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CHAPTER 2 BUS AND COACH TRAVEL
Figure 2.1 Vehicle stock by type of vehicle
Figure 2.2 Passenger journeys (boardings) and vehicle-kilometres
1. Introduction
1.1 This chapter provides information on bus and coach travel, such as the numbers of passenger journeys and vehicle-kilometres, passenger receipts and local bus fare indices, the numbers of vehicles of various types and the numbers of staff employed.
1.2 Estimates of passenger numbers, receipts and fares are based on a survey by the DfT and are therefore subject to sampling error. See Section 4.1.
2. Main Points
Vehicles & Passengers
2.1 The number of buses and coaches in 2007-08 increased by 11% from the previous year, and this was 13% higher than in 1997-98. Over the period since 1997-98, there has been a substantial increase in the number of single decker buses: in 2007-08 there were 8,500 compared to 7,000 in 1997-98. In contrast, the number of double deckers fell from 2,100 in 1997-98 to 1,700 in 2007-08. ( Table 2.1)
2.2 In 2007-08 there were 513 million passenger journeys (boardings) on local bus services, 1% more than the previous year and 15% more than 1997-98. Apart from a slight fall in 2005-06 this has grown every year since 1999-00. ( Table 2.2)
2.3 The distance travelled by local bus services in 2007-08 (399 million vehicle kms) was 6% higher than the previous year and 8% more than in 1997-98. After three consecutive years of decreases, the distance travelled by other (non-local) bus services increased in 2007-08, by 28% on the previous year, to 157 million vehicle-kms, 12% less than in 1997-98. ( Table 2.3)
2.4 There were 20,400 staff employed by bus and coach operators in 2007-08, 16% more than the previous year and 20% more than 1997-98. ( Table 2.4)
Receipts & fares
2.5 Bus passenger receipts from local services, in 2006-07 amounted to £424 million. This was £39 million more than 2005-06 and in real terms it was an increase of £29 million (7%). In real terms it was also 14% higher than 1996-97. ( Table 2.5)
2.6 In real terms DfT survey data show a slight decrease in local bus fares in 2007-08 for Scotland but an 1% increase for Great Britain as a whole - but this may be due to an unusually high 2006-07 estimate. Since 1997-98 fares have increased, in current price terms, by 34% in Scotland and 50% in GB; over the same period the Retail Prices Index rose by 31%. Therefore, local bus fares in Scotland have risen by about 2% in real terms over the past ten years. Table 11.10 shows the bus fare RPI which estimates a higher rise in fares. ( Table 2.6)
Scottish Household Survey
2.7 The 2007 Scottish Household Survey shows 85% of households are within 6 minutes walk of a bus stop. About 5% said that they had no bus service or were at least 14 minutes walk away from the nearest bus stop. However, about 27% of householders in remote rural areas, and around 18% of those in accessible rural areas, said that they had no bus service or were at least 14 minutes walk away from one. ( Table 2.7)
2.8 In 2007, 73% of adults who had used a local bus service within the previous month agreed with the statement that the buses run on time. 72% agreed that the buses ran when they were needed, 75% found them comfortable, 81% felt safe and secure on the bus, 87% found the range and price of tickets easy to understand, and 64% of bus users felt that bus fares were good value. ( Table 2.8)
3. Notes and Definitions
3.1 Local bus service: one which is available to the general public, where passengers pay separate fares and travel a radial distance no greater than 15 miles (24 kms) from the point of boarding.
3.2 Other services: include contract, private hire, express journeys, excursions and tours which are not registered as local services.
3.3 Passenger journeys (boardings): the statistics are compiled on the basis that each boarding of a vehicle counts as one passenger journey. Therefore, each trip made by a passenger on one vehicle on one route counts as a separate journey. Return tickets therefore count as two passenger journeys. The numbers of passenger journeys using season tickets or travel passes are largely based on button presses by the driver and DfT now include adjustments in the published estimates to allow for driver under-counting (see paragraph 4.1.5 below).
3.4 Vehicle kilometres: estimates include some categories of empty running of buses (e.g. between garage and terminus) but exclude driver instruction and vehicle testing.
3.5 Local bus fare indices: Information about the size of each fares change is supplied by a panel of large operators. Indices are obtained by averaging the reported changes using weights based on receipts from passengers (excluding concessionary fare reimbursement from local authorities). In theory, therefore, the index measures the change in the average charge to the fare-paying passenger. The implementation of free concessionary fares is, though, included once, in the quarter within which it was introduced.
3.6 Commercial services: are those run without direct financial support from a local transport authority. They are still eligible for central Government subsidy in the form of the Bus Service Operators Grant ( BSOG) (formerly known as the fuel duty rebate) and (where applicable) for concessionary fare reimbursement from local transport authorities.
3.7 Subsidised services: are those considered socially necessary and run under contract to local transport authorities with some direct subsidy. They include a few services subsidised without competitive tendering, under Section 91 of the Transport Act 1985 ('de minimis' arrangements).
3.8 Concessionary fare reimbursement: A National Concessionary Travel schemes for groups such as elderly people and disabled people was rolled out in early 2006. Prior to that local authorities ran their own schemes. Bus perators are reimbursed for revenue lost as a result of their participation in the schemes, after taking into account a portion of the income from the extra travel generated, i.e. it is supposed to be profit-neutral. Journeys made under these schemes can be found in Table 12.31. These schemes should not be confused with the reductions offered to children, for example, by many operators on commercial grounds.
3.9 Staff employed: Platform staff comprise drivers, conductors and any other on-vehicle staff; maintenance staff include all employees engaged on cleaning, repair, service or maintenance of vehicles, while other staff include administrative staff. There may be some duplication of functions, particularly amongst the smaller operators.
3.10 Walking time to nearest bus stop: the Scottish Household Survey ( SHS) interviewer asks how long it would take him/her to walk to the nearest bus stop (or place where one could get a bus).
3.11 Frequency of bus service: the SHS interviewer asks about the frequency of service at the nearest bus stop (or place one could get on a bus). If the householder says that the frequency of service varies, the interviewer asks for the week-day off-peak frequency.
3.12 SHS urban/rural classification: notes on this appear in Chapter 12.
4. Sources
4.1 The DfT survey of Public Service Vehicle Operators
4.1.1 The basis for most of the statistics in this chapter is the annual returns which a sample of Public Service Vehicle operators makes to the Department for Transport (DfT).
4.1.2 With effect from the 2003-04 survey, the sample includes all operators who are licensed to run 21 or more vehicles, plus a random sample of smaller operators selected with a probability depending upon the number of their vehicles and whether or not they provide local bus services. Because there is more interest in locally-registered service operators, local operators are sampled with a greater probability of selection having been identified as such from the list of operators who receive BSOG. Sampling for both local and other operators is stratified and based upon the size of the operator's fleet (in terms of the number of licence discs) and geographical location identified by the first two letters of the postcode for the operator's address.
4.1.3 Proxy data are generated for all local operators, but for which data are missing either because they were not sampled or because they did not respond. These will be based either on previous returns from the operator or from the data of comparable operators in the same type of area. The figures for the other smaller operators are grossed-up using a grossing-up factor which is the inverse of the achieved sampling fraction for each size-group and each type of area (conurbation, large urban, etc.).
4.1.4 The figures for Scotland are primarily based on returns for operators with an address in Scotland, even though some operators may do work in England and vice versa. However, important information relating to local operators (mainly passenger boardings, vehicle kilometres and passenger receipts) are obtained at local authority level and so these estimates will exclude data relating to England, even though other variables such as staff numbers are all allocated to just one of its local authorities - the one with the highest number of passenger boardings. ( NB: a large group, such as Stagecoach, is not treated as a single operator: there will be a separate statistical return for each of its subsidiary companies.)
4.1.5 In September 2006, DfT revised the passenger numbers for each year from 1985/86 onwards in order to adjust for driver under-recording of the numbers of passengers who did not pay cash (e.g. those using season tickets, concessionary fare passes, return halves of tickets etc). A further survey showed that the allowance was not affected by the introduction of free concessionary fares.
4.2 Scottish Household Survey
4.2.1 Information about the Scottish Household Survey is given in Chapter 12.
5. Further Information
5.1 The Scottish Government statistical bulletin Bus and Coach Statistics contains further information on Scottish bus and coach services, including more detailed comparisons with Great Britain and more detailed analyses of the Scottish Household Survey's questions on bus-related topics. More details of this publication are given under Scottish Government Transport Statistics Publications which also indicates how it can be found on the Scottish Government Website.
5.2 DfT's Focus on Public Transport volume and its Public Transport Statistics Bulletin include some more detailed analyses of GB bus and coach statistics.
5.3 Enquiries regarding the statistics in Tables 2.1 to 2.6 should be made to Christopher Mottau of the Department for Transport (Tel: 0207 944 3076).
5.4 Enquiries regarding the Scottish Household Survey figures in Tables 2.7 and 2.8 should be made to Andrew Knight of the Scottish Government Transport Statistics branch (tel: 0131 244 7256).
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