Car Commuters Spend up to £1,000 a Year Fuelling Their Trip to Work

News provided by

Santander

30 Jan, 2013, 09:00 GMT

LONDON, January 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

- British workers who commute by car cover an average of 3,326 miles a year just to get to and from work

- West Midlands has the highest proportion of 'car commuters'

- Santander 123 cashback credit card can cut the cost of motoring, offering 3% cashback on petrol station spend

Commuters are spending up to £1,000 a year on petrol or diesel just to get to and from work, according to new research[1] from Santander 123 cashback credit card. The findings reveal that British 'car commuters' travel an average of 3,326 miles a year for this purpose, spending an average of £840 each on fuel.

Scottish 'car commuters' cover the most miles travelling to and from work, covering an average of 3,934 miles per year. This is followed by those in the East of England who travel on average 3,907 miles per year and the East Midlands who cover 3,643 miles each.

Car commuters in the East of England spend £1,008 each annually on the journey to work, more than any other region. Those in the East Midlands spend an average of £960 on fuel to get to and from work, compared to Londoners who spend an average of £948.

Number of miles travelled and money spent on fuel by car commuters

                                                 Average spend on
                        Average number of miles  diesel/petrol for
                        travelled going to and   travelling to work
                        from work per car        per car commuter
    Region              commuter per year        per year

    East                3,907                    GBP1,008
    East Midlands       3,643                    GBP960
    London              2,825                    GBP948
    North West          3,485                    GBP852
    North East          3,538                    GBP840
    Scotland            3,934                    GBP840
    South West          3,010                    GBP828
    South East          3,590                    GBP816
    West                3,300                    GBP780
    West Midlands       3,036                    GBP732
    Yorkshire & Humber  2,561                    GBP624
    GB                  3,326                    GBP840

However, it is the West Midlands and Wales that have the largest percentage of workers who commute by car. Seventy-one per cent of employed people in these regions travel to and from work in a motor vehicle, compared to just 32 per cent in London, where much higher numbers rely on the public transport system.

Percentage of workers commuting by car

                                  Percentage of employed people who
    Region                        drive to work

    West Midlands                 71%
    Wales                         71%
    Yorkshire & Humber            70%
    East of England               69%
    North West                    67%
    Scotland                      64%
    North East                    63%
    East Midlands                 63%
    South East                    62%
    South West                    57%
    London                        32%

Santander is advising workers to look at how much money they spend on their commute and investigate ways of reducing their costs.

Alan Mathewson, CEO Santander Cards, said:  "Nearly two thirds of workers travel to and from their place of work in a car, but they often don't realise how many miles they clock up doing so and how much money they spend on fuel alone. Over the course of a year, car commuters could save a significant amount of money by making small changes to their routine. For example, they could consider car-pooling with colleagues or looking at products such as our 123 cashback credit card, which provides 3% cashback on money spent in petrol stations."

Santander's 123 World

The Santander 123 Cashback Credit Card and 123 Current Account are designed to reward customers and help them save money. The card pays up to 3% cashback on household spend and has paid over £19 million in cashback to customers since its launch in September 2011. In addition Santander's unique '123 Current Account' pays cashback on all utilities, council tax, Santander mortgage payments and communications direct debits set up on a customer's account, as well as paying in-credit interest on balances up to £20,000.

Product benefits

123 Cashback credit card pays cashback

  • 1% cashback on supermarkets
  • 2% cashback on department stores
  • 3% cashback on petrol stations and National Rail and Transport for London

123 Current Account pays cashback on household direct debits

  • 1% cashback on water and council tax
  • 2% cashback on electricity and gas
  • 3% on mobile, home phone, broadband, paid-for TV packages

123 Current Account also pays in-credit interest

  • 1% AER on the entire balance, once the customer's balance is £1,000 or over
  • 2% AER on the entire balance, once the customer's balance is £2,000 or over
  • 3% AER on the entire balance, once the customer's balance is £3,000 or over (up to £20,000)

The information contained in our press releases is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions.

Notes to Editors

(1) Research commissioned by Santander and conducted by Opinium Research 9th - 11th October 2012. Sample size 2,013 UK adults.

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