Charity Sustrans accuses the Chancellor of delivering a disastrous budget which focuses on short term gains to get popular support. His measures to reduce and limit the cost of fuel mean that once again we are incentivising people to use their cars while failing to offer alternatives that would provide a transport lifeline to poorer households without access to a car.
Jason Torrance, Sustrans' Policy Manager says “Mr Osborne has missed a golden opportunity to invest the £2bn from the oil companies in providing alternatives to car travel.
People are now being encouraged to drive in a 1970’s dream that could soon evaporate with a change in the price of oil.
“Sadly he has delivered the budget from behind the steering wheel of a Ford Focus and turned his back on an opportunity to provide alternatives to car use and much needed support to those suffering from the high cost of fuel.
“We do ourselves no favours by continuing to ignore the obvious – oil is a finite resource and will become unaffordable long before it finally dries up. Unless we invest in low carbon alternatives to car use we are facing a divide in society with the majority of people living in transport poverty.”
Source: Sustrans
