Trends in transport costs

Transport can affect health both directly and indirectly, through its relationship with the wider determinants of health. An affordable public transport system can encourage active transport – with people walking and cycling more to access transport services – and can also support social and economic participation and access to public services. But higher transport costs can create a financial strain, limiting resources to spend on other goods and services that support good health.

This chart shows the percentage change in cost since 2015 of public transport fares (railway, bus and coach, and underground and tram); private motoring (purchase of vehicle and operation of transport equipment); and the overall basket of goods and services captured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Prices in the overall CPI increased by 39% between January 2015 and May 2025, but the increase in transport costs varies according to the type of transport:

• In May 2025, bus fares in the UK were 93.5% higher than in January 2015. This was also a 22 percentage point increase in fares in the past year (since May 2024).
• The increase in fares for other forms of public transport has been comparatively lower since January 2015: 49.8% for trains, and 27.8% for underground and trams – significantly below overall inflation.
• Private transport costs also increased. The purchase of a vehicle increased by 24.6% and the costs of operating a personal vehicle increased by 40.2%.