Stephen Grant, a rail consultant, points out that rural services receive 60% of the subsidy but account for only 16% of passenger kilometres travelled.
If the government had given his mother the equivalent subsidy in cash or a health-savings account, she would have had no problem finding a dentist to see her kids.
High international crude prices have exacerbated the government's fuel subsidy expenditures contributing to a higher fiscal deficit, and a worsening current account deficit.