Transport User Voice December 2024 – What makes a great bus journey?

28 November 2024

Key driver analysis launched

With more than 1.6 billion bus journeys taken across England in 2023, what makes a great bus journey? 

Our recently published report, Making great bus journeys, looks behind the data explaining why the key factors matter to passengers. The report also puts a spotlight on the transport authorities and operators that are delivering high levels of satisfaction. This helps others begin to understand what ‘better‘ looks like in the push to make ‘buses better’.  

Transport Focus has analysed feedback from passengers on more than 35,000 journeys across England. This allows us to provide detailed data for each of the local transport authority areas and bus operators in the survey to deliver services in a way that suits the needs of their passengers. 

Timeliness is considered three times more important than any other factor to passengers, while having a good experience while waiting for buses, with accurate, ideally real-time information, to hand can also improve the passenger experience. 

Transport Focus is calling for the following recommendations to ensure passengers can continue to rely on buses in their day-to-day life:  

• enhanced partnership schemes and franchising plans to increase frequency and reliability 

• bus operators to review operational and ticketing arrangements to minimise cancellations 

• Local Authorities to take more co-ordinated action to control roadworks 

• tackle poor punctuality by using various data sources 

• transport authorities to be supported with resources and guidance to improve capacity 

• operators to more effectively announce impact of delays using audio-visual equipment 

• industry representative bodies to knowledge share on key issues such as retention of drivers 

• ensure future improvements are made with accessibility at the heart of it.

The Your Bus Journey survey, which is now in its second year, has expanded to include both Scotland and Wales and new results will be published in March 2025. 

Against the backdrop of the promise from the newly elected Government to introduce bus reform, Transport Focus held an event in Parliament to present the survey data to MPs. We were also joined by stakeholders from bus operators, trade bodies and the Department for Transport. 

We were able to share our data to help guests understand the bus passengers’ experience, before hearing from Ruth Cadbury MP, Chair of the Transport Select Committee. The Portsmouth Bus Partnership also shared their successes as a positive case study before answering questions to close out the event.  

The event’s host, Jade Botterill MP (Ossett and Denby Dale), speaking on the importance of public transport for her constituency:

“Rural communities like mine deserve public transport that they can rely on. However, too many people in my community, especially young people and the elderly, are left isolated by sporadic, unreliable services.”

“When I spoke to bus companies to demand better, Transport Focus’ data was very useful in putting numbers to the lived experiences of my community. Their work helps ensure public transport works for its users.”

Transport Focus has shared our data with all MPs, and we hope to see more authority areas covered in the future as we strive towards greater bus journeys for all. 

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