Overall satisfaction with bus services in Scotland among passengers is 86%, but punctuality and waiting times “need to improve,” Transport Focus has found in the first year of results for Scotland’s Your Bus Journey survey.
The work captures 2023 and harnesses feedback from service users in six key regions. 77% were satisfied with how long they waited for a bus, with the survey finding that timeliness of journeys was the key consideration in what makes a satisfactory journey or a great journey.
That view sits against a background of the Scottish Government having “paused” its £500 million Bus Partnership Fund, which was to provide money for priority schemes. That move – attributed to budgetary constraints – was savaged by bus industry representatives and stakeholders.
Overall satisfaction with bus services in Scotland was higher in off-peak periods than the peaks, when congestion and hold-ups are likely to be more common. Satisfaction was also higher among free pass holders than farepayers, while disabled passengers reported an 81% overall satisfaction against 89% for non-disabled people.
Despite Transport Focus highlighting punctuality and waiting times as things that need to get better in Scotland, its report found that satisfaction in that metric was well above that for value for money, which came in at 68%. Satisfaction with the driver was 89%.
For overall satisfaction the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport region scored highest, at 89%. It also led on satisfaction with value for money, at 76%.
Overall satisfaction in the South West of Scotland Transport Partnership area was 87%; in the South East of Scotland Transport Partnership, 86%; across the Tayside and Central Scotland Transport Partnership, 83%; and for both the Highlands and Island Transport Partnership and Regional Transport Partnership for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire areas, 80%.
During its first year, the Transport Focus survey for Scotland captured feedback on more than 3,000 bus journeys. The body notes that of those respondents, half view the mode as the only real means of transport available for the journey in question, and “so it is vital that services are on time, reliable, and offer good value for money.”
Satisfaction with value for money was lowest in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, with just 38% of respondents satisfied in that metric.
Speaking about the results, Senior Engagement Manager Robert Samson says: “It is good to see many passengers are satisfied with their journey. 86% overall satisfaction is a great start.
“However, there is a wide variation in scores for waiting time and value for money.” The former varies considerably by region from the highest (80%) to the lowest (69%), although specific regional figures are not given. “For an unfortunate 4%, the wait was more than 30 minutes,” adds Mr Samson.
“The Scottish Government, bus operators and local partnerships must work together so that passengers see the improvements in reliability, journey times and better value for money fare promised in the Fair Fares Review.
“We will be using the results from this survey as a benchmark for local transport partnerships and bus operators to drive improvements and attract more people onto buses.”
Full Transport Focus report on bus satisfaction in Scotland here.
