ABSTRACT
For passenger traffic in the United Kingdom the last 30 years has been a period of phenomenal growth (Box 1.1). The number of households with access to one or more cars is now 67 per cent. At the same time growth in the relative share of private transport is matched by a correspondingly precipitous decline in public transport. Underlying these changes are the improvement in real incomes and a divergence in the real price of private and public transport. It is notable that over the last decade the real price of both rail fares and bus fares has increased much faster than the index of all motor vehicle cost components and that the real price of private motoring has actually fallen (Box 1.2) Historical Developments in UK Road Transport https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315070681/949cd7be-7a53-47fe-a3c9-30b3780ab816/content/ufig3_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Source: Department of Transport, 1994 Retail Price Index and Transport Components https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315070681/949cd7be-7a53-47fe-a3c9-30b3780ab816/content/ufig4_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Source: Department of Transport, 1994
