Tackling affordability and equity in the North’s transport system.
From comprehensive stakeholder engagement undertaken when developing TfN’s Strategic Transport Plan, we know that understanding and tackling affordability within our public transport system is priority for partners and wider stakeholders across the North.
Responding to this, TfN, working with Systra in early 2024, undertook a wide ranging review of empirical evidence from both the UK and abroad, of the costs associated with the different travel choices that people make.
What is TfN’s new Travel Choices Research?
The way we travel doesn’t just affect us as individuals, it impacts those around us too. And while we all see the cost of filling up our car or paying for a bus or train ticket, the wider impact of that journey on society is much harder for us to see.
For example, road vehicles produce local air pollution that can cause or exacerbate a range of respiratory diseases for those who spend time in close proximity to roads, with the cost of treating those diseases ultimately falling upon our public health services, paid for by everyone. Other examples, where the cost burden falls on wider society include things like noise pollution, adding to traffic congestion and contributing to the effects of climate change.
We call these costs: indirect costs or societal costs, and they include a wide range of costs that are often unseen. They also include benefits, such as the money government makes from fuel duty which can be used on wider government spending, and also things like increased physical fitness and reduced absence from work particularly when we use active travel modes.
TfN’s travel choice research examined two important questions – what is the direct cost of travelling by car, public transport, or active travel to the user? How does that match up to the cost for society, through things like extra air and noise pollution, contributing to traffic congestion, the carbon dioxide we create, and the impact it has on our health?
What are the main messages from the research?
The study has provided valuations in pounds per person, per kilometre (£ pp/km) for different costs and benefits, of different modes, in different geographies, across the North of England.
We considered cars (both internal combustion engine and zero-emission), buses, rail (excluding light rail/tram), walking and cycling, across cities, rural areas and ‘other urban areas’ (defined as areas with a population of between 3000 and 250,000).
Our headline finding was that, for the same distance travelled, those travelling by car face significantly lower costs than those travelling by bus or by train. However, the cost that car travel has on society is much higher.
Typically, the direct cost of a ticket for a bus-user ranges from 50% more (in a city context) to four times more (in a rural context), than a car user is paying to complete the same distance.
At the same time, the indirect costs to society, being borne by everyone, as a result of that car travel (e.g. costs to our health service or economic costs of congestion) is about eight times higher, than that caused by a bus user for an equivalent distance made in a city context, and two times higher in rural areas.
Taking a bus or a train can also result in tangible health benefits to a traveller who walks or cycles the first and last miles of their journeys, in turn resulting in less public health spending costs to society. The research also tells us that the social interaction experienced on bus journeys is important for the wellbeing of some users experiencing social exclusion, particularly the elderly.
When comparing the costs to users verses the costs to everyone in society between car travel and public transport, our research identifies significant inequalities. Taking into account its impact on society, increasing public transport ridership should be a priority and tackling the differences in affordability for using different modes within our transport system will be key to achieving that.
Walking and cycling result in large net benefits to society. Active travel trips are essentially free for users and generate health and wellbeing benefits both for the user and reduced costs for society from reduced public health spending as a result of increased physical fitness. Walking and cycling do not generate any tailpipe emissions, improving local air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and where these active travel trips replace car journeys, the economic costs of traffic congestion are reduced too. There is evidence that the increased physical fitness and wellbeing benefits from regular active travel also reduce the economic effects of absenteeism (i.e. fewer sick days).
Costs and Benefits Considered, by Mode
How can our local authorities use this research?
Making systemic changes to existing travel pricing systems is difficult. There will be those who benefit from changes and those who experience adverse consequences, whether perceived or actual.
It is critical that any changes are firmly driven by both the outcomes we want to achieve (in this case, a more equitable and affordable transport system) and rooted in objective, and where possible, empirical evidence.
TfN’s Travel Choices research was not designed to land on exact figures, but rather to provide our local authority partners with a set of high level but easily communicable messages on the relative differences in costs and benefits of different modes of travel, underpinned by a robust and extensive evidence base, that can be used when justifying related policy decisions. The work can also help shape the outcomes that future local and national pricing mechanisms need to achieve.
For any local authority partners who would like access to the full range of findings and the more detailed information underpinning them, please contact us at [email protected]
How can we turn our findings into delivery actions?
Whilst the findings of our study support a level of continued subsidisation for public transport, particularly bus use, further work is needed to understand:
These will be important steps in helping to deliver fares reform and travel pricing that delivers on our regional ambitions around inclusivity and decarbonisation.
Further information can be found in our Project Summary Report here.