Transport User Voice September 2024 – Bus punctuality needs improvement

04 September 2024

Scottish passengers have their say 

Bus passengers across Scotland have spoken – with 86 per cent saying they were satisfied with their last journey, in a new Transport Focus survey. 

But punctuality and waiting times need to improve, say passengers, with only 77 per cent happy with how long they waited for a bus. The results, from the first year of Scotland’s new Your Bus Journey  survey, cover feedback from passengers in six key regions and bus operators.  

Passengers in Strathclyde were the most satisfied overall with their journey at 89 per cent. At the other end of the scale, passengers in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire were the least satisfied, with 80 per cent. 

In its first year, the survey has gathered passenger feedback on more than 3000 journeys in Scotland. The survey looks at how satisfied passengers are with their most recent journey and a range of other key factors such as their experience on board the bus, at the bus stop, with the bus driver and whether they think the journey provided good value for money. 

Nearly half of passengers surveyed say that the bus was the only real means of transport available to make that journey, so it’s vital that services are on time, reliable and offer good value for money. 

Overall, 68 per cent of fare payers say they are satisfied with value for money, including 28 per cent very satisfied. But this is not the whole picture. The results for value for money differ considerably across the six regions surveyed, ranging from 38 per cent in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, to 76 per cent satisfied in Strathclyde. 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. 

It is encouraging to see that so many passengers are satisfied with their journey, but with such variation in scores for waiting time and value for money from region to region – there are clearly improvements to be made.  

We urge the Scottish Government, bus operators and local partnerships to work together so that passengers see the improvements in reliability, journey times and better value for money fares promised in the ‘Fair Fares Review’. We will also be using the results from this survey as a benchmark for local transport partnerships and bus operators to drive improvements, and to attract more people onto the bus.  

Overall journey satisfaction by area 

Rank	Regional transport partnership	Satisfied
1	Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT)	89%
2	South West of Scotland Transport Partnership (SWesTrans)	87%
3	South East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SESTran)	86%
4	Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS)	83%
5	Tayside and Central Scotland Transport Partnership (TaCTran)	80%
6	Regional Transport Partnership for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire (Nestrans)	80%

 Overall satisfaction with value for money by area 

Rank	Regional transport partnership	Satisfied
1	Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT)	76%
2	South West of Scotland Transport Partnership (SWesTrans)	71%
3	South East of Scotland Transport Partnership (SESTran)	68%
4	Tayside and Central Scotland Transport Partnership (TaCTran)	54%
5	Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS)	54%
6	Regional Transport Partnership for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire (Nestrans)	38%

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