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 2019 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 (%) 2019 76 95 All 50 60 70 80 90 100 areas* 2018 75 95 2019 All 73 90 areas* 2018 2019 Average = 87 85 92 79 92 PTEs** 2018 Average = 87 84 91 2019 Average = 85 82 89 PTEs** 2018 Average = 84 82 90 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 2019 All 50 77 any of six reasons (they could choose more than one) areas* 2018 44 81 Proportion of journeys affected:

20 30 40 50 60 70 2019 Average = 66 62 73 PTEs** All 2019 30 58 2018 Average = 67 61 75 areas* fare-payers only 2018 31 55

2019 Average = 40 53 Satisfaction with punctuality (%) PTEs** 46 50 60 70 80 90 100 2018 Average = 44 34 51 2019 All 53 84 areas* 2018 60 83 Journeys were affected by: Road conditions 0 10 20 30 40

2019 Average = 72 68 78 Congestion 14 37 PTEs** 2018 Average = 73 70 82 Roadworks 5 23 Poor weather conditions 4 12 Anti-social behaviour (%)

Bus related 0 10 20 30 40 Passengers told us if they had ‘cause to worry or feel uncomfortable’ from the behaviour of other passengers Passenger boarding times 9 28 Proportion of journeys affected:

0 10 20 30 40 50 Waiting too long at stops 3 16 Driver driving too slowly 2019 1 11 All 2 10 areas* 2018 4 10

2019 5 10 Average = 8 PTEs** *The authority areas covered in the autumn 2019 survey are not exactly 2018 5 8 Average = 7 the same as those covered in the autumn 2018 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 & (1138) 93 Cambridgeshire & (1231) 86 Cheshire West & Chester (719) 87 (797) 93 (998) 92 (983) 93 (653) 93 Essex (795) 86 Greater (2116) 87 Hertfordshire (447) 89 (935) 89 Kingston-upon-Hull (831) 93 City (612) 86 Mersey (1627) 92 (437) 76 North East (464) 90 (529) 87 Nottingham City (1411) 95 (1818) 94 (1057) 93 (534) 92 South (1713) 89 (766) 86 Swindon (1198) 93 Tees Valley (1975) 92 Tyne & Wear (1714) 92 (1987) 85 West of England (1452) 86 (1631) 85 (497) 86 York (523) 86

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 & Poole (527) 73 Cambridgeshire & Peterborough (638) 60 Cheshire West & Chester (258) 62 Cornwall (405) 57 County Durham (445) 67 Derbyshire (514) 72 Devon (257) 57 Essex (290) 53 (1240) 62 Hertfordshire (145) 58 Kent (347) 61 Kingston-upon-Hull (314) 61 Leicester City (281) 57 Mersey (825) 73 Milton Keynes (220) 52 North East Lincolnshire (177) 72 Northumberland (220) 61 Nottingham City (885) 77 Nottinghamshire (959) 71 Oxfordshire (600) 61 Portsmouth (228) 58 (832) 71 Staffordshire (377) 59 Swindon (724) 72 Tees Valley (824) 67 Tyne & Wear (761) 64 West Midlands (1244) 66 West of England (881) 50 West Yorkshire (726) 62 Worcestershire (229) 64 York (281) 67

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 & Poole (1024) 82 Cambridgeshire & Peterborough (1131) 74 Cheshire West & Chester (636) 73 Cornwall (745) 83 County Durham (905) 76 Derbyshire (940) 78 Devon (590) 84 Essex (700) 65 Greater Manchester (1916) 68 Hertfordshire (393) 70 Kent (859) 75 Kingston-upon-Hull (739) 77 Leicester City (549) 65 Mersey (1435) 77 Milton Keynes (398) 53 North East Lincolnshire (425) 79 Northumberland (482) 78 Nottingham City (1352) 82 Nottinghamshire (1752) 71 Oxfordshire (941) 71 Portsmouth (475) 84 South Yorkshire (1541) 72 Staffordshire (707) 69 Swindon (1098) 81 Tees Valley (1780) 79 Tyne & Wear (1524) 78 West Midlands (1818) 73 West of England (1349) 68 West Yorkshire (1482) 70 Worcestershire (440) 72 York (492) 68

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 & Poole (1140) 90 Cambridgeshire & Peterborough (1226) 81 Cheshire West & Chester (715) 85 Cornwall (794) 87 County Durham (1008) 88 Derbyshire (986) 90 Devon (656) 87 Essex (795) 86 Greater Manchester (2095) 82 Hertfordshire (444) 88 Kent (934) 89 Kingston-upon-Hull (823) 86 Leicester City (613) 82 Mersey (1628) 87 Milton Keynes (440) 73 North East Lincolnshire (464) 89 Northumberland (531) 84 Nottingham City (1422) 90 Nottinghamshire (1827) 86 Oxfordshire (1044) 82 Portsmouth (537) 86 South Yorkshire (1722) 87 Staffordshire (776) 83 Swindon (1209) 85 Tees Valley (1975) 89 Tyne & Wear (1716) 89 West Midlands (1990) 84 West of England (1440) 80 West Yorkshire (1642) 82 Worcestershire (497) 86 York (527) 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 the chart took and how these varied by the 31 authority areas. 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 14 37

Time it took passengers to board 9 28

Road works 5 23

Waiting too long at stops 3 16

Poor weather conditions 4 12

Driver driving too slowly 1 11

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 2019 All 71 97 operators 2018  2019  2018 60 96 Arriva 87% Arriva 88% First 83% First 84% Operators 2019 76 94 Go-Ahead 92% Go-Ahead 91% National Express 84% National Express 85% within PTEs 2018 82 93 Stagecoach 90% Stagecoach 91%

Overall satisfaction with the bus journey (%)

% – very/fairly satisfied** National operators Arriva (5282) 88 First (6762) 84 Go-Ahead (8336) 91 National Express (1857) 85 Stagecoach (11386) 91 Operators Arriva in Cheshire West and Chester (251) 84 Arriva in County Durham (348) 88 Arriva in Hertfordshire (308) 87 Arriva in Kent (228) 88 Arriva in Leicester City (263) 83 Arriva in Mersey and Halton (901) 90 Arriva in Milton Keynes (326) 71 Arriva in Northumberland (389) 86 Arriva in Staffordshire (277) 88 Arriva in Tees Valley (1236) 91 Arriva in West Yorkshire (316) 90 (543) 92 (342) 89 and Hove Bus (959) 87 Courtney Buses (272) 94 Diamond Bus in Greater Manchester (223) 84 Diamond Bus in Worcestershire (178) 80 East Yorkshire Motor Services in Hull (392) 92 First in Cornwall (639) 92 First in Essex (593) 85 First in Greater Manchester (273) 76

*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 (271) 87 First South Coast (816) 89 First in South Yorkshire (981) 88 First in Staffordshire (254) 82 First in West of England (1326) 86 First in West Yorkshire (974) 81 First in Worcestershire (244) 88 First in York (386) 83 in County Durham (603) 94 Go North East in (742) 93 in Greater Manchester (363) 84 and (276) 87 Metrobus (excludes TfL routes) (536) 91 morebus in Bournemouth and Poole (731) 95 National Express in West Midlands (1772) 85 Nottingham City Transport (1608) 95 Nottingham Community Transport (212) 96 Bus in Oxfordshire (520) 91 Oxford Bus – Park and Ride services (282) 97 Citybus (725) 94 (844) 92 Salisbury Reds (290) 96 (303) 92 Stagecoach in Cambs & Peterborough (692) 85 Stagecoach in Cheshire West and Chester (416) 89 Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancs (671) 92 Stagecoach in Derbyshire (446) 89 Stagecoach in Devon (554) 93 - Cambs Busway (450) 85 Stagecoach (741) 90 Stagecoach in Greater Manchester (1019) 90 (439) 93 Stagecoach in Kent (370) 89 Stagecoach in Mersey and Halton (587) 94 (392) 92 Stagecoach in NE Lincolnshire (464) 90 Stagecoach in Nottinghamshire (289) 95 Stagecoach in Oxfordshire (456) 95 Stagecoach in Portsmouth (194) 92 Stagecoach in South Yorkshire (677) 90 Stagecoach in Swindon (458) 93 Stagecoach in Tees Valley (607) 94 Stagecoach in Tyne and Wear (762) 91 of England (639) 87 Swindon’s Bus Co. in Swindon (730) 92 (341) 94 Trent Barton in Derbyshire (405) 95 Trent Barton in Nottinghamshire (521) 94 ’s Own Buses (396) 86 in Bournemouth and Poole (407) 91 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 2019 All 41 81 2018  2019  operators 2018 35 85 Arriva 65% Arriva 64% First 57% First 58% Operators 2019 58 75 Go-Ahead 64% Go-Ahead 59% National Express 66% National Express 66% within PTEs 2018 57 77 Stagecoach 65% Stagecoach 66%

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

% – very/fairly satisfied** National operators Arriva (2324) 64 First (3544) 58 Go-Ahead (4419) 59 National Express (1163) 66 Stagecoach (5618) 66 Operators Arriva in Cheshire West and Chester (93) 58 Arriva in County Durham (168) 66 Arriva in Hertfordshire (98) 64 Arriva in Kent (99) 53 Arriva in Leicester City (132) 55 Arriva in Mersey and Halton (423) 72 Arriva in Milton Keynes (183) 48 Arriva in Northumberland (179) 58 Arriva in Staffordshire (108) 56 Arriva in Tees Valley (521) 63 Arriva in West Yorkshire (122) 65 Blackpool Transport (259) 60 Bluestar (203) 72 Brighton and Hove Bus (687) 51 Courtney Buses (86) 62 Diamond Bus in Greater Manchester (105) 62 Diamond Bus in Worcestershire (99) 68 East Yorkshire Motor Services in Hull (125) 54 First in Cornwall (336) 54 First in Essex (229) 54 First in Greater Manchester (174) 58

*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 (117) 56 First South Coast (380) 54 First in South Yorkshire (477) 69 First in Staffordshire (170) 51 First in West of England (825) 49 First in West Yorkshire (498) 59 First in Worcestershire (104) 62 First in York (232) 66 Go North East in County Durham (265) 66 Go North East in Tyne and Wear (320) 59 Go North West in Greater Manchester (198) 61 Hedingham and Chambers (87) 72 Metrobus (excludes TfL routes) (351) 55 morebus in Bournemouth and Poole (317) 71 National Express in West Midlands (1135) 66 Nottingham City Transport (1057) 78 Nottingham Community Transport (79) 79 Oxford Bus in Oxfordshire (348) 61 Oxford Bus – Park and Ride services (205) 73 (400) 54 Reading Buses (459) 67 Salisbury Reds (95) 63 Southern Vectis (105) 41 Stagecoach in Cambs & Peterborough (349) 58 Stagecoach in Cheshire West and Chester (142) 64 Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancs (404) 64 Stagecoach in Derbyshire (231) 65 Stagecoach in Devon (212) 55 Stagecoach East - Cambs Busway (252) 56 Stagecoach Gloucestershire (388) 58 Stagecoach in Greater Manchester (654) 63 Stagecoach in Hull (189) 66 Stagecoach in Kent (150) 65 Stagecoach in Mersey and Halton (354) 74 Stagecoach Midlands (181) 63 Stagecoach in NE Lincolnshire (177) 72 Stagecoach in Nottinghamshire (136) 81 Stagecoach in Oxfordshire (211) 63 Stagecoach in Portsmouth (74) ** Stagecoach in South Yorkshire (324) 75 Stagecoach in Swindon (275) 71 Stagecoach in Tees Valley (262) 74 Stagecoach in Tyne and Wear (354) 67 Stagecoach West of England (273) 64 Swindon’s Bus Co. in Swindon (446) 72 Thames Travel (203) 65 Trent Barton in Derbyshire (218) 78 Trent Barton in Nottinghamshire (296) 64 Warrington’s Own Buses (179) 52 Yellow Buses in Bournemouth and Poole (210) 77 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 2019 All 47 86 operators 2018  2019  2018 49 87 Arriva 72% Arriva 72% First 66% First 67% Operators 2019 55 79 Go-Ahead 80% Go-Ahead 78% National Express 70% National Express 73% within PTEs 2018 62 83 Stagecoach 75% Stagecoach 76%

Satisfaction with punctuality of the bus (%)

% – very/fairly satisfied** National operators Arriva (4751) 72 First (6145) 67 Go-Ahead (7612) 78 National Express (1704) 73 Stagecoach (10309) 76 Operators Arriva in Cheshire West and Chester (219) 72 Arriva in County Durham (311) 65 Arriva in Hertfordshire (271) 69 Arriva in Kent (204) 69 Arriva in Leicester City (244) 57 Arriva in Mersey and Halton (802) 76 Arriva in Milton Keynes (295) 47 Arriva in Northumberland (355) 75 Arriva in Staffordshire (255) 69 Arriva in Tees Valley (1117) 78 Arriva in West Yorkshire (296) 79 Blackpool Transport (505) 86 Bluestar (324) 80 Brighton and Hove Bus (867) 77 Courtney Buses (240) 82 Diamond Bus in Greater Manchester (197) 55 Diamond Bus in Worcestershire (160) 70 East Yorkshire Motor Services in Hull (352) 73 First in Cornwall (599) 83 First in Essex (523) 63 First in Greater Manchester (247) 56

*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 (233) 70 First South Coast (748) 78 First in South Yorkshire (872) 69 First in Staffordshire (233) 65 First in West of England (1234) 68 First in West Yorkshire (872) 64 First in Worcestershire (216) 70 First in York (363) 65 Go North East in County Durham (551) 81 Go North East in Tyne and Wear (668) 79 Go North West in Greater Manchester (333) 69 Hedingham and Chambers (259) 76 Metrobus (excludes TfL routes) (497) 79 morebus in Bournemouth and Poole (663) 84 National Express in West Midlands (1625) 73 Nottingham City Transport (1542) 81 Nottingham Community Transport (202) 79 Oxford Bus in Oxfordshire (463) 67 Oxford Bus – Park and Ride services (254) 78 Plymouth Citybus (664) 80 Reading Buses (770) 78 Salisbury Reds (268) 83 Southern Vectis (280) 84 Stagecoach in Cambs & Peterborough (641) 74 Stagecoach in Cheshire West and Chester (371) 75 Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancs (610) 81 Stagecoach in Derbyshire (426) 75 Stagecoach in Devon (497) 83 Stagecoach East - Cambs Busway (406) 68 Stagecoach Gloucestershire (671) 82 Stagecoach in Greater Manchester (915) 73 Stagecoach in Hull (387) 79 Stagecoach in Kent (340) 77 Stagecoach in Mersey and Halton (510) 76 Stagecoach Midlands (361) 73 Stagecoach in NE Lincolnshire (425) 79 Stagecoach in Nottinghamshire (283) 67 Stagecoach in Oxfordshire (403) 79 Stagecoach in Portsmouth (166) 86 Stagecoach in South Yorkshire (617) 75 Stagecoach in Swindon (418) 78 Stagecoach in Tees Valley (544) 80 Stagecoach in Tyne and Wear (672) 75 Stagecoach West of England (588) 72 Swindon’s Bus Co. in Swindon (671) 83 Thames Travel (312) 71 Trent Barton in Derbyshire (386) 85 Trent Barton in Nottinghamshire (505) 74 Warrington’s Own Buses (354) 68 Yellow Buses in Bournemouth and Poole (361) 78 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 2019 All 70 93 2018  2019  operators 2018 76 94 Arriva 85% Arriva 86% First 80% First 82% Operators 2019 74 92 Go-Ahead 88% Go-Ahead 86% National Express 82% National Express 83% within PTEs 2018 80 91 Stagecoach 86% Stagecoach 86%

Satisfaction with on-bus journey time (%)

% – very/fairly satisfied** National operators Arriva (5312) 86 First (6757) 82 Go-Ahead (8290) 86 National Express (1861) 83 Stagecoach (11370) 86 Operators Arriva in Cheshire West and Chester (250) 82 Arriva in County Durham (353) 84 Arriva in Hertfordshire (309) 87 Arriva in Kent (228) 89 Arriva in Leicester City (263) 77 Arriva in Mersey and Halton (902) 88 Arriva in Milton Keynes (328) 70 Arriva in Northumberland (391) 82 Arriva in Staffordshire (283) 88 Arriva in Tees Valley (1242) 87 Arriva in West Yorkshire (321) 87 Blackpool Transport (543) 89 Bluestar (341) 89 Brighton and Hove Bus (950) 82 Courtney Buses (269) 90 Diamond Bus in Greater Manchester (224) 84 Diamond Bus in Worcestershire (177) 80 East Yorkshire Motor Services in Hull (385) 87 First in Cornwall (638) 86 First in Essex (592) 85 First in Greater Manchester (266) 74

*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 (271) 85 First South Coast (820) 85 First in South Yorkshire (985) 87 First in Staffordshire (257) 78 First in West of England (1315) 79 First in West Yorkshire (975) 80 First in Worcestershire (245) 87 First in York (388) 85 Go North East in County Durham (608) 91 Go North East in Tyne and Wear (740) 92 Go North West in Greater Manchester (360) 82 Hedingham and Chambers (279) 86 Metrobus (excludes TfL routes) (527) 86 morebus in Bournemouth and Poole (730) 90 National Express in West Midlands (1776) 83 Nottingham City Transport (1624) 89 Nottingham Community Transport (215) 90 Oxford Bus in Oxfordshire (512) 77 Oxford Bus – Park and Ride services (281) 84 Plymouth Citybus (718) 88 Reading Buses (845) 86 Salisbury Reds (292) 93 Southern Vectis (300) 89 Stagecoach in Cambs & Peterborough (694) 81 Stagecoach in Cheshire West and Chester (413) 86 Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancs (680) 89 Stagecoach in Derbyshire (451) 86 Stagecoach in Devon (555) 86 Stagecoach East - Cambs Busway (442) 75 Stagecoach Gloucestershire (734) 84 Stagecoach in Greater Manchester (1009) 84 Stagecoach in Hull (438) 85 Stagecoach in Kent (369) 89 Stagecoach in Mersey and Halton (585) 84 Stagecoach Midlands (394) 88 Stagecoach in NE Lincolnshire (464) 89 Stagecoach in Nottinghamshire (292) 91 Stagecoach in Oxfordshire (455) 89 Stagecoach in Portsmouth (195) 88 Stagecoach in South Yorkshire (682) 87 Stagecoach in Swindon (467) 87 Stagecoach in Tees Valley (604) 91 Stagecoach in Tyne and Wear (767) 87 Stagecoach West of England (618) 82 Swindon’s Bus Co. in Swindon (732) 84 Thames Travel (336) 88 Trent Barton in Derbyshire (405) 93 Trent Barton in Nottinghamshire (519) 85 Warrington’s Own Buses (395) 85 Yellow Buses in Bournemouth and Poole (410) 91 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 2020 © 2020 Transport Focus Design by heritamacdonald.com