RT by @CarolineLucas: Fuel duty has been frozen for 14 years now.
Here's how rail fares have risen in that time:
2011⬆️6.22%
2012⬆️5.9%
2013⬆️3.9%
2014⬆️2.8%
2015⬆️2.2%
2016⬆️1.1%
2017⬆️2.3%
2018⬆️3.4%
2019⬆️3.1%
2020⬆️2.7%
2021⬆️2.6%
2022⬆️3.8%
2023⬆️5.9%
2024⬆️4.9%
[2024-03-06 13:53 UTC]
The cost of fuel has been going down. So, motoring now costs far less than it did, while train journeys are much harder and more expensive.
It makes no sense to give such heavy subsidies to unsustainable travel options, while increasing the costs of alternatives.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/costoflivinginsights/energy
@linuxlucy @CarolineLucas Again, I am certainly not supporting subsidies for eco-hostile travel options! But unless I'm missing something important, the data as originally presented here is misleading.
(And yes, petrol/diesel prices are lower now than 12 months ago, but that's down from an all-time high that no-one expected to last.)
@mike @CarolineLucas I agree the 9% figure is misleading, but the prices are also now lower than they were in 2017. There doesn't seem to be any long term trend of increasing prices, unlike train travel.
@linuxlucy @CarolineLucas "the prices are also now lower than they were in 2017." <-- That doesn't seem to be true according to the RAC's graph at https://www.racfoundation.org/data/uk-pump-prices-over-time — in fact, present prices seem higher than at any time before mid-2022 spike.
But then petrol/diesel prices are so volatile it's proably fool's game trying to detect a meaningful trend.
@CarolineLucas I'm not here to defend the government's transport policy BUT don't these rises basically reflect inflation? And since fuel duty is a tax on the price of fuel, which is subject to inflation, aren't the two sets of increases broadly equivalent?