Commuters in the West Midlands are being urged by Centro to leave their cars at home – after a survey this month revealed the UK had the third highest petrol prices in the world.
In a study carried out by Car Insurer Staveley Head, the UK featured in the top three highest fuel prices worldwide, with Norwegian capital Oslo topping the chart.
The soaring fuel costs have seen more people turn their backs on cars, and the second quarter of this year saw a reduction in the number of vehicles on the road nationwide.
In the West Midlands the trend saw the number of people using the Midland Metro rise last year and a 6.4% increase in rail passengers in 2009/10.
Centro chairman Cllr Angus Adams said:
“There has been a lot of discussion about the rise in fuel prices over the past few years, and it is becoming more and more expensive for people to run their cars.
“The recent figures show how quickly prices change and in these difficult economic times saving money is more important than ever.
“Getting to and from work, visiting friends and family, and shopping are part of most people’s daily routines and in most cases using public transport can eliminate a lot of the expense that goes with driving.”
To help ease the expense, transport authority Centro are offering people the chance to win one of four, four-week nNetwork tickets.
Tickets normally cost £87.50 and can be used on the metro, trains and most buses in the Network West Midlands area.
Commuters can enter by voting in an online poll, asking if the rising petrol fees would encourage them to leave their cars at home in favour of public transport.
Despite nationally showing a slight fall in August, figures revealed by the AA last month showed that petrol prices were still 16% higher than in the same period last year.
This means to fill a typical 50-litre petrol tank would cost £9.81 more than last year and to fill a commercial van’s 80-litre tank with diesel would cost an extra £16.73.
An e-petition launched by Robert Halfon MP and FairFuel UK has already attracted 74,140 signatures with 100,000 needed to trigger a parliamentary debate.
Rising petrol prices does encourage me to use public transport *when it is viable* – more often than not, public transport is simply not an option. I can’t spend 2.5hrs each way getting to and from work on a combination of buses and trains when it takes 25min in the car! We need better public transport before many motorists will even have the chance to switch.