§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the statistics from the Department of Transport and Infrastructure at Imperial College, London, concerning the change in real terms in the costs of journeys by(a) public transport and (b) car in the past 20 years. [71197]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe statistics were taken from my Department's publication "Transport Statistics Great Britain". They show that bus and rail fares have increased by 25–27 per cent. in real terms over the past 20 years. Total motoring costs fell by 10 per cent. to 1990, but have increased since then to the levels of 20 years ago. Labour costs, which rise faster than average prices, tend to have had a greater influence on the costs of public transport and car maintenance than on car purchase costs, which have fallen in real terms because of improved70W productivity. Duty is the main component of car fuel costs. Since 1990, increases in duty have caused fuel costs to rise more rapidly than public transport fares.