Travel costs play a great part in young people’s lives. Many report having to pack in education or training courses because they cannot afford public transport. Meanwhile, the over-60s travel free off-peak on buses and some trains thanks to a massive state subsidy.

Learning to drive is costing more and more. From tomorrow, theory tests have increased from £28.50 to £30.00. That’s an increase of just over 5 per cent. The practical test jumps from £48.50 to £56.50. That’s a 16.5 per cent increase – on the part of the test that most people take two to three times before passing.

uSwitch.com – a price comparison company – has been looking at the total costs of learning to drive. From provisional licence (£45) to passing the test, young men can expect to pay over £1,069. Young women, who take an average of 20 lessons more, can expect a bill of £1,605. Download the press release, You have to be an earner to be a learner.

What’s more, young people now get less for their money. My standard licence acquired years ago lets me drive certain minibuses and vehicles towing caravans or trailers, for instance, that are excluded from young people’s expensively acquired licence today. Less is more, as they say.

This becomes obvious when you think about what is being measured in the basket of goods and services. Cigars? Wallpaper paste? Private school fees? Unit trust fees and commissions? Just how relevant is this?

Young people’s personal inflation rate may be travelling in a different direction, or at least at a very different rate, from the official figures.

Footie fans are currently being clobbered by a pretty high inflation rate. The fun-loving statisticians at Virgin Money have calculated that the cost of attending games has risen by 17.8 per cent over the past year.

Its matchday basket of goods cost £77.95 when it launched in January last year. It’s now £91.87. Most of the increase is caused by a hike in the price of matchday tickets and replica shirts.

What’s in the basket of goods? A gallon of petrol, a pint of lager, a bacon roll, a train fare, a match ticket, a replica shirt, pay-per-view cost and a match programme.

Shouldn’t Mervyn King be composing a letter to someone about all this?