Rising numbers of car-owners in transport poverty, says RAC

The poorest ten per cent of the population are spending a rising amount of their available money on running a vehicle, according to figures obtained by the RAC Foundation.

The RAC Foundation, highlighting the figures showing that the 800,000 poorest families with a maximum weekly expenditure of £167 were spending 31% of this, or £51.40, on the purchase and operation of a car, including £16.40 on petrol and diesel. The previously unpublished numbers were collected as part of the ONS Living Costs and Foods Survey show how this rose from 27% the year before.

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "These figures give the official picture of the financial sacrifices being made by the UK’s poorest families to remain mobile. While record numbers of people now commute by car, including more than half of workers in the most deprived areas of the country, this data shows the cost of transport is a big hurdle to taking up employment.

"The Chancellor rightly points out that he has frozen fuel duty since March 2011 yet almost 60% of the pump price still goes into his pocket.”