Campaign for Better Transport has six priorities for the Chancellor ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review

Ahead of next month's Comprehensive Spending Review announcement on 11 June, Campaign for Better Transport has identified six priorities for the Chancellor to help keep Britain moving and support green growth.

Ben Plowman, Chief Executive of Campaign for Better Transport said: “Transport is crucial to the economy and to sustainable growth. Improving public transport can deliver immediate benefits to communities and individuals, and support UK-wide growth. If the Government genuinely wants to kickstart economic growth and break down barriers to opportunities, investing in public transport can help raise living standards, boost household incomes and deliver the green growth the country needs.”

Campaign for Better Transport has laid out six priorities for transport funding to help deliver the Government's growth agenda.

1. Prioritise investment in local transport - buses, walking, cycling and local safety improvements - over large-scale road schemes. 

Public transport investment is good value for money – it boosts the economy, reduces regional disparities and improves household finances. In a tight fiscal environment, HM Treasury will be looking to make savings where possible, but sustainable transport budgets should be protected with an uplift for rail, bus and active travel budgets funded by reallocating resources from the expensive, low-return and carbon-intensive roads investment programme. 

2. Support local transport devolution by giving all local transport authorities long-term funding settlements.

Devolution of funding and powers has had a positive impact on transport in major city regions, but as the devolution agenda progresses, there is still uncertainty about what it will mean for different areas and whether underserved communities will see improvements. Long-term settlements would provide the certainty needed to enable local leaders to plan for the future, with greater control over transport planning and funding to address local needs. 

3. Target needs-based bus investment in underserved areas to ensure every community has a reasonable level of bus service. 

Bus cuts have left many communities with inadequate bus services or in some case, no buses at all. This is unacceptable. The Government should identify areas that are being left behind and ensure those local transport authorities have sufficient funding to deliver a reasonable level of bus service.

4. Freeze rail fares and support a root-and-branch review of the entire fares and ticketing system to grow passenger use.

Campaign for Better Transport research revealed that the affordability is the number one barrier preventing people from travelling more by rail, and cheaper fares will make 71 per cent of people more likely to travel by train more often. The creation of Great British Railways and the re-nationalisation of the railways means that HM Treasury should back a root-and-branch reform of the whole system to boost demand. The blunt tool of an annual rail fare rise is a central issue eroding public support for nationalisation, so rail fares should be frozen from annual rises until the full review is implemented.

5. Allocate sufficient resources to maintain and renew existing transport infrastructure, focusing on essential rail upgrades, bus and active travel infrastructure and fixing potholes.

Sufficient funding should be allocated to road and kerbside maintenance, including fixing potholes, for the benefits of all users. Roads also need to be redesigned to allocate more space to bus priority lanes, safe cycle lanes, pavements and crossings at junctions. However, expanding road capacity through dualling or new road schemes is counterproductive, generating more traffic which hinders, rather than supports economic growth.

6. Support public transport investment through fairer taxation of private transport modes.

To ensure people choose more sustainable ways to travel, the Government must send the right pricing signals and tax transport fairly. Campaign for Better Transport is calling for an end to the 5p cut in fuel duty; a per-mile charge on EVs; a tax on kerosene used for domestic flights; a new ‘super' rate of Air Passenger Duty for all private jet passengers; and Value Added Tax (VAT) on all private jet landings and take offs.  

Read Campaign for Better Transport's Comprehensive Spending Review submission to HM Treasury in full.

Notes to Editors

1. Campaign for Better Transport commissioned Yonder to carry out an online omnibus survey as part of their report, Fix Fares for Good. The fieldwork was undertaken between 17-19 January 2025 with 1,102 respondents across Great Britain. When asked ‘What stops you from travelling more by rail?', 44% of respondents said ‘train travel is too expensive'; 37% said ‘it is more convenient to drive'; 21% said ‘trains don't go where I need to go'; 21% said ‘trains are too frequently cancelled or delayed'; 14% said ‘my nearest station is too far away'; 10% said ‘trains are too infrequent'; 6% said ‘none of these'; 5% said ‘other'; and 13% said ‘not applicable: I don't want / need to travel by train'.
2. When asked ‘How much more likely would the following measures make you to travel by rail?', 41% of people said ‘cheaper fares in general' would make them ‘significantly' more likely to travel by rail; 30% said ‘somewhat more likely'; 22% said ‘it wouldn't make a difference'; and 7% said ‘don't know'.
3. You Gov data shows that fares affordability is a key factor behind the public's support in this process: while two-thirds of Britons (66%) support nationalisation in principle, this falls to only 6% if rail fares were to continue to increase.