This is a summary of the full survey report, which is available here: www.transportfocus.org.uk/research-publications/research/bus-passenger-survey Bus Passenger Survey Autumn 2018 Summary of key results in Authority results Key findings

Key findings by authority areas in England

The charts below show the range of scores across authority areas*

Overall satisfaction with the journey (%) On-bus journey time

50 60 70 80 90 100 Satisfaction (%) 2018 75 95 All 50 60 70 80 90 100 areas* 2017 78 94 2018 All 79 92 areas* 2017 2018 Average = 87 84 91 77 92 PTEs** 2017 Average = 87 83 93 2018 Average = 84 82 90 PTEs** 2017 Average = 83 80 89 Satisfaction with value for money (%) 35 45 55 65 75 85 Factors affecting journey time (%) Passengers told us if their journey time was affected by 2018 All 44 81 any of six reasons (they could choose more than one) areas* 2017 51 73 Proportion of journeys affected:

20 30 40 50 60 70 2018 Average = 67 61 75 PTEs** All 2018 31 55 2017 Average = 67 62 72 areas* fare-payers only 2017 30 56

2018 Average = 34 51 Satisfaction with punctuality (%) PTEs** 44 50 60 70 80 90 100 2017 Average = 50 39 56 2018 All 60 83 areas* 2017 63 83 Journeys were affected by: Road conditions 0 10 20 30

2018 Average = 70 82 73 Congestion 15 33 PTEs** 2017 Average = 72 69 76 Roadworks 7 19 Poor weather conditions 2 7 Anti-social behaviour (%)

Bus related 0 10 20 30 Passengers told us if they had ‘cause to worry or feel uncomfortable’ from the behaviour of other passengers Passenger boarding times 9 22 Proportion of journeys affected:

0 10 20 30 40 50 Waiting too long at stops 2 10 Driver driving too slowly 2018 0 7 All 4 10 areas* 2017 3 10

2018 5 8 Average = 7 PTEs** *The authority areas covered in the autumn 2018 survey are not exactly 2017 5 10 Average = 7 the same as those covered in the autumn 2017 survey, although the majority are the same (including all six PTEs) **Passenger Transport Executive areas

2 Overall satisfaction with the bus journey (%) % – very/fairly satisfied*

Bournemouth and (890) 91 Cheshire West and Chester (754) 91 (964) 90 (751) 91 (1175) 95 (551) 91 (792) 80 Greater Manchester (1991) 87 (1022) 86 City (884) 87 (493) 89 Mersey (1960) 91 (672) 83 (480) 89 (1228) 93 (1035) 92 South Yorkshire (1428) 86 (970) 90 Swindon (877) 93 Tees Valley (1813) 90 (1462) 91 (2863) 84 West of England (1425) 85 West Yorkshire (1690) 85 (452) 75 York (512) 89

Very satisfied Fairly satisfied Neither/nor Fairly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

Q Overall, taking everything into account from start to end of the bus journey, how satisfied were you with your bus journey?

*Due to rounding the percentage very/fairly satisfied may not always be equal to the sum of the very and fairly satisfied values in the chart

3 Authority results Key findings

Satisfaction with value for money (%) – fare-paying passengers % – very/fairly satisfied*

Bournemouth and Poole (360) 64 Cheshire West and Chester (332) 67 Cornwall (437) 58 County Durham (309) 70 Derbyshire (553) 62 East Sussex (218) 61 Essex (326) 44 Greater Manchester (1205) 66 Kent (407) 57 Leicester City (524) 62 Lincolnshire (150) 56 Mersey (882) 75 Milton Keynes (284) 66 Northumberland (181) 61 Nottinghamshire (542) 69 Oxfordshire (620) 64 South Yorkshire (910) 69 Staffordshire (409) 66 Swindon (468) 81 Tees Valley (786) 71 Tyne and Wear (719) 72 West Midlands (1746) 66 West of England (823) 52 West Yorkshire (776) 61 Worcestershire (178) 44 York (233) 62

Very satisfied Fairly satisfied Neither/nor Fairly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

Q How satisfied were you with the value for money of your journey?

*Due to rounding the percentage very/fairly satisfied may not always be equal to the sum of the very and fairly satisfied values in the chart

4 Satisfaction with punctuality of the bus (%) % – very/fairly satisfied*

Bournemouth and Poole (820) 75 Cheshire West and Chester (719) 74 Cornwall (916) 76 County Durham (706) 77 Derbyshire (1128) 71 East Sussex (522) 81 Essex (718) 61 Greater Manchester (1837) 70 Kent (939) 72 Leicester City (817) 72 Lincolnshire (462) 71 Mersey (1769) 76 Milton Keynes (624) 65 Northumberland (453) 75 Nottinghamshire (1185) 82 Oxfordshire (1060) 77 South Yorkshire (1356) 76 Staffordshire (884) 74 Swindon (844) 83 Tees Valley (1690) 76 Tyne and Wear (1434) 82 West Midlands (2687) 71 West of England (1310) 62 West Yorkshire (1555) 72 Worcestershire (417) 60 York (478) 77

Very satisfied Fairly satisfied Neither/nor Fairly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

Q How satisfied were you with the punctuality of the bus?

*Due to rounding the percentage very/fairly satisfied may not always be equal to the sum of the very and fairly satisfied values in the chart

5 Authority results Key findings

Satisfaction with on-bus journey time (%) % – very/fairly satisfied*

Bournemouth and Poole (885) 86 Cheshire West and Chester (746) 91 Cornwall (979) 85 County Durham (742) 89 Derbyshire (1168) 84 East Sussex (552) 88 Essex (783) 81 Greater Manchester (1926) 83 Kent (1007) 84 Leicester City (874) 83 Lincolnshire (496) 88 Mersey (1943) 88 Milton Keynes (678) 86 Northumberland (489) 89 Nottinghamshire (1233) 89 Oxfordshire (1156) 88 South Yorkshire (1426) 83 Staffordshire (950) 85 Swindon (904) 92 Tees Valley (1824) 86 Tyne and Wear (1554) 90 West Midlands (2899) 82 West of England (1402) 79 West Yorkshire (1677) 82 Worcestershire (455) 79 York (510) 85

Very satisfied Fairly satisfied Neither/nor Fairly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

Q How satisfied were you with the length of time your journey on the bus took?

*Due to rounding the percentage very/fairly satisfied may not always be equal to the sum of the very and fairly satisfied values in the chart

6 Factors affecting journey length (%) – how scores vary by area

Reading The chart below shows the different factors affecting the length of time that passengers’ journeys took the chart and how these varied by the 26 authority areas (listed on page 5). The white band shows the range of scores (the percentage of journeys affected) for each factor and the black dots mark the individual scores for each area. The highest and lowest scores are shown at each end of the white bands. This shows, for example, that congestion/traffic jams tend to impact upon a higher percentage of journeys than roadworks, as the white band is further to the right. However, the variation in scores for congestion/traffic jams and roadworks is similar.

0 10 20 30 40 50%

Congestion/ traffic jams 15 33

Time it took passengers to board 9 22

Road works 7 19

Waiting too long at stops 2 10

Poor weather conditions 2 7

Driver driving too slowly 0 7

0 10 20 30 40 50%

Q Was the length of your journey affected by any of the following? Passengers could provide more than one answer

7 Operator results Key findings

Key findings by bus operators in England*

Overall satisfaction with the journey (%)

50 60 70 80 90 100 National operators – averages 2018 All 60 96 operators 2017  2018  2017 72 96 Arriva 87% Arriva 87% First 84% First 83% Operators 2018 82 93 Go-Ahead 91% Go-Ahead 92% National Express 85% National Express 84% within PTEs 2017 80 94 Stagecoach 90% Stagecoach 90%

Overall satisfaction with the bus journey (%)

% – very/fairly satisfied** National operators Arriva (5932) 87 First (6514) 83 Go-Ahead (7552) 92 National Express (2569) 84 Stagecoach (9088) 90 Operators Arriva in Cheshire West and Chester (277) 93 Arriva in County Durham (262) 86 Arriva in Kent (305) 79 Arriva in Leicester City (346) 88 Arriva in Mersey and Halton (1366) 90 Arriva in Milton Keynes (367) 82 Arriva in Northumberland (369) 88 Arriva in Staffordshire (429) 90 Arriva in Tees Valley (1183) 90 Arriva in West Yorkshire (360) 90 The (288) 86 Blackpool Transport (459) 90 (393) 89 and Hove Bus (861) 91 (229) 92 Diamond Bus in West Midlands (200) 83 Diamond Bus in Worcestershire (190) 60 East Yorkshire Motor Services in Hull (332) 94 First in Cornwall (656) 88 First in Essex (479) 78 First in Greater Manchester (710) 82

*As a result of the areas selected, the proportion of each major operator’s services covered by the survey will vary **Due to rounding the percentage very/fairly satisfied may not always be equal to the sum of the very and fairly satisfied values in the chart

8 Overall satisfaction with the bus journey (%)

% – very/fairly satisfied** Operators continued First in Leicester City (368) 84 First South Coast (533) 89 First in South Yorkshire (838) 83 First in West of England (1310) 84 First in West Yorkshire (892) 83 First in York (386) 88 in County Durham (376) 93 Go North East in Tyne and Wear (812) 92 The Keighley Bus Company in West Yorks (193) 87 (354) 94 Metrobus (excludes TfL routes) (503) 92 Classic in Staffordshire (210) 95 morebus in Bournemouth and Poole (536) 92 National Express in West Midlands (2541) 84 Nottingham City Transport (408) 91 Bus in Oxfordshire (449) 92 Oxford Bus – Park and Ride services (326) 96 Citybus (769) 93 (781) 94 Salisbury Reds (299) 92 (301) 93 Stagecoach in Cheshire West and Chester (350) 87 Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancs (559) 93 Stagecoach in Derbyshire (523) 93 (399) 90 Stagecoach East - Cambs Busway (303) 92 Stagecoach in East Sussex (403) 88 Stagecoach (481) 90 Stagecoach in Greater Manchester (919) 89 Stagecoach in Kent (348) 91 Stagecoach in Lincolnshire (358) 87 Stagecoach in Mersey and Halton (339) 93 (429) 88 Stagecoach in Nottinghamshire (292) 95 Stagecoach in Oxfordshire (406) 94 (535) 88 (515) 95 Stagecoach in South Yorkshire (452) 89 Stagecoach in Swindon (247) 93 Stagecoach in Tees Valley (425) 90 Stagecoach in Tyne and Wear (498) 90 of England (301) 93 Swindon’s Bus Co. in Swindon (625) 93 Trent Barton in Derbyshire (366) 96 Trent Barton in Nottinghamshire (353) 93 Warrington’s Own Buses (290) 93 in Bournemouth and Poole (354) 89

Very satisfied Fairly satisfied Neither/nor Fairly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

Q Overall, taking everything into account from start to end of the bus journey, how satisfied were you with your bus journey?

9 Operator results Key findings

Value for money (%) – fare-paying passengers

35 45 55 65 75 85 National operators – averages 2018 All 35 85 operators 2017  2018  2017 42 78 Arriva 65% Arriva 65% First 63% First 57% 2018 Go-Ahead 65% Go-Ahead 64% Operators 57 77 within PTEs National Express 63% National Express 66% 2017 61 78 Stagecoach 68% Stagecoach 65%

Satisfaction with value for money (%) – fare-paying passengers

% – very/fairly satisfied* National operators Arriva (2666) 65 First (3506) 57 Go-Ahead (3790) 64 National Express (1603) 66 Stagecoach (4353) 65 Operators Arriva in Cheshire West and Chester (101) 60 Arriva in County Durham (109) 66 Arriva in Kent (162) 50 Arriva in Leicester City (209) 60 Arriva in Mersey and Halton (641) 74 Arriva in Milton Keynes (170) 64 Arriva in Northumberland (148) 59 Arriva in Staffordshire (173) 62 Arriva in Tees Valley (517) 69 Arriva in West Yorkshire (144) 64 The Blackburn Bus Company (149) 66 Blackpool Transport (203) 70 Bluestar (194) 69 Brighton and Hove Bus (449) 53 Carousel Buses (96) 58 Diamond Bus in West Midlands (96) 71 Diamond Bus in Worcestershire (84) 35 East Yorkshire Motor Services in Hull (145) 64 First in Cornwall (302) 53 First in Essex (215) 41 First in Greater Manchester (427) 60

*Due to rounding the percentage very/fairly satisfied may not always be equal to the sum of the very and fairly satisfied values in the chart **Low base size

10 Satisfaction with value for money (%) – fare-paying passengers

% – very/fairly satisfied* Operators continued First in Leicester City (230) 58 First South Coast (195) 66 First in South Yorkshire (531) 66 First in West of England (775) 51 First in West Yorkshire (463) 57 First in York (196) 62 Go North East in County Durham (158) 69 Go North East in Tyne and Wear (393) 69 The Keighley Bus Company in West Yorks (70**) Konectbus (185) 67 Metrobus (excludes TfL routes) (305) 60 in Staffordshire (92) 76 morebus in Bournemouth and Poole (211) 68 National Express in West Midlands (1589) 66 Nottingham City Transport (218) 79 Oxford Bus in Oxfordshire (297) 63 Oxford Bus – Park and Ride services (226) 69 (409) 56 Reading Buses (351) 71 Salisbury Reds (91) 64 Southern Vectis (102) 51 Stagecoach in Cheshire West and Chester (178) 69 Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancs (205) 59 Stagecoach in Derbyshire (229) 67 Stagecoach East (204) 46 Stagecoach East - Cambs Busway (139) 43 Stagecoach in East Sussex (150) 52 Stagecoach Gloucestershire (213) 59 Stagecoach in Greater Manchester (639) 69 Stagecoach in Kent (151) 64 Stagecoach in Lincolnshire (116) 58 Stagecoach in Mersey and Halton (146) 75 Stagecoach Midlands (204) 50 Stagecoach in Nottinghamshire (150) 74 Stagecoach in Oxfordshire (231) 61 Stagecoach South (205) 63 Stagecoach South West (202) 62 Stagecoach in South Yorkshire (309) 72 Stagecoach in Swindon (122) 85 Stagecoach in Tees Valley (166) 72 Stagecoach in Tyne and Wear (258) 77 Stagecoach West of England (125) 76 Swindon’s Bus Co. in Swindon (343) 80 Trent Barton in Derbyshire (185) 63 Trent Barton in Nottinghamshire (165) 58 Warrington’s Own Buses (123) 44 Yellow Buses in Bournemouth and Poole (149) 59

Very satisfied Fairly satisfied Neither/nor Fairly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

Q How satisfied were you with the value for money of your journey?

11 Operator results Key findings

Punctuality (%)

40 50 60 70 80 90 National operators – averages 2018 All 49 87 operators 2017  2018  2017 61 90 Arriva 73% Arriva 72% First 68% First 66% Operators 2018 62 83 Go-Ahead 77% Go-Ahead 80% National Express 70% National Express 70% within PTEs 2017 63 85 Stagecoach 75% Stagecoach 75%

Satisfaction with punctuality of the bus (%)

% – very/fairly satisfied* National operators Arriva (5481) 72 First (6021) 66 Go-Ahead (7141) 80 National Express (2423) 70 Stagecoach (8528) 75 Operators Arriva in Cheshire West and Chester (263) 76 Arriva in County Durham (237) 67 Arriva in Kent (281) 58 Arriva in Leicester City (325) 71 Arriva in Mersey and Halton (1244) 76 Arriva in Milton Keynes (333) 59 Arriva in Northumberland (348) 68 Arriva in Staffordshire (396) 70 Arriva in Tees Valley (1102) 73 Arriva in West Yorkshire (340) 80 The Blackburn Bus Company (275) 75 Blackpool Transport (419) 77 Bluestar (372) 75 Brighton and Hove Bus (788) 84 Carousel Buses (210) 66 Diamond Bus in West Midlands (176) 70 Diamond Bus in Worcestershire (176) 49 East Yorkshire Motor Services in Hull (304) 87 First in Cornwall (625) 73 First in Essex (440) 57 First in Greater Manchester (661) 62

*Due to rounding the percentage very/fairly satisfied may not always be equal to the sum of the very and fairly satisfied values in the chart

12 Satisfaction with punctuality of the bus (%)

% – very/fairly satisfied* Operators continued First in Leicester City (339) 70 First South Coast (485) 77 First in South Yorkshire (791) 71 First in West of England (1202) 61 First in West Yorkshire (809) 69 First in York (360) 75 Go North East in County Durham (357) 79 Go North East in Tyne and Wear (807) 83 The Keighley Bus Company in West Yorks (179) 73 Konectbus (330) 85 Metrobus (excludes TfL routes) (475) 79 Midland Classic in Staffordshire (189) 84 morebus in Bournemouth and Poole (497) 75 National Express in West Midlands (2395) 70 Nottingham City Transport (388) 84 Oxford Bus in Oxfordshire (453) 72 Oxford Bus – Park and Ride services (280) 83 Plymouth Citybus (720) 74 Reading Buses (718) 81 Salisbury Reds (274) 78 Southern Vectis (287) 84 Stagecoach in Cheshire West and Chester (332) 68 Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancs (526) 81 Stagecoach in Derbyshire (492) 76 Stagecoach East (368) 66 Stagecoach East - Cambs Busway (286) 73 Stagecoach in East Sussex (378) 76 Stagecoach Gloucestershire (439) 75 Stagecoach in Greater Manchester (851) 73 Stagecoach in Kent (317) 81 Stagecoach in Lincolnshire (333) 68 Stagecoach in Mersey and Halton (301) 73 Stagecoach Midlands (397) 61 Stagecoach in Nottinghamshire (285) 87 Stagecoach in Oxfordshire (408) 84 Stagecoach South (505) 63 Stagecoach South West (470) 83 Stagecoach in South Yorkshire (433) 80 Stagecoach in Swindon (240) 82 Stagecoach in Tees Valley (394) 79 Stagecoach in Tyne and Wear (480) 80 Stagecoach West of England (288) 75 Swindon’s Bus Co. in Swindon (598) 84 Trent Barton in Derbyshire (360) 70 Trent Barton in Nottinghamshire (336) 76 Warrington’s Own Buses (263) 71 Yellow Buses in Bournemouth and Poole (323) 75

Very satisfied Fairly satisfied Neither/nor Fairly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

Q How satisfied were you with the punctuality of the bus?

13 Operator results Key findings

On-bus journey time (%)

50 60 70 80 90 100 National operators – averages 2018 All 76 94 2017  2018  operators 2017 73 96 Arriva 85% Arriva 85% First 81% First 80% Operators 2018 80 91 Go-Ahead 86% Go-Ahead 88% National Express 79% National Express 82% within PTEs 2017 77 90 Stagecoach 85% Stagecoach 86%

Satisfaction with on-bus journey time (%)

% – very/fairly satisfied* National operators Arriva (5900) 85 First (6439) 80 Go-Ahead (7645) 88 National Express (2602) 82 Stagecoach (9128) 86 Operators Arriva in Cheshire West and Chester (268) 94 Arriva in County Durham (256) 88 Arriva in Kent (302) 78 Arriva in Leicester City (339) 83 Arriva in Mersey and Halton (1353) 87 Arriva in Milton Keynes (370) 85 Arriva in Northumberland (377) 88 Arriva in Staffordshire (418) 87 Arriva in Tees Valley (1185) 84 Arriva in West Yorkshire (358) 84 The Blackburn Bus Company (290) 86 Blackpool Transport (461) 87 Bluestar (393) 87 Brighton and Hove Bus (855) 84 Carousel Buses (232) 89 Diamond Bus in West Midlands (199) 90 Diamond Bus in Worcestershire (194) 76 East Yorkshire Motor Services in Hull (326) 92 First in Cornwall (667) 82 First in Essex (472) 79 First in Greater Manchester (682) 81

*Due to rounding the percentage very/fairly satisfied may not always be equal to the sum of the very and fairly satisfied values in the chart

14 Satisfaction with on-bus journey time (%)

% – very/fairly satisfied* Operators continued First in Leicester City (368) 82 First South Coast (524) 88 First in South Yorkshire (832) 80 First in West of England (1286) 77 First in West Yorkshire (885) 80 First in York (384) 84 Go North East in County Durham (374) 88 Go North East in Tyne and Wear (864) 91 The Keighley Bus Company in West Yorks (191) 90 Konectbus (352) 90 Metrobus (excludes TfL routes) (502) 86 Midland Classic in Staffordshire (205) 87 morebus in Bournemouth and Poole (532) 86 National Express in West Midlands (2573) 82 Nottingham City Transport (404) 85 Oxford Bus in Oxfordshire (497) 86 Oxford Bus – Park and Ride services (316) 92 Plymouth Citybus (762) 87 Reading Buses (778) 89 Salisbury Reds (294) 92 Southern Vectis (298) 92 Stagecoach in Cheshire West and Chester (350) 88 Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancs (553) 92 Stagecoach in Derbyshire (522) 88 Stagecoach East (396) 84 Stagecoach East - Cambs Busway (301) 88 Stagecoach in East Sussex (405) 89 Stagecoach Gloucestershire (472) 88 Stagecoach in Greater Manchester (893) 81 Stagecoach in Kent (339) 87 Stagecoach in Lincolnshire (360) 87 Stagecoach in Mersey and Halton (335) 91 Stagecoach Midlands (427) 81 Stagecoach in Nottinghamshire (297) 89 Stagecoach in Oxfordshire (453) 91 Stagecoach South (536) 85 Stagecoach South West (504) 90 Stagecoach in South Yorkshire (455) 86 Stagecoach in Swindon (256) 91 Stagecoach in Tees Valley (432) 89 Stagecoach in Tyne and Wear (529) 88 Stagecoach West of England (304) 85 Swindon’s Bus Co. in Swindon (642) 92 Trent Barton in Derbyshire (361) 84 Trent Barton in Nottinghamshire (354) 89 Warrington’s Own Buses (293) 84 Yellow Buses in Bournemouth and Poole (353) 86

Very satisfied Fairly satisfied Neither/nor Fairly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied

Q How satisfied were you with the length of time your journey on the bus took?

15 Contact Transport Focus

Any enquiries about this research should be addressed to: Robert Pain Senior Insight Advisor 0300 123 0835 Transport Focus is the independent consumer [email protected] organisation representing the interests of: www.transportfocus.org.uk • all users of England’s motorways and major Fleetbank House ‘A’ roads (the Strategic Road Network) 2-6 Salisbury Square • rail passengers in Great Britain EC4Y 8JX • bus, coach and users across England outside London. Transport Focus is the operating name of the Passengers’ Council We work to make a difference for all transport users

This is a summary of the full survey report, which is available here: www.transportfocus.org.uk/research-publications/research/bus-passenger-survey

Published in March 2019 © 2019 Transport Focus Print by Priority Design by heritamacdonald.com