MEDIA COVERAGE

The Guardian:

 

The SMF has suggested more equitable and green ways to cut motoring costs, which would be investing in public transport, that “provide cheaper alternatives to driving for those who want to switch and decreases congestion for those who don’t”.

The analysis found that for every 10% increase in public transport speed relative to driving, the average household saved £435 a year on transport costs.

Electric vehicle drivers spend almost half as much fuelling their car as the equivalent petrol or diesel model, and the SMF has calculated that if the initial price of an electric vehicle was the same, households would save an average of £900 annually. The thinktank suggests the government should instead spend the money used to cut fuel duty to build charge points and help lower-income households afford electric vehicles.

Gideon Salutin, a senior researcher at the SMF, said: “Listening to the rhetoric around fuel duty, you would think freezes provide immediate relief for low-income households and working-class commuters. But those are the households that tend to drive less, own fewer cars and travel more efficiently.

“By constraining fuel duty, the government is wasting billions of pounds every year while robbing low-income households of cheaper options like public transport and EVs. These could pull millions out of poverty, but instead we’re wasting billions on unjust cuts.”