Transport costs ‘curb commuter lifestyles’

RISING transport costs are forcing commuters to cut back on groceries and trips to restaurants and pubs, according to new data.

PwC’s Voice of the Consumer (VoC) survey found that 57% of North West full-time workers have seen travel costs rise over the past year with 33% telling researchers their travel costs had increased, “a great deal”.
 
Across the UK, around half of those in full-time employment said they had cut back on living essentials and luxuries to fund their rising travel expenditure.

The North had the lowest annual travel costs out of eight UK regions at an average of £1,009 – compared to £1,422 in the South East and £1,376 in the Midlands. But 54% of the region’s commuters said they had cut back on socialising and going to the pub to fund travel. Some 64% said they were eating out less.
 
Jonathan Cooper, a partner in the transport and logistics team in Manchester, said: “The findings of our research have highlighted that in this era of austerity, many people are having to make difficult decisions across their essential spend and lifestyle choices.

“In the North West this has particularly impacted spend on leisure activities and groceries. It has also affected the number of people who are saving for the long term, such as a deposit for a house, with 23% of respondents sacrificing saving to afford commuter costs.”

Andrew Sentance, PwC’s senior economic advisor, said: “Transport costs have been rising for a number of years. Since 2009 the transport component of the Consumer Prices Index has risen on average by 5.4% a year, and is one of the areas where prices have risen the fastest over this period. This is nearly three times the 2% inflation target and way ahead of the modest wage increases employees are seeing in their pay-packets.”