HC Deb 21 May 1976 vol 911 cc763-4W
Mr. Ovenden

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the division of rail subsidies for London suburban services between the inner and outer areas; and what evidence he has of the relative incomes of commuters in the two areas.

Dr. Gilbert

The grant is paid for the passenger system as a whole. Separate figures for subsidy to these groups of services are not available. On a broad allocation of costs and earnings, however, the board estimates that the inner suburban group of services fall short of their allocated costs by more than twice as much as the outer suburban group.

The National Travel Survey 1972–3 contains information about household expenditure on travel to work by train by household income for residents of Greater London and the rest of the South-East.