09 Jan 2023

Millions of Britons are trapped in transport poverty

Millions of Britons are trapped in transport poverty owing to a lack of alternatives to car ownership, with some spending nearly a fifth of their pre-tax income keeping a car on the road, a study has found.

Those who own a car spend on average 13% of their gross income on it, above the 10% generally seen as the indicator of transport poverty. For those paying for their car with a finance or loan deal this proportion rises to 19%.

The report, produced by the cycle industry campaign group Bike Is Best, found that about three-quarters of drivers think they will always own a car, while just under half, 47%, believe they have no alternative. Previous studies have found that while significant numbers of people say they would happily cycle for shorter trips, a lack of safe local infrastructure for cycling puts them off.

In recent years electric-assist bikes, or e-bikes, have become increasingly popular replacements for cars for some households – particularly e-cargo bikes that can carry children or heavy items such as shopping. But these can be expensive, with some models costing about £4,000, and finance deals are harder to find than for cars.

The Bike Is Best study, based on a nationally representative GB survey of 2,000 people, found that while 34% of drivers said they would cycle if they could pick a mode that was not driving or public transport, almost half could not afford to buy a bike.