June 10th, 2009
Join the fight to bring train fares down.
UK train fares are the most expensive in Europe and the Government wants to make passengers pay even more. We’re asking the Government to tax the fuel used for domestic flights – which would make up for any money lost by reduced train fares.
Join in
• Visit the Campaign for Better Transport website www.bettertransport.org.uk to join the campaign and find out how you can help reduce train fares
• Tell your friends about the campaign. The more people who take action, the bigger an impression we can make
• Watch train and plane battle for your business — and then send the video round to your friends
Campaign for Better Transport fight for transport that increases people’s quality of life and reduces the impact on the environment
V.W.
10.06.09
This seems so unfair – I really HATE flying, I have a real phobia about it, but it costs a fortune to get anywhere in this country on the train. This may be a daft question, but why does the government subsidise the aviation industry – what’s in it for them?
Sarah
15.06.09
You’re right: it is crazy, and it’s about time something was done about it. There are a number of different subsidies: no fuel duty, no VAT, no duty on purchased goods (hence the term ‘duty-free’), all of which add up to £9 billion a year. The fuel duty subsidy – the biggest subsidy aviation receives (I think) – dates back to the 1944 Chicago Convention, introduced to help the aviation industry switch from serving the military to serving passengers. Whatever the historical rationale, it’s clearly unfair that you pay less fuel tax to fly from London to New York than to drive to the end of your street. Getting international agreement to change this will be difficult, but there’s no reason we can’t increase duty on domestic flights
Sarah
Campaign for Better Transport
richard carmichael
24.08.09
Getting a return from London to Newcastle-upon-Tyne is, realistically, always going to cost over £100 and you’re still not guaranteed a seat. They charge up to £400 if you want to get a free paper and coffee and come back when you feel like it (First Class Open Return)! And there is no alternative train company. The government has for years shirked a basic responsibility to stop rail fares being as obscenely high as they have become. We should just be allowed to travel then pay what we think is fair, like the law allows in restaurants. Protest!
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