UK motorists won't use public transport at any cost

Research conducted by market information and insight group TNS indicates that British motorists will only consider using public transport if it becomes free.

According to the survey results, a third of British drivers also believe a law should be introduced to ban all vehicles from London except electric ones.

TNS believes this demonstrates a growing awareness of the impact petrol and diesel cars are having on urban environments.

Nearly 70 per cent say that Chelsea Tractors should also be banned from major cities, with 77 per cent believing this in Scotland.

Nevertheless, the large majority of people are adamant they wouldn't consider using public transport unless it was free of charge.

Almost three quarters (72 per cent) of UK drivers say that only radical measures from prime minister Gordon Brown could persuade them to ditch the cars and get on the buses.

Andrew Czarnowski, managing director of TNS UK, comments: "We're seeing quite a gulf emerge between people's aspirations and the reality of taking steps to cut our carbon emissions.

"The green message is clearly hitting home, with a significant proportion of people backing new transport technologies and accepting that things have to change. But despite rising petrol prices, we're still not being pushed onto public transport.

"This feedback is the clearest indication yet that a massive cost incentive is needed to get us off the road and onto the railways."