Travel: Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the percentage change in real terms of the cost of travelling by (a) private car, (b) bus and (c) train since 1997. (122746)

The following table shows in index form the costs of motoring, bus and train travel in real terms in each year since 1997.

*Real changes in the cost of transport: UK 1997 to 2005 (Index 1997 = 100)*
	All motoring¹	Bus fares	Rail fares
1997	100.0	100.0	100.0
1998	99.7	99.9	100.7
1999	100.6	101.9	102.8
2000	101.4	103.0	101.5
2001	99.1	105.4	103.6
2002	96.7	106.9	104.2
2003	95.2	108.2	103.0
2004	93.4	110.5	103.9
2005	91.4	114.5	105.0
¹ “All motoring” includes the cost of purchase, maintenance, fuel, tax and insurance. Source: Office for National Statistics

The overall cost of motoring has fallen in real terms by 8.6 per cent. between 1997 and 2005. Over the same period, bus fares and rail fares have risen by 14.5 per cent. and 5.0 per cent. respectively.

Volume 458: debated on Thursday 29 March 2007