Transport Focus has highlighted that more work is required on bus punctuality despite largely positive wider results across its Your Bus Journey passenger survey for England in 2023.
In headline figures from the report, 80% of passengers across the areas surveyed said that they were satisfied with their bus journey, including 44% who were very satisfied. Only 8% were dissatisfied.
76% of respondents said they were satisfied with the bus stop and 81% were satisfied with the journey time. 85% were satisfied with the bus driver, with 60% very satisfied in the latter metric.
However, punctuality and value for money considerations returned lower scores. 68% of those questioned were satisfied with waiting times, and 70% were satisfied with punctuality. 67% were satisfied with value for money for farepayers.
Across individual areas, satisfaction scores varied significantly, and none more so than in the value for money consideration. There, satisfaction by area extended from 87% (in East Riding of Yorkshire) to 55% (in Brighton and Hove, and West of England and North Somerset).
In carrying out the survey, Transport Focus spoke to passengers about experiences on over 35,000 bus journeys. That captured 34 local transport authority (LTA) areas in England outside London and the Reading Buses network. The survey also covered six regional partnerships in Scotland, from where results will be published separately.
In an indication that congestion is a growing issue for bus services, overall satisfaction was lower on journeys made during peak periods than off-peak. Satisfaction was lowest among the 16-25 age group, and highest among those aged 65 and over. Disabled people were less satisfied than non-disabled users, and free pass holder were more so than farepayers.
Speaking about the results, Transport Focus Director David Sidebottom says: “It is good to see how many passengers are satisfied with their journey. However, wide variation in scores shows that some passengers are being let down.
“As congestion continues to bite, government, bus operators and local authorities must work together so that passengers see the improvements in reliability, journey times and better value for money fares promised in the National Bus Strategy [for England].
“We will be using the results from this survey as a benchmark for LTAs and bus operators to drive improvements and attract more people onto buses.”
The results break satisfaction levels down geographically and by operator. In terms of overall satisfaction by area, East Riding of Yorkshire and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole were top, with 90% of passengers in those areas reporting that they were satisfied.
Greater Nottingham was in third on 87%, but perhaps surprisingly in fourth place was Stoke-on-Trent on 85%. Nottinghamshire completed the top five areas for overall satisfaction. West Yorkshire was lowest on 73%.
In operator league tables for overall satisfaction, Stagecoach in Portsmouth came top, with 91% of passengers satisfied. In second was Go South Coast subsidiary Morebus, while Nottingham City Transport was in third. East Yorkshire Buses and Centrebus completed the top five.
East Yorkshire Buses also led on satisfaction with value for money, while Trentbarton was clear winner in satisfaction with the bus driver.
Transport Focus says it will use the survey results to work with the government, LTAs and operators to push for improvements and highlight good practice.
It will also share case studies and examples of what works well from high-performing areas, while results collated in 2024 will track changes in passenger satisfaction, identify trends, and link those to Bus Service Improvement Plan funding and other interventions.
Full Your Bus Journey survey report here.
