Think-tank: replace railways with busways to cut costs and tackle expensive fares

Policy-makers must consider more efficient forms of public transport if expensive commuter fares are to be tackled, the Institute of Economic Affairs says today.

A report by the right-wing think-tank says that commuters could pay 40% less if we followed the success of bus rapid transit schemes in Latin America and Asia that "illustrate that viable high-capacity transport alternatives exist at a fraction of the cost of railways". It highlights that the Government spends £6bn a year on the railways, which "benefits rail companies at the expense of passengers". 

Authored by Paul Withrington and Richard Wellings, it says that converting railways to busways could be done whilst carrying the same volume of passengers. It says that express coaches could seat the quarter of a million passengers coming into London during the morning-peak on trains.

The Government has hailed the fact that more is being spent on the railways than at any time since Queen Victoria was on the throne and said passengers need to contribute. But UKIP has said that the railways are "a laughing stock".