Better Transport

The fact is, buses are important.

Lots of people use buses

Two-thirds of public transport journeys are made by bus. [Public Transport Statistics Bulletin GB: 2009 Edition (PDF)]

4.8 billion journeys were made by bus and light rail in England in 2008/9. [Public Transport Statistics Bulletin GB: 2009 Edition (PDF)]

Local bus is the most frequently used mode of public transport, with over a quarter (28%) of respondents in 2008 saying they use a bus at least once a week and a further 13% saying they use a bus at least once a month. [National Travel Survey 2008 (pdf)]

In 2008, 85% of households in Great Britain were within a six-minute walk of a bus stop and most of the remainder (12%) lived within 13 minutes. [National Travel Survey 2008 (pdf)]

On average, 25% of households in the UK don't have access to a car. Even in rural areas, 10% of households do not have access to a car, while in metropolitan built-up areas, the figure is 32% and in London it's 43%. [National Travel Survey 2008 (pdf)]

Younger people use buses

15% of trips made by 17-20 year olds are made by bus. [National Travel Survey 2008 (pdf)]

For secondary school pupils, half of all trips of 2-5 miles in length and 68% of trips over 5 miles are made by bus. [National Travel Survey 2008 (pdf)]

Older people use buses

The take-up rate for free bus travel passes was 73% in 2008. [National Travel Survey 2008 (pdf)]

The proportion of people aged 60 and over who said they use a local bus at least once a week increased from 28 per cent in 2005 to 35 per cent in 2008. [National Travel Survey 2008 (pdf)]

Buses can reduce traffic

In 2008, 60% of car journeys had just one person in them. [National Travel Survey 2008 (pdf)]

Our examples show more people will use buses when improvements are made.

Buses help the local economy

Sustrans research (pdf) shows that retailers underestimate how many bus users and pedestrians use their shops, and overestimate the number of car drivers.