Rail failings are driving us back to cars

PUBLIC transport failings are making Britons more reliant on their cars, a report warned last night.

Motorists blame soaring fares and increasing delays on trains and cuts to local bus services for switching back to the roads.

The trend, which reverses five years of declining car dependency, reveals the scale of disillusionment with the state of public transport in Britain.

It comes after an official report into the recent rail timetable shambles found passengers were let down by rail bosses, ministers and regulators.

The findings are revealed on the RAC’s annual Report on Motoring, which gauges drivers’ chief concerns.

It discovered many now feel they have little choice but to use their cars more often, despite fears over the quality of roads and rising fuel prices.

A third say they are more reliant on their cars than a year ago, with nearly a quarter blaming deteriorating public transport. Six in ten would use their car less if public transport was better.

The poll also shows drivers are increasingly concerned about the state of roads, with 78 per cent saying they were ‘generally poor’. The cost of fuel is also a big issue, with 61 per cent saying their fuel bill has gone up in a year.

Official figures published by the Department for Transport yesterday revealed record levels of traffic, with cars, lorries and vans clocking up 3 7billion miles in the year to June.

RAC chief engineer David Bizley said: ‘While there is much talk about improving public transport, the reality is very different as buses and trains are not meeting public expectations.

‘People end up driving by default as they feel public transport is either too expensive, non-existent or just doesn’t go where or when they need it to.’ ÷Workers at South Western Railway and Arriva Rail North look set to strike next month in the long-running dispute over the role of guards on trains.