The committee says overcrowding is likely to get worse

The report published on Wednesday found that people using public transport faced a "daily trauma" and were forced to travel in "intolerable conditions".

The influential cross-party transport committee said failing to take the issue seriously was "tantamount to waiting for a tragedy to occur".

Passenger campaigns groups and unions said the report was right to point out concerns regarding safety and backed calls for "immediate and urgent plans" to improve the situation.

Failing rail

MPs took evidence from travellers who routinely found themselves subjected to overcrowding that was "not simply uncomfortable, but positively frightening".

"Improving the reliability of services, whether bus, underground, tram or rail, is a key part of this, but will not be enough," the committee, chaired by Labour backbench MP Gwyneth Dunwoody, found.

KEY REPORT FINDINGS Overcrowding will get worse 14% of people use public transport In inner London the figure is 42% In central London it is 80% In London delays cost �230m at least In Yorkshire peak rail capacity is exceeded by 9%

The MPs said passengers were often unable to board vehicles, adding that managements which accepted overcrowding as inevitable were "failing to run the system properly".

The report, entitled Overcrowding on Public Transport, was published as Transport Secretary Alistair Darling witnessed the launch of new trains on a busy commuter route out of Waterloo Station which are aimed to help cut congestion.

He acknowledged the committee's concerns and said the government was addressing the problem by increasing capacity through new trains and more reliable services.

"Progress will take time," he said. "There are no quick fixes but the key is more capacity and also to make sure you have reliable and regular services.

"The committee is right to say overcrowding monitoring has its problems. It may be difficult to define but passengers know overcrowding when they see it."

Costs to business

The report said that the hardened traveller may have come to accept the problem.

But it is one area where there needs to be "huge improvements" if public transport use is to increase.

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The committee quotes a report from Oxford Economic Forecasting which found that lost business due to overcrowding and delays cost the City of London about �230m a year.

Tourism - worth �75bn to the UK economy - is another area which is likely to suffer if overcrowding during the high season is not addressed, the MPs concluded.

The Rail Passengers Council national director Anthony Smith said: "Being crowded in like sardines does not make for a pleasant journey experience and we welcome today's report as a sign that this key passenger concern is being taken seriously."

Bob Crow, general secretary of the biggest rail union, the RMT, said: "The committee has recognised that overcrowding does not just do damage to commerce and tourism but also poses major health and safety problems.