real cost of public transport has been rising above the rate of inflation. Regulated fares have increased by 6% while unregulated fares have increased by 7%.

Fares on buses and coaches have risen 17% above inflation while the costs of running a car have decreased by 13%. It is expected that the rising costs of public transport may price some people out of using the more environmentally friendly form of transport.

Network Rail chief executive Iain Coucher said: "If we want to reduce our carbon emissions, we need to make the most environmentally friendly forms of transport the choice. … If we are pricing people away from it, that is probably wrong in the long term”.

Keywords: Environment