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Bus remains a primary mode but usage is falling says study

30 January 2020
 

The Independent Transport Commission (ITC) has released a new report exploring the changing shape of the bus market in England. The research was supported through a grant from the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund and was authored by travel demand experts Dr Scott Le Vine and Professor Emeritus Peter White.

The report explores what has been happening to bus travel demand in England since the late 2000s, and investigates how the bus market has been changing in recent years. More journeys are made by bus in England than on any other mode of public transport, but recent years have seen falling usage in spite of significant population growth. 

In the longer term, the fall in bus patronage is even starker, with local journeys in Britain down more than 60% since the heyday of the bus in 1960. Nonetheless, the bus remains an important source of mobility in England, particularly for people on lower incomes. 

The ITC commissioned this study to investigate recent changes to bus demand and the overall bus market in England. The authors have used NTS data as well as the findings from other recent studies on bus demand to provide a picture of these changes.

Key trends

Bus use in England, measured by passenger journeys, has trended downwards since around 2008 outside London, and since around 2014 in the capital, with the number of bus journeys in England outside London falling by about 15% since the recession of 2008.

However, in London bus use saw substantial growth in the first decade of the century, and today patronage is still higher than in 2000. It is important to note though, that the bus market in London has different characteristics to the rest of England, with a much higher proportion of the population being regular bus users, and it operates under a differently regulatory framework. 

Specialist Transport Services Manager
Warrington Borough Council
Warrington
GRADE 13 (£58,797 - £63,735)
Specialist Transport Services Manager
Warrington Borough Council
Warrington
GRADE 13 (£58,797 - £63,735)
Specialist Transport Services Manager
Warrington Borough Council
Warrington
GRADE 13 (£58,797 - £63,735)
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