Reply #58: If you mean the high taxes make people use public transport instead, yes [View All]

[muriel_volestrangler]

The money taken in from fuel taxes far outweighs the subsidies for transport.

# Public subsidy support for buses in England outside London currently cost about £1,100 million a year
# Public subsidy for rail is broadly similar even though the bus carries about five times the number of passengers and delivers far greater social inclusion benefits

http://www.cfit.gov.uk/factsheets/13/index.htm

# Fuel duties collected by Customs in 2002-2003 amounted to £22.1 billion, and they are predicted to amount to £22.8 billion in 2003-2004 and £24.4 billion in 2004-2005.

http://www.politics.co.uk/issue-briefs/road-fuel-duties-$3320486.htm

So public transport subsidies are about a tenth of the fuel duty. UK Fuel taxes are about two thirds of the price - so the subsidy is about one fifteenth of $6.40, or 40 cents.