Passenger Voice November 2015: David Sidebottom’s editorial
30 October 2015
What do bus passengers want?
Do passengers trust or have any affinity with their bus service? What do they want to see improved? That’s what we’re currently asking passengers as part of our new research.
We want to understand what their priorities for improvement are, so we can promote them effectively at a time where investment is restricted. We are asking passengers across England about this to help update our 2010 work.
Our recent research on trust passengers have in rail services continues to be used time and time again. So we are also asking whether bus passengers trust their local services to deliver better value.
We will be asking passengers, who use the bus at different times, whether they would ever use the bus more. This research is sure to provide food for thought for local councils and operators who make the decisions.
This work, out early next year, will bring unique insight into passenger attitudes and, I am sure, will go a long way towards improving bus journeys. It comes at a time of major interest in bus around the devolution agenda, bus franchising, quality contracts and changes to the Bus Service Operators Grant. I am sure our research will help shed light on what passengers truly want out of their bus journey.
On this theme I am also pleased to announce that Tobyn Hughes, MD of Nexus, and Robert Montgomery, MD of Stagecoach UK Bus, will be speaking at our conference in Gateshead. The conference, ‘The North East: well connected – or out on a limb?’, will look at how well connected the North East is at a local level and to the rest of the country, by road, rail, bus and Metro. I look forward to seeing readers of Passenger Voice in Gateshead. For more info on how to register click here.
