Campaign for Better Transport Budget Media Briefing

Ahead of the Budget on 30 October, transport charity Campaign for Better Transport has laid out its priorities for the Chancellor.

Silviya Barrett from Campaign for Better Transport said: “The Chancellor can address the £22 billion black hole and still build the infrastructure needed to deliver long term growth by prioritising investment in high return public transport projects, rather than low return, carbon intensive roads and by taxing the most polluting forms of transport the most.”

Campaign for Better Transport is calling on the Chancellor to:

• Keep public transport affordable by freezing rail fares for 2025 and extending the bus fare cap
• End the 5p cut and reinstate the annual inflation-linked fuel duty rise
• Introduce a per mile tax on electric vehicles in lieu of fuel duty
• Raise £2.4 billion by taxing domestic aviation and private jets fairly
• Progress essential public transport infrastructure schemes (a replacement for HS2 north of Birmingham, Northern Powerhouse Rail, Ely and Haughley Junction upgrades)
• Create a single long-term funding pot for local transport authorities.

Buses

The England-wide £2 bus fare cap is due to end next month, to keep buses affordable Campaign for Better Transport is calling on the Chancellor to extend the current bus fare cap until it is decided what discounts for bus passengers can replace it.

To ensure local authorities can deliver improved bus services through the Better Buses Bill, Campaign for Better Transport is calling for an enhanced funding package for local transport authorities that have received less in recent years. It also wants to see all bus-related funding for local authorities transferred from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to the Department for Transport, and ringfenced for bus services.

Silviya Barrett from Campaign for Better Transport said: “The Government has rightly identified buses as key to economic growth and we are pleased that it is determined to address the decline in local bus services. However, without the right funding being in place and a guarantee that fares will remain affordable, it risks being unable to deliver on its promises. The Chancellor must use the Budget to set aside enough funding to deliver the Government's ‘bus revolution' and keep fares affordable for the millions of people who use buses every single day.”

Rail

The Government has recognised transport's role in creating economic growth, but growth must be sustainable – and prioritising investing in rail ahead of roads is crucial. To ensure the railway has the capacity to deliver this growth, Campaign for Better Transport is calling on the Chancellor to examine possible replacements for HS2 north of Birmingham and to progress essential schemes such as Northern Powerhouse Rail and Ely and Haughley Junction upgrades. It also wants to see light rail schemes like the Leeds tram, KenEx (linking Kent and Essex in place of the Lower Thames Crossing) and the DLR extension to Thamesmead given the green light.

To keep the railways affordable to passengers, Campaign for Better Transport is calling on the Chancellor to introduce a fare freeze for 2025

Silviya Barrett from Campaign for Better Transport said: “Millions of people who rely on trains are likely to see their fares go up next year yet keeping public transport affordable helps boost the economy and reduces carbon emissions. Fuel duty has been frozen for 14 years, so it's about time rail fares were given the same treatment.”

Transport taxation

It is often cheaper to drive or fly within the UK than to take the train, yet to promote economic growth, meet net zero targets and reduce air pollution, more people need to be travelling by public transport. To send the right pricing signals and raise the money needed to invest in public transport, Campaign for Better Transport is calling on the Chancellor to end the 5p cut in fuel duty - which has not been passed onto motorists - and reinstate the annual inflation-linked rise in fuel duty. It has also called for a pay-per-mile charge for zero emission vehicles.

Last year, Air Passenger Duty (APD) on domestic flights was halved. To address the carbon costs of domestic aviation and make rail travel a cheaper alternative to flying, Campaign for Better Transport wants the Chancellor to reverse that move and introduce a kerosene tax on non-lifeline domestic flights.

To address the soaring climate cost of private jets and raise money to fund the public transport network people use on a daily basis, the transport charity is calling for a ‘super rate' of APD for private jet passengers and for Value Added Tax (VAT) to apply to all private flights.

Silviya Barrett from Campaign for Better Transport said: “At the moment, it's often cheaper to drive or even fly within the UK than to take the train and that shouldn't be the case. We're calling on the Chancellor to use the Budget to level the playing field for public transport. We want to see an end to the fuel duty cut, for domestic aviation to be taxed fairly and for private jet passengers to pay a higher price for the pollution they cause. These measures alone could raise £7.6 billion a year.”

ENDS

Read Campaign for Better Transport's Budget submission to HM Treasury in full.

Notes to Editors
 

1. All planned increases to fuel duty in line with RPI have been cancelled since 2011. This has brought real-term cuts for motorists for 13 years and cost the Treasury £133 billion between 2011/12 and 2024/25. The additional 5p cut over the last two years has cost an additional £7.3 billion since its introduction, but has failed to reach motorists, with retailers not passing the cut on fully.
2. Between 1997 and 2022, using RPI as a measure, the cost of using and owning a motor vehicle increased by 94%, whilst rail fares have increased by 151% and bus and coach fares by 227%. This means rail fares have increased 1.6 times as fast as the cost of driving, and bus and coach fares 2.4 times as fast (DfT (2023), Table TSGB1308a: Retail and Consumer Prices Indices, transport components). 
3. Campaign for Better Transport analysis of bus funding allocations, on the third anniversary of the National Bus Strategy, revealed a striking imbalance across the country, with 12 councils receiving over £50 per head to improve bus services from central government, compared to 15 councils that have received less than £6 per head.
4. On 1 April 2023, a new Air Passenger Duty (APD) band for domestic flights, priced at half the previous rate, was introduced, plus an extra long-haul band. The current APD rates are:

*There are three rates of duty for each destination band depending on the class of travel: reduced rate for travel in the lowest class of travel available on the plane; standard rate for travel in any other class of travel; and a higher rate for travel in planes of 20 tonnes or more equipped to carry fewer than 19 passengers.