Buses

DfT statistics on the local bus sector in Great Britain present information on passenger journeys, vehicle miles, levels of revenue, costs and government support, the vehicle fleet, staff employed and other indicators including reliability and punctuality.

The majority of these statistics are updated annually, with information on passenger journeys and fares available quarterly.

20 September 2012: Details of changes to timing and content of these statistics can be found below.

Latest Bus Statistics

There were an estimated 5.2 billion bus passenger journeys in Great Britain in 2011/12 – around two-thirds of all public transport journeys.
Of these 4.6 billion journeys were in England, of which half were in London.
Provisionally, bus passenger journeys in England increased slightly between 2010/11 and 2011/12, with a 0.6 per cent increase over this period.

Browse statistical releases within this series

Bus statistical releases

Browse individual statistical tables within this series

Bus statistical tables

Index sheet of all the bus statistical tables (XLS – 46 KB)

Tables within the bus statistics series

Tables containing data on buses and coaches within other DfT series:

Notes and guidance

Most of the statistics in this series are derived from the Department’s main annual Public Service Vehicle (PSV) survey of bus and coach operators of all sizes. However, some figures are derived from smaller surveys of local authorities, the larger bus operators or other sources. London figures are provided by Transport for London (TfL).

Full details of the data sources and methods used in the compilation of bus statistics can be found in the notes and definitions (available below).

Changes to timing and content of bus statistics – Autumn 2012

The data systems used to produce these statistics are currently being developed. In order to complete this work, the annual statistics usually available in October will be delayed until November. However annual statistics on bus fares and punctuality have been included alongside publication of quarterly estimates. It is hoped that the development work will improve the timeliness of the statistics in future years. Further details can be found in the short note below.

Bus Statistics: Changes to timing and content of publications – September 2012 (PDF – 36 KB)

User feedback request

We continuously review the content of these statistics to ensure that they provide the most useful information whilst minimising burdens on data providers. A summary of feedback we have received from users and data suppliers, together with details of planned changes from 2011/12, is available below. We continue to welcome any feedback on these statistics via our user feedback formor by email to bus.statistics@dft.gsi.gov.uk

Bus statistics: User and supplier feedback and changes for 2011/12 (PDF – 88 KB)

Review of bus fares index

The DfT bus fares index, published as part of these statistics, has recently been independently reviewed. A report on this review, including a summary of the Department’s response to the recommendations made, can be found below.

Review of DfT bus fares index – final report (PDF – 114 KB)

Previous and forthcoming revisions

The PSV survey uses imputation techniques to derive key figures for operators who were not selected or did not respond. Published data contain revisions (made in 2010) dating back to 2004-05 after a review of the imputation methods. The latest figures are based on the same methodology.

We are currently improving the data systems used to produce the statistics. Users should be aware that this may result in further revisions to the data from 2004-05, although trends are unlikely to be affected substantively. These will be published alongside the annual bus statistics later in 2012.

National Statistics

The majority of these statistics are National Statistics. Exceptions are tables containing data supplied by local authorities and industry bodies and those relating to bus service provision. These statistics are currently being assessed by the United Kingdom Statistics Authority (UKSA) to determine their compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. An assessment report was published in June 2012 (Report 221).

Assessment of compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics (PDF – 151 KB)

Pre-release access list

The post holders given pre-release access for up to 24 hours prior to release.

Technical information

Further technical and background information related to DfT bus statistics including detailed notes and definitions and copies of survey questionnaires.

DfT Bus Statistics – Notes and Definitions (PDF – 117 KB)

PSV Survey Questionnaire (PDF – 88 KB)

Bus Fares Survey Questionnaire (PDF – 24 KB)

Bus Reliability Survey Questionnaire (PDF – 26 KB)

Bus Punctuality Survey Questionnaire (PDF – 13 KB)

Concessionary Travel Survey Questionnaire (PDF – 169 KB)