Guides | Cost of Commuting Study

Study reveals almost half of commuters had to borrow money to get to work in the last 12 months

A May 2023 survey of 1,000 commuters in the UK revealed a startling number of people are borrowing money simply to pay for their commute. See our report to find out which cities are borrowing the most cash.

Why more commuters are borrowing money

According to the Office of National Statistics, inflation sits at 8.7% as of May 2023. The rising prices for consumer goods mean more and more households in the UK are feeling the pinch. The same report found around two-thirds (67%) of adults say their cost of living has increased in May compared to April 2023¹.

With that in mind, we asked UK commuters about borrowing money and what they’re doing to pay commuting costs.

Our study found:

Almost half of commuters borrowed money to get to work in the last 12 months
Commuters who used their vehicle to get to work were the most likely to borrow money (52%)
Two-thirds of young people (21–25-year-olds) had to borrow money to get to work in the last 12 months
51–55-year-olds were the least likely to borrow money (19%)
1 in 10 commuters took out payday loans to fund their commute to work (15%)

1 in 2 commuters in Newcastle have borrowed money to commute

Newcastle has the highest rate of borrowing for commuting, closely followed by London. The top six cities with the highest rates of borrowing are below.

City	% of commuters borrowing
Newcastle	50%
London	49%
Liverpool	48%
Belfast	47%
Manchester	47%
Birmingham	47%
Glasgow	23%
Leeds	22%

The cities where commuters are least likely to borrow are Cardiff (32%), Nottingham (30%) and Plymouth (17%).

Two-thirds of young people had to borrow money to get to work in the last 12 months

Our survey found the older people are, the less likely they are to borrow for their commute. Workers aged 21 to 25 years old were the most likely to borrow with over 60% saying they had borrowed just to get to work.

Commuters who used their vehicle to get into work were the most likely to borrow money

On average, commuters spend £66.31 a month on getting to work². For most, it’s an unavoidable cost.

52% of commuters using their vehicle to drive into work reported they have borrowed money in the past 12 months to pay for the commute. This may come as little surprise as the price of petrol had an RPI (Retail Price Index) value of 30.1% in 2022³.

Drivers aren’t the only ones. Those using public transportation are also borrowing:

30% of commuters using the train
28% of commuters using the bus

Woman on the bus worrying about the cost of commuting on public transport

In March 2023, commuters experienced a train fare increase at an average of 5.9%⁴, which was the highest price rise since 2012 (6.1%). In the wake of rising costs across the board, a many commuters are now borrowing to cover the costs.

Out of all commuters, those using the bus in the West Midlands and Southwest regions (34% each) were the most likely to borrow across the UK in the past 12 months.

How are commuters borrowing money?

In the last 12 months, the most common borrowing methods were:

Family or relatives (44%)
Credit card (33%)
Friends (30%)
Overdraft (27%)
Payday loans (15%)

As for younger generations, the “bank of mum and dad” might be key for mortgages but not for commuting costs. Only 34.29% of commuters aged 21 to 25 borrowed from family or relatives. In comparison, over half of those aged 46 to 50 had borrowed from family or relatives in the past 12 months.

Payday loans are a popular option for commuters who are struggling to afford their commute

One of our key findings was 1 in 10 commuters turned to payday loans to fund their commute to work (15%).

Payday loans have very high-interest rates. The interest is often calculated on a daily basis, for example, £1 a day in interest for every £125 that you borrow.

Over a year, the average annual percentage interest rate of charge (APR) could be up to 1,250%⁵ compared with 22.8% APR for a typical credit card. Commuters using payday loans risk high-interest rates and late fees, damaging their credit score and debt.

A third of commuters are using credit cards

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) schemes are increasingly popular. 33% of commuters in our survey said they had used their credit card to get to work. Men were more likely than women to borrow using a credit card. 37.5% of men said they had used their credit card to get to work, compared to 25.73% of women.

The interest rate on a credit card can vary depending on the card, but commuters who use their credit card to pay for their commute could face interest rates of up to 35.4% APR⁶.

If a credit card is used responsibly and paid off in full every month, this may build up a credit score, give users cashback and allow for delayed payments. They can be appealing for these reasons.

However, commuters using credit to pay the costs of getting into work risk getting into credit card debt if the balance is not paid. From March 2022 to 2023, the UK has seen an increase of 8.30% in outstanding credit card balances according to The Money Charity₇.

Sources:

Survey of 1,000 UK commuters conducted in May 2023