A total of 2,040 adults (aged 18 and over) were asked to choose from a list of options what they see as the top two or three transport priorities for an incoming government.

More than half (53%) believe tackling the condition of roads and pavements should be the number one issue for ministers to address after the general election in May.

The cost of travelling by train is regarded as the second priority (42%).

The cost of using a car (e.g. petrol prices) came third on the list (30%).

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Five years on from the last general election and the poor state of the roads remains the number one concern amongst voters.

“But it is striking how many people now think the cost of rail travel has to come down. This is unlikely to reflect the number of adults travelling by train – less than one in ten passenger miles takes place on the railways – but repeated headlines about fare rises.

“Less than a third of the public currently think the cost of running a car is a priority. This is probably a result of the steep fuel prices we have seen over the past six months.

“But it would be a mistake if politicians thought the cost of filling up has gone away as an issue. In the last few weeks oil prices have rebounded and this has a significant and immediate impact on motorists’ pockets.”