CHELMSFORD MP and government rail minister Simon Burns says he has listened to the criticism concerning the use of his ministerial car and now plans to commute by train to Westminster.
The Transport Minister made the decision after a Sunday newspaper reported that he used a chauffeur-driven car to make the 35-mile journey to and from his Chelmsford home to central London, as revealed in the Chronicle two years ago.
The story was picked up by the majority of the country's national newspapers and sparked a huge backlash from angry commuters that the country's rail minister was not even using the trains.
Mr Burns, who has responsibility for 'rail strategy' and 'fares policy', told the Chronicle he will now travel from Chelmsford to his office in the Department of Transport by train.
"I took a decision that if this is a genuine concern of the public I will not travel to and from work by ministerial car any more," said Mr Burns, the city's Conservative MP for more than 25 years.
It means he will be unable to work on "red boxes", used by ministers in the Government to carry sensitive government papers, on his way home but he said he planned to stay in the office later to compensate.
"It's an unusual situation to get into," said Mr Burns.
"If you're working on red boxes you are advised not to go on public transport.
"Even if you were you would not be able to work on them because people could see what you were doing.
"But I'm a person who listens to what people say and I will not be using a ministerial car to get to work."
He said his ministerial car was a pool car and denied reports that it cost taxpayers £80,000-a-year to ferry him between Essex and London.
The politician, who was given the transport portfolio in last September's cabinet reshuffle, also said he was no stranger to rail travel.
"I've commuted by train to London before I was a minister – it's not a new experience for me. It's been suggested I had never been on a train before," he said.
"I began commuting to London in September 1986 and in the last two-and-a-half years as Minister of State for Health I've gone up and down the country on the train, visiting hospitals and giving speeches."
Mr Burns has now been making the hour-long commute from Chelmsford to Westminster, via London Liverpool Street, for a week and said other train passengers have not given him any grief.
"It's a bit too early in the morning for banter but I've always found my constituents to be extremely jolly and reasonable people anyhow," said Mr Burns.
