Transport User Voice April 2024 – Bus punctuality needs improvement
28 March 2024
Landmark survey reveals gulf in satisfaction
Bus passengers across England have had their say – with 80 per cent saying they were satisfied with their latest journey.
Our new landmark survey Your Bus Journey was published in March, showing passenger satisfaction varies widely across England.
The gap is clear, with the most satisfied passengers being in East Riding of Yorkshire and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole – where 90 per cent were satisfied overall with their journey. This contrasts with 73 per cent of passengers in West Yorkshire who were the least satisfied.
Building on over a decade of the previous Bus Passenger Survey (2009 to 2019) and working across the industry, the survey gathered passenger feedback on more than 35,000 journeys in England in in its first year.
Researchers now talk to passengers at bus stops and on-board buses, encouraging them to take part in the survey.
Results showed significant variation for waiting times and bus punctuality scores, with congestion in peak travel periods a challenge for operators even in the better scoring areas.
Nearly half of passengers surveyed in Transport Focus’s survey (48 per cent) say that the bus was the only real means of transport available to make that journey, which means it’s vital that services are on time, reliable and offer good value for money.
Against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis, 67 per cent of fare paying passengers say they are satisfied with value for money, and the introduction of the £2 single fare cap and other ticket deals appear to have helped this figure. Those passengers in rural areas who are taking longer distance journeys often benefiting the most form the single fare cap. Where value for money ratings are lower, this may be attributed to less reliable journeys or tickets and passes used by frequent travellers that have increased in price in the past year.
Next steps
It is encouraging to see that eight in 10 passengers are satisfied with their journey but the wide variation in scores show that some passengers are being let down. We know that congestion continues to be a major issue in some areas.
We’ll be working with Government, bus operators and local authorities to drive improvements so that passengers see better reliability, journey times and increased value for money promised in the national bus strategy.
Transport Focus will use the results of the survey as a key metric to monitor and evaluate Bus Service Improvement Plans. We will work with transport authorities and bus operators to fully understand the results and focus on plans to improve the passenger experience and attract new passengers onto the bus.
Overall journey satisfaction by area
Rank | Area | Satisfied | Area type |
1 | East Riding of Yorkshire | 90% | Rural |
2 | Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole | 90% | Urban other |
3 | Greater Nottingham | 87% | Urban other |
4 | Stoke-on-Trent | 85% | Urban other |
5 | Nottinghamshire | 85% | Semi-rural |
6 | Suffolk | 85% | Rural |
7 | Cornwall | 85% | Rural |
8 | Thurrock | 84% | Urban other |
9 | City of York | 84% | Urban other |
10 | Derbyshire | 83% | Semi-rural |
11 | Northumberland | 83% | Rural |
12 | Portsmouth | 83% | Urban other |
13 | Tyne & Wear | 83% | Urban metropolitan |
14 | Cheshire East | 83% | Semi-rural |
15 | Liverpool City Region | 83% | Urban metropolitan |
16 | North East Lincolnshire | 83% | Urban other |
17 | Surrey | 83% | Urban other |
18 | Leicester City | 82% | Urban other |
19 | Brighton and Hove | 82% | Urban other |
20 | Cheshire West & Chester | 81% | Semi-rural |
21 | Norfolk | 81% | Rural |
22 | West Sussex | 81% | Urban other |
23 | South Yorkshire | 81% | Urban metropolitan |
24 | Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen | 80% | Urban other |
25 | Luton | 80% | Urban other |
26 | East Sussex | 79% | Semi-rural |
27 | Greater Manchester | 79% | Urban metropolitan |
28 | Oxfordshire | 78% | Rural |
29 | West of England and North Somerset | 77% | Urban other |
30 | Warrington | 76% | Urban other |
31 | Tees Valley | 76% | Urban other |
32 | West Midlands | 76% | Urban metropolitan |
33 | Durham | 75% | Rural |
34 | West Yorkshire | 73% | Urban metropolitan |
Overall journey satisfaction by operator
Rank | Operator name | Satisfied | Operating group |
14 | Reading Buses* | 86% | Non-major group |
*Reading Buses took part in the survey across its network and is not part of any particular area (although routes will generally pass through Reading Borough). Their results have been included in the operator league table, which can be found on page 28 of the summary report.
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