Transport: Per Capita Costs

(asked on 9th November 2015) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the per capita spending was on transport projects in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) London in each of the last five years.


Answered by
Andrew Jones Portrait
Andrew Jones
This question was answered on 19th November 2015

a) Data on spend per head on transport projects is not available at the level of Greater Manchester.


However, Greater Manchester has benefitted from significant transport investment over the last five years, for example, £140.8 million of Integrated Transport Block funding, £143.2 million for Highways Maintenance (2010-11 to 2014-15), £32.5 million from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund for the ‘Let’s Get to Work’ scheme, £32.49 million for the Manchester Cross City Bus Package (due for completion in November 2016) and £44m announced in July 2014 as part of the Local Growth Fund for 12 new light rail vehicles on Metrolink.


(b) Spend per head on transport in London for the last five available years was as follows:


Identifiable expenditure on transport in London 2009-10 to 2013-14

Type of expenditure

2009-10 outturn

2010-11 outturn

2011-12 outturn

2012-13 outturn

2013-14 outturn

Total expenditure






Per head (£)

747

660

597

479

511

Capital expenditure






Per head (£)

448

413

362

301

332

Current expenditure






Per head (£)

300

247

235

178

180

Source: HM Treasury Country and Regional Analysis, 2014


Spending on London’s transport networks benefits not just London residents but commuters and others travelling into London. London is the biggest city in the UK and a global capital. 850,000 commuters come into London per working day, and there are about 4 billion passenger journeys every year.


The figures in recent years can be skewed by capital projects with uneven patterns of expenditure such as Crossrail and Thameslink (which also create jobs elsewhere).


Reticulating Splines