Speaking from a UK perspective I would lay much of the blame at the Governments door, both regional and national. Since the 1990's government has realised what

Speaking from a UK perspective I would lay much of the blame at the Governments door, both regional and national. Since the 1990's government has realised what an easy target the motorist is for revenue generating. Petrol is frighteningly expensive in the UK, even a regular family car costs around £100 to fill up, the cost of fuel has double in the past 10 years. Vehicle taxation has changed and increased considerably for larger vehicles. Operating a car through a company now has little tax benefit. Parking in the UK is expensive, and easy to get an exorbitant fine should you overstay by even the slightest time period. Speeding is punished with large fixed penalty fines and tolls upon some roads and bridges continue to be levied at year on year increasing costs. Unfortunately outside of London are public transport networks are poor and offer no alternative to running a car, which is why most of us continue to pay more each year to own a car.