To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the percentage change in real terms of the cost of travelling by (a) private car, (b) bus, (c) train and (d) domestic aeroplane since (i) 1980 and (ii) 1997.

The Department for Transport has not estimated changes in the real cost of motoring or any other mode of travel.

Data from the independent ONS suggest that between 1980 and 2010 the real cost of motoring, including the purchase of a vehicle, declined by 10%, bus and coach fares increased by 54% and rail fares increased by 55% in real terms.

ONS data suggest that between 1997 and 2010 the real cost of motoring, including the purchase of a vehicle, declined by 7%, bus and coach fares increased by 24% and rail fares increased by 17% in real terms.

Figures from the Office of Rail Regulation's National Rail Trends show that between 1985 and 2010 total government support to the rail industry has doubled in real terms, and that between 1997 and 2010 it increased by 86% in real terms. 1985 is the earliest year for which comparable data are available.

The costs of travelling by air are not available from ONS data. However, the cost of the average UK one-way air fare, including taxes and charges, covering domestic flights fell by 35% in real terms between 1997 and 2008, the latest date for which figures are available:

http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/xls/nrt_ch6_miscellaneous_tables.xls