Bus and light rail statistics Great Britain: October-December 2007

This bulletin presents the latest quarterly data on passenger satisfaction, bus reliability and bus and light rail patronage and concessionary fare patronage. The key points, in seasonally-adjusted terms unless otherwise noted, are as follows.

• Bus and light rail patronage has fallen slightly in England as a whole. The index number for these journeys in the Autumn (October to December) quarter of 2007 at 119.2. This was down from the index number of 119.5 in the previous quarter. 
• The index number for bus and light rail passenger journeys in London fell from 158.7 to 157.4. Patronage for the Metropolitan areas outside London also fell slightly. Patronage for Non-Metropolitan areas continue to rise.
• Following the 2004 spending review, the Department's PSA on local public transport has been restated as follows:- By 2010, increase the use of public transport (bus and light rail) by more than 12 per cent in England compared with 2000 levels, with growth in every region.
• In Autumn 2007, the average score for overall satisfaction given by passengers for the bus journey just completed in England was 82 out of 100, the same as the previous quarter. Metropolitan areas recorded a score of 83, also unchanged from the previous quarter. The score in London increased by one point to 80. In Non-Metropolitan areas, the score fell by two points to 83.
• Satisfaction with reliability in England in the latest quarter rose by one point to 70 out of 100. In Metropolitan areas and London, the rating increased by one point from the Spring quarter to 66 and 73 points respectively. In Non-Metropolitan areas, the score fell by two points to 83.
• Satisfaction with bus stop information in England was up by one point to 72 out of 100. The ratings fell by two points in Metropolitan areas and rose by three points in Non-Metropolitan areas, bringing both to 70 points. In London, this rating fell by one point to 75. These values relate to a target agreed with the bus industry, under which operators in England will seek to achieve year-on-year improvement in information at bus stops, based on DfT national passenger satisfaction survey ratings during the period 2000 to 2010.
• The proportion of scheduled mileage run excluding losses outside the operators' control in England was 99.1 per cent, an increase of 0.1 on the last quarter. The department has agreed a target with the bus industry to run 99.5 per cent of scheduled route mileage, except where this is affected by factors beyond their control.
• Passengers using government funded free concessionary bus passes accounted for 26 per cent of all local bus journeys made in England excluding London in 2006/07. In London, this figure was 13 per cent.
• For the ONS Omnibus survey, the proportion of household residents who were satisified with their local bus service was 63 per cent in October 2007, while 26 per cent were dissatisfied. 

Notes

Statistics Bulletin (08)08 Bus and Light Rail Statistics GB: October to December 2007 is available from DfT, ST1, Zone 3/09, Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DR (Tel: 020 7944 4139).

Publication details

Published on 13 March 2008 by Transport Statistics

The next bulletin in this series will be published on Thursday 19 June 2008.

Email: bus.statistics@dft.gsi.gov.uk for queries concerning this publication.

For information about release of this product see National Statistics Online.