What does an alternative transport budget look like?

On 22 November the chancellor will deliver the budget, setting out the government’s tax and spending plans for the year ahead.

We, the Campaign for Better Transport, have some suggestions for him!

We think the chancellor should make it easier and cheaper for people to travel by bus, train and bike, and to choose greener cars. We also think he should clean up our polluted air, for instance by helping bus companies to invest in cleaner, greener buses and enabling more freight to be carried by rail, not lorries.

Of course these ideas will have to be paid for. We think the money should come from a combination of saving (no more building big new roads or subsidising flights from regional airports) and fair taxation (removing the six-year freeze on fuel duty for motorists and introducing a Frequent Flyer Levy for people who fly many times a year).

Together with a coalition of transport experts and transport users, we’ve sent the chancellor our Alternative Transport Budget. From it, here are our top nine suggestions for the chancellor; some transport users have told us how these ideas would affect them if implemented.

1) Freeze all regulated rail fares in 2018. In future years, rail fare rises should be linked to CPI which is significantly lower than RPI.

2) Introduce flexible season tickets for part-time rail commuters.

3) Establish a Network Development Fund for new and reopened rail lines and stations.

4) Set up a Connectivity Fund to support bus services that are vital but not commercially viable.

5) Reduce the cost of commuting by bus, for instance by allowing employers to give bus tickets to staff without taxing them.

6) Grants to help people buy electric bikes (as already exists for electric cars).

7) A new Road Repair and Renewals Fund to fix potholes in roads and pavements.

8) New funding for cycling and walking, including the regeneration of high streets.

9) A Clean Air Fund to cut air pollution to levels that don’t harm human health.

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