News that rail fares in England will rise by an average of 4.1 per cent next year has angered many commuters. The figure is well above the UK’s current inflation rate of 2.8 per cent, and comes on the back of several large annual rises, equating to a 40 per cent increase since 2008 according to the TUC.
With stagnating wages and the continued rise in the cost of living, do rail fare increases help ensure the car is still an economic option? Many motorists will believe they do, with a lot of annual season train tickets costing well over £5,000.
For many, the train is just too expensive – a “rich man’s toy” as one MP described it in recent years. And the car, while subject to large rises in the cost of petrol and diesel, is certainly not cheap, it still offers a more economic alternative to the train, and provides a level of personal freedom that public transport does not.
Competition in the insurance sector, alongside improvements in fraud detection, have also made insurance slightly more affordable – or has at least ensured it is not increasing dramatically.
But the big draw of the car relates to new fuel-efficient models, which use every drop of petrol much more economically than cars of a decade or so ago.
For those in England who have no option but to use the train, the rail fare rises will be hard to take, especially since rail fares in Scotland have been capped by the Scottish Government, and there is no planned rise in Northern Ireland.
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