This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Bus and Coach Statistics 2001-02
25/03/2003
More Scots are taking the bus according to new figures published today.
There were 441 million passenger journeys on local bus services in Scotland in 2001-02, 1 per cent more than in the previous year. This was the fifth increase since the current records began in 1975, and the first time since then that there have been increases in three consecutive years. However, there were 23 per cent fewer passengers in 2001-02 than ten years earlier.
These statistics are contained in the Statistical Bulletin Bus and Coach Statistics 2001-02, published today by the Scottish Executive.
The Bulletin uses the results of the Department for Transport (DfT) Public Service Vehicle operator annual returns to describe the trends in bus and coach services in Scotland, and to provide some comparable statistics for Great Britain. It also provides some results from the Scottish Household Survey and from the Scottish Executive's bus passenger satisfaction survey.
Key findings from the DfT survey show:
- The number of passenger journeys on local bus services in Scotland was 441 million in 2001-02, 1 per cent more than in the previous year but 23 per cent less than ten years earlier.
- The 2001-02 total represents 87 journeys per head of population, which is 15 per cent higher than the corresponding figure for Great Britain.
- The total distance (in vehicle-kilometres) travelled by local bus services in Scotland per head of population was 60 per cent higher than in Great Britain.
- Bus fares increased faster than inflation. In real terms, fares on local bus services in Scotland rose by 24 per cent between 1991-92 and 2001-02, compared with an increase of 21 per cent in Great Britain. Over the same period, there was a rise of 5 per cent in real terms in motoring costs for Great Britain.
- Passenger receipts from all bus and coach services (local and non-local) in Scotland totalled £471 million in 2001-02. In real terms, they were £12 million less than in the previous year, but £9 million more than ten years earlier.
- In Scotland, over the past ten years, the number of single decker buses has increased by 36 per cent, the number of double deckers has reduced by 41 per cent, and staff numbers have fallen by 5 per cent. In consequence, operating costs per vehicle-kilometre in 2001-02 were 14 per cent lower in real terms than ten years earlier.
- Since 1975 Scotland has seen a 51 per cent reduction in the number of local bus passenger journeys but a 10 per cent increase in the distance (vehicle-kilometres) travelled by local bus services.
The latest results from the Scottish Household Survey, which relate to the calendar year 2001, include:
- Over five-sixths of households were within 6 minutes walk of a bus stop. However, about 24 per cent in "remote" rural areas, and about 17 per cent in "accessible" rural areas, had no bus service or were at least 14 minutes walk away from one.
- 12 per cent of commuters said that they usually travelled to work by bus.
- The main reasons given by car and van commuters for not using public transport to travel to work included "inconvenient", "use my own car", "takes too long", "no direct route" and "lack of service".
- The main reasons given by adults for not using buses more often included "use my own car", "inconvenient", "lack of service", "no need" and "no direct route".
- 21 per cent of adults said that they would feel "very safe", and 44% "fairly safe", when travelling by bus in the evening. However, 6% would feel "not safe at all" and 12% "not particularly safe".
- About 9-12 per cent of journeys made by adults each day were by bus, except on Sundays when it was only 3 per cent. The percentage was higher for women (12 per cent) than it was for men (8 per cent); and was higher for those aged 16-19 and 70+ (17-23 per cent) than for 30-49 year olds (6-7 per cent). The self-employed, people in professional, managerial and technical occupations, adults living in households with an annual net income of over £30,000, and adults living in "small towns" and "rural" areas, all made only 2-5 per cent of their journeys by bus.
In 2002, the Scottish Executive's Bus Passenger Satisfaction Survey found that the satisfaction rating for overall service was 84. This means that, on average, people were slightly better than "satisfied" with the overall quality of service of a recent bus journey.
Bus and Coach Statistics 2001-02 costs £2, and may be purchased from the Stationery Bookshop, 71 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9AZ.
This is a National Statistics publication. It has been produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice and Release Practice Protocol.
These statistics undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.
The Scottish Household Survey is funded by the Scottish Executive, and carried out on its behalf by contractors. The SHS's principal purpose is to collect information in its main areas of transport, social inclusion and (until 2002) local government, but other topics are covered, including household composition, housing and amenities, overcrowding and sharing in housing, employment and unemployment, income, assets and savings, credit and debt, health, disabilities and care, and other topics. The results are published in the SHS annual reports, in several (mainly annual) transport statistics bulletins, and in various other Scottish Executive publications.
The Scottish Executive's bus passenger satisfaction survey is funded by the Executive and carried out on its behalf by contractors. The results are published by the Executive in its series of Research Findings.