Spending on car purchases has risen three times faster than for public transport journeys, new figures show
Some £57.4 billion was spent in the UK on new and used cars in 2023, up 6% on five years earlier, according to AA analysis of Office for National Statistics data. Running a car also accounted for a large chunk of the £78.6 billion spent on what is described as the operation of personal transport, with spending on fuel and lubricants up 20% since 2018 to £41.7 billion.
He told the PA news agency: “These latest ONS figures underline the UK’s reliance on cars and the huge amounts of money they generate for the economy – not to mention VAT on that spending, and other tax.“Even if a significant amount of car use was transformed into take-up of public transport, the impact on the economy and other income generation would be dramatic.