Bus journeys are still almost a third below pre-pandemic levels across Britain – and some areas have seen even sharper drops in demand. Passengers made around 776.2 million journeys on local bus services in the three months to December, the latest Department for Transport (DfT) figures show.
That was up by more than half from 510.2 million during the same three months of 2020, when lockdowns or other Covid-related restrictions were still in place. However, it was still far short of the 1.1 billion made towards the end of 2019, which itself followed a gradual decline from 1.3 billion during the same period of 2011.
Wales saw the number of passenger journeys drop from 22.6 million in the last three months of 2019 to 12.1 million in the latest period. That’s a reduction of 46% – the largest proportionally of Britain’s three nations – and was followed by Scotland, where the figure fell by 37% from 88.2 million to 55.2 million.
England saw a reduction of 30% overall, from 1.0 billion to 708.9 million, although the decline was greater (35%) in non-urban areas of the country. It is not clear from the figures how much of the decline is down to decreasing demand and how much is a reflection of reduced services.
But recent research by the Campaign for Better Transport suggests that more than a quarter of bus services in England alone have been lost in the last 10 years. The DfT recently announced funding worth £1.1 billion for 31 areas across England to improve their bus services.
However, many places that applied for funding missed out, while some of those that did secure cash got less than they asked for. Announcing the funding, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it would drive down fares at a time of stretched household finances and help connect communities.
But Paul Tuohy, chief executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said improving buses in a “minority” of places did not live up to the Government’s promises. He said: “Rather than this fragmented, competitive way of funding local buses we want to see more of a focus on revenue funding to ensure every community gets the bus service it needs and deserves.”
Last year, the Government revealed a £3 billion plan to transform England’s bus network, of which it is thought around £2.4 billion has been announced so far. The DfT figures also show that local bus fares rose by an average of 0.9% across Britain in the year to December 2021.
That was lower than the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation (5.4%), which gauges the overall rise in the cost of living across the economy. But looking over the last decade, fares rose by around 30% across Britain, while the figure was slightly higher in Scotland (34%) and Wales (31%), and just below that in England (29%).
Over the same period, CPI inflation rose by 21%, meaning bus fares have risen in real terms since 2011 across all three nations overall.
London saw bus fares rise by 20% over the last 10 years, which means increases in the city were more or less in line with inflation.
