First West of England has reported a 15% year-on-year increase in patronage across its network for 2023.
The operator, which runs services in Bristol, Bath, Weston-super-Mare, Wells and surrounding towns and village, says nearly 53 million passengers boarded this year – compared to just over 46 million in 2022.
The rise is below the overall 20% increase seen for bus journeys made in Great Britain, according to the Department for Transport statistics published last month, although this was for the year to March 2023.
First West of England also claims that 83% of its services ran to time this year versus 78% for last year and that 98% of planned bus trips took place in full. The number of journeys cut short or cancelled dropped by 60% compared to 2022.
It added nearly 80,000 miles to its bus network this year.
Doug Claringbold, Managing Director for First West of England, says: “The past three years have been a tough time for the bus industry. Not only did we – like the rest of the world – have to contend with COVID, but we’ve also faced the challenge of encouraging people back onto buses in a world where people’s lives and travelling habits have dramatically changed.
“We have also faced driver shortages, continuing traffic congestion, and ongoing, significant increases in costs.
“But, despite all of this, our customer numbers are growing, and I’m pleased that the hard work we’ve put into reviewing our network and amending timetables has not only enabled us to increase the number of buses but also reduce the number of journeys we’ve had to cancel or reduce as well as improving our punctuality.
“I’m confident that the great work our teams are doing to provide the best possible services will continue, and with our use of the latest cutting-edge technology to plan our network, we’ll be able to make even more improvements to our bus services.
“With well over a million passengers travelling on our services every week, we recognise we don’t always get it right, but I hope the figures we’ve released today show that we are moving in the right direction, and it will give current and future passengers the confidence to keep using our buses or give the bus a try.”
