A major new passenger survey has revealed that bus passengers around England receive a wide variation in service, with many feeling “let down”. The survey, conducted by passenger watchdog Transport Focus, asked people to rate 35,000 bus journeys across 34 local authorities last year. While 80% of respondents were satisfied with their trips overall, some areas scored much lower.
The East Riding of Yorkshire and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole came top with 90% satisfaction, while passengers who were least satisfied with their buses were in West Yorkshire, where service was rated at 73%. Other low scoring areas include Tees Valley, Durham and the West Midlands. The results provide a benchmark study of passengers’ satisfaction, with marks given for punctuality, journey times, the bus driver, and value for money and was collated from 34 local authority areas in England, excluding London.
Many of those surveyed gave low scores for punctuality and waiting times. Charity Bus Users UK said cuts to services had left many without bus access. The situation has been exacerbated by the pandemic’s effect on bus operators and falling numbers of passengers. The Government has invested billions into the industry, and in 2020 Boris Johnson announced bus services across the country would be transformed with simpler fares, new routes, and cleaner buses. Last year, the National Bus Strategy was launched with a billion pounds of funding allocated.
The bus satisfaction survey by Transport Focus targets a captive audience: those lucky enough to be passengers on a bus. However, the situation is increasingly different across the country due to falling passenger numbers and revenues since the pandemic. As congestion continues to cause issues, the 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 as promised in the National Bus Strategy
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