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SCOTTISH TRANSPORT STATISTICS No 23: 2004 Edition

Chapter 2 BUS AND COACH TRAVEL

1. Introduction

1.1 This chapter provides information about 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 The main change in this edition is the inclusion of two new tables of results from the Scottish Household Survey:

• Table 2.7 — walking time to the nearest bus stop, and frequency of service;
• Table 2.8 — views on local bus services of those who used them in the past month.

2. Main Points

2.1 The number of buses and coaches in 2002-03 decreased by 4% from the previous year, but the overall total was 4% higher than in 1992-93. Over the period since 1992-93, there has been a substantial increase in the number of single decker buses: in 2002-03 there were 7,500 compared to 6,200 in 1992-93. In contrast, the number of double deckers fell from 2,700 in 1992-93 to 1,800 in 2002-03. (Table 2.1)

2.2 In 2002-03 there were 445 million passenger journeys (boardings) on local bus services, which was 1% more than the previous year but 16% less than in 1992-93. The increase in 2002-03 was only the sixth increase since the current records began in 1975, and the first time since then that there have been increases in four consecutive years. (Table 2.2)

2.3 The distance travelled by local bus services in 2002-03 (375 million vehicle kilometres) was 1% more than the previous year, and 8% more than in 1992-93. The distance travelled by other (non-local) bus services decreased in 2002-03, by 4% from the previous year's figure, to 141 million vehicle-kilometres, 10% less than in 1992-93. (Table 2.3)

2.4 There were 17,800 staff employed by bus and coach operators in 2002-03, 4% less than the previous year and 3% fewer than in 1992-93. (Table 2.4)

2.5 The total of bus passenger receipts, from local and other services, in 2002-03 was £495 million, in real terms a rise of £14 million (3%) from the previous year and £45 million (10%) more than in 1992-93. Passenger receipts on local bus services increased by 8% in real terms over the previous year while other (non-local) services decreased by 8% in real terms over the previous year. (Table 2.5)

2.6 In real terms local bus fares in 2002-03 fell very slightly over the previous year for Scotland and increased by 1% for Great Britain as a whole. Since 1992-93 fares have increased, in current price terms, by 52% in both Scotland and GB; over the same period the Retail Prices Index rose by 28%. Therefore, local bus fares in Scotland have risen by about 19% in real terms over the past ten years. (Table 2.6)

2.7 In the Scottish Household Survey interviews conducted in 2003, about 86% of households said that they were within 6 minutes walk of a bus stop. About 4% of householders said that they had no bus service or were at least 14 minutes walk away from the nearest bus stop (or place where one could get on a bus). However, about 28% of householders in "remote" rural areas, and around 15% 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 2003, 71% of adults who had used a local bus service within the previous month agreed with the statement that the buses run on time. 74% agreed that the buses ran when they were needed, 76% found them comfortable, 86% felt safe and secure on the bus, 91% found the range and price of tickets easy to understand, and 70% 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 kilometres 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 may be estimated by operators.

3.4 Vehicle kilometres: estimates include some categories of empty running of buses (eg 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 charges 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.

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 (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: Local authorities and Passenger Transport Authorities are able to provide concessionary fare schemes for groups such as elderly people and disabled people and children. Authorities reimburse operators for revenue lost as a result of their participation in the schemes, after taking into account income from the extra travel generated. The reimbursement by authorities should be seen as a subsidy to the passenger, not to the operator. 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 make to the Department for Transport (DfT).

4.1.2 With effect from the 1997-98 survey, the sample includes all operators who are licensed to run 30 or more vehicles, plus random samples of smaller operators (selected with probabilities depending upon their numbers of vehicles - e.g. 5% of those with one vehicle, 20% of those with five vehicles, 40% of those with 10-14 vehicles). The figures for each smaller operator are "grossed-up" using a grossing-up factor which is the inverse of the achieved sampling fraction. For example, as roughly 5% of the smallest operators respond to the survey, the grossing-up factor for them will be about 20. (While the aim may be to sample 1-in-20 of the smallest operators, the survey is unlikely to obtain returns from exactly 1 in 20 of them: for example, if there were 250 such operators, and 12 of them were chosen for the survey and made returns, the grossing-up factor would be 250 divided by 12, which is about 20.8)

4.1.3 For Scottish operators, the method of selecting the sample is based purely upon the size of the operator’s fleet (in terms of the number of licence discs) and takes no account of where in Scotland the operator is based. In cases where the sample appeared to contain too few (or too many) operators in a particular size-band in Scotland as a whole, DfT changed the composition of the sample, adding (or removing) operators in that size - band who are based in Scotland.

4.1.4 The figures for Scotland for non-local services are derived from the returns made by the operators who are based in Scotland, and so will include services into England which are run by operators based in Scotland, and will exclude services into Scotland which are run by operators based in England. (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.)

4.2 Scottish Household Survey

4.2.1 Information about the Scottish Household Survey is given in Chapter 12.

5. Further Information

5.1 The Scottish Executive 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 Executive Transport Statistics Publications" which also indicates how it can be found on the Scottish Executive Website.

5.2 DfT’s "Focus on Public Transport" volume and its "Bulletin of Public Transport Statistics" 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 Paul O’Hara 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 Frank Dixon of the Scottish Executive Transport Statistics branch (tel: 0131 244 7254).

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