Fuel duty increases ‘should go ahead’

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said there was no evidence of a “war on motorists”, instead it was users of rail and bus services being hit by hikes in the cost of transport.

The IPPR report said the cost of motoring rose by 32.5 per cent between 1997 and 2010, a real terms fall, but rail fares went up by 66.2 per cent and bus and coach tickets increased by 76.1 per cent.

Train fares are set to rise further by an average of 6.2 per cent next year after a surprise rise in inflation last month, with some tickets set to increase by more than 11 per cent.

But the left-leaning IPPR said Chancellor George Osborne had announced delays in planned fuel duty rises which would cost £14 billion over five years.

The report recommended avoiding further delays in fuel duty rises and an extension of road tolls and congestion charging to finance public transport infrastructure.

The Taxpayers’ Alliance insisted it was right to freeze fuel duty, arguing that many people depended on the car.

A Government spokesman said Ministers were determined to bring down the cost of running the railways but stressed it was also right to support motorists at a time of high oil prices.