Car, rail and air cost can be almost twice as much as on Continent

guardian.co.uk

Britain is the most expensive place to buy 62 of the 75 best-selling cars in Europe, latest figures from the European Commission show. UK motorists pay up to 90 per cent more for new cars than customers in the United States or on the Continent. Cars made in this country by Japanese and US manufacturers can cost up to 80 per cent more in Britain than abroad. Buying a Mazda or a Honda on the Continent can save the British consumer more than £5,000, as much as half the UK list price.

Once they have stumped up the extra purchase price - and paid the UK's high road tax - British motorists are then ripped off for petrol. At 73p per unleaded litre, they pay nearly 20 per cent above the continental average.

In Japan and the US, average prices are even lower - at 47p and 20p a litre respectively. In a car that does 25 miles per gallon, £5-worth of petrol will get you only 43 miles in Britain, compared with 325 miles in the US.

Leaving the car and taking the train can save money - but not in Britain. Observer research shows that fares on the privatised UK railways are the world's highest. Mile for mile, passengers pay more for 'walk-on' tickets in the UK than anywhere else in Europe, or in any other countries with large networks, such as the US or Japan.

Average rail prices in the UK are around 30p per mile. In Italy the journey from Milan to Rome on 140mph tilting trains costs just £36, or 9p a mile. The rate per mile between Madrid and Barcelona is just 10p.

In London, fares on the Underground and connecting public transport systems are the most expensive in Europe. On average, Londoners have to pay out over 20 per cent more than the commuters in Paris, Milan and Madrid.

Independent watchdogs have accused Britain's train operators of trying to 'price passengers off the trains', in conflict with the Government's policy of coaxing people out of cars and on to public transport.

The Central Rail Users' Consultative Committee has urged the rail regulator to cap fares. Eurostar tickets booked in London to Paris and Brussels are dearer than those bought on the Continent for the same routes.

The picture is even worse in the air. Domestic and overseas flights in Britain are among the most expensive in the world. American travellers can go twice as far for their money. Some carriers, including British Airways, even charge UK customers more than foreign passengers for the same flights out of London. Business-class fares in Britain are higher than on the Continent.

Based on prices for a midweek return flight in October, booked up to two weeks in advance, a flight between Heathrow and Glasgow of 345 miles on BA costs 54p a mile, at £185. A 325-mile flight between Los Angeles and San Francisco on United Airlines is, at £70, only 21p a mile. Phil Evans, senior policy researcher at the Consumers' Association, said last night: 'When Britons commute into work, they are paying the highest prices in the world for the dubious pleasure of travelling on overcrowded, dirty trains.

'When they get home and nip to the supermarket, they are paying nearly four times the American rate for their petrol and up to 90 per cent more for the car they are driving. And if they want to go on holiday in the UK they will pay exorbitant rates for air travel.'

Travel companies deny they are guilty of any rip-offs. Airlines declare their fares reflect 'market forces', car manufacturers claim price comparisons ignore finance deals and discounts, rail companies say that fares are on the way down, and oil companies blame high taxes for the expensive petrol.