Written evidence submitted by the Campaign for Better Transport (FTF0038)

1. Campaign for Better Transport is the national charity championing greener, fairer transport solutions. Our vision is for all communities to have access to high quality, sustainable transport that meets their needs, improves quality of life and protects the environment. We are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to your Fuelling the future: motive power and connectivity inquiry.

2. Transport is the biggest emitter of domestic greenhouse gas emissions. Transport provision and people’s transport choices therefore play a key role in reaching out net zero targets. Unfortunately, government taxation and pricing policy for transport modes give the wring signals to passengers and incentivise the use of polluting modes.

3. For example, taking a domestic flight produces seven times as much greenhouse gas emissions per passenger kilometre as travelling by rail, while driving in a medium petrol car with one occupant produces more than four times as much emissions as rail (Source: BEIS/DEFRA Greenhouse gas reporting conversion factors 2021).

4. The Climate Change Committee has recommended demand management for both the aviation sector and road vehicle miles to help reduce emissions from transport. For aviation, the committee expressed a clear preference for taxes that increase the more and further people fly (Source: https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sector-summary-Aviation.pdf).

5. Yet driving and domestic flights are made more attractive by the following government policies:

Fuel duty has effectively been frozen since 2011 making motoring progressively cheaper. It is estimated it has led to five per cent more traffic, 250 million fewer bus journeys, 75 million fewer rail journeys, an extra five million tonnes of CO2 and an extra 15,000 tonnes of NOx emissions (Source: Greener Journeys).
Air Passenger Duty is effectively being halved by the introduction of a new domestic band from April 2023.
Aviation kerosene is exempt from excise duty, contributing to making flight tickets cheaper.

6. Conversely, levies on electricity used to power trains have more than doubled in the past four years and now make up 40 per cent of total electricity costs for operators (Source: rail delivery Group). Travel by rail has also been made less attractive and less affordable by annual fare increases (last year above-inflation) and service reductions, as well as government messaging during the pandemic, leading to passenger nervousness about virus transmission on public transport.

7. Flying is also seen by some as a quicker way to travel. In October 2021, Campaign for Better Transport organised a ‘race’ from London’s Piccadilly Circus to George’s Square in Glasgow. Door to door the plane journey was two minutes than the train. The plane journey also involved several interchanges and waiting at security gates, while on the train we could use our time productively and take advantage of the on-board wifi to so work. This proved that trains are not only environmentally friendlier but also that planes bring no economic benefits in terms of time savings or productivity.

8. The table below provides a comparison between train and plane on common journeys within the UK in terms of travel time (not door to door) and carbon emissions. It demonstrates the benefits of replacing domestic flights with rail travel.

from	to	kms	plane journey hrs (1)	train journey hrs	Cheapest one-way ticket plane (2)	Cheapest one-way ticket train (2)	carbon emissions flight (kg CO2e) (3)	carbon emissions train (kg CO2e) (3)
London	Edinburgh	534	3	4.5	£49	£76	131	19
London	Glasgow	556	3	4.5	£52	£109	137	20
London	Newcastle	399	3	3	£129	£73	98	14
London	Manchester	262	2.75	2	£108	£66	64	9
Manchester	Glasgow	295	4.75	3.5	£69	£43	73	10
Manchester	Edinburgh	281	4.5	3	£64	£45	69	10
Birmingham	Edinburgh	394	3	4	£37	£75	97	14
Birmingham	Glasgow	406	3	4.5	£39	£63	100	14

(1) Fastest direct flight (where available) according to https://www.finance.co.uk/travel/flight-times-and-durations-calculator plus 90mins check in/boarding and 15mins landing/arrivals.

(2) Cheapest one-way ticket for a journey on 8 October. Prices taken from www.skyscanner.net and www.trainline.com on 28 September 2022.

(3) Carbon emissions include indirect emissions and are calculated by multiplying journey kms by the conversion factor for CO2e per passenger km. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greenhouse-gas-reporting-conv....

9. Campaign for Better Transport is calling for the following measures to promote rail as a greener alternative flying and driving to help tackle climate change:

A ban on all domestic flights where the equivalent train journey is under five hours, similar to the measures introduced in France
Reverse the commitment to cut to Air Passenger Duty and introduce a frequent flyer levy on international flights
Review the position on air fuel taxation
Stop all plans for airport expansion until 'net zero flights' are a reality
Make airlines label their tickets with comparison train emissions so that people can make informed choices
Commit to review options to reform fuel duty and Vehicle Excise Duty with a view to moving towards distance-based road pricing

10. We hope this information is a useful contribution to the committee’s inquiry on fuel taxation and we look forward to its report.

January 2022