Guidance

Annual bus statistics, quality report: 2024

Updated 27 November 2024

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

This background quality report relates to the annual bus statistics. The purpose of this document is to provide users of the statistics with information about the quality of the outputs, measured against different dimensions of statistical quality.

As a result, this document helps to demonstrate how the department complies with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Detailed data tables covering Great Britain are available. For detailed commentary on England, please see the annual statistical release.

Introduction

About annual bus statistics

The annual bus statistics release is based on a number of sources but primarily compiled from the annual Public Service Vehicle (PSV) survey of over 500 local bus operators. The survey provides information on passenger journeys, vehicle miles, revenue and costs, and vehicles and staff. Information on passenger journeys and bus mileage for London is provided by Transport for London (TfL).

Certain statistics are based on separate smaller surveys of the larger operators, such as information on fares, or from local authorities (punctuality, concessionary travel). In addition to the annual publication, estimates of fare changes are available on a quarterly basis.

These are accredited official statistics and were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in June 2012. Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.

Annual panel survey of passenger numbers

The annual bus statistics publication represents the most comprehensive single source of official data on the bus industry in Great Britain and provides data which is used in monitoring trends, developing policy and providing accountability for the subsidy provided to the industry, at a high level.

Many of the figures have been collected and compiled in a broadly similar way since the deregulation of the bus industry and therefore allow trends over time to be measured.

The primary source is the PSV Survey, an annual survey run by the Department for Transport (DfT) to collect information on the bus and coach industries and is a legal requirement under the Statistics of Trade Act (1947). It is a source for data on passenger journeys (table BUS01), vehicle miles (table BUS02), passenger miles (table BUS03), operating revenue and costs (tables BUS04 and BUS05), vehicles (table BUS06) and staff (table BUS07).

Relevance

These statistics provide key information on trends in the bus sector. Within the Department for Transport they are used for:

• ministerial briefing and to answer public enquiries
• as background to policy development
• monitoring trends in the bus sector, for example in relation to accessible buses
• by economists in modelling policy options

Outside DfT known uses include:

• passenger journeys figures are used as a measure of the overall health or state of the industry, for example by private research organisations, and are occasionally reported in the trade press
• local authorities may use these statistics to compare trends in their area with the national picture
• these statistics have also provided background information for recent reports by the Transport Select Committee and Competition Commission
• bus fares data are used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in calculating the Retail and Consumer Price Indices and in the National Accounts

Coverage

These statistics refer to the activities of holders of Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operators’ licences. An operator wishing to run bus or coach services is normally required to possess a PSV licence. However, certain vehicles and types of service are exempt from licensing and are excluded from the figures, such as community buses and local services operated by taxis. The tables relate to local bus services.

A local bus service is a stopping service available to the general public, where the route is registered with the Traffic Commissioner, which is eligible for Bus Service Operators Grant.

Data are collected from around 450 local bus operators out of approximately 550 and both Transport for London (TfL) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). The data cover passenger journeys, vehicle miles, revenue and costs, and vehicles and staff. The annual survey data provided by operators covers around, or above, 95% of the total figure for key indicators (passenger journeys and vehicle miles operated), with the remainder imputed.

The annual publication is for England, but some tables cover Great Britain.

Strengths of the data

Long-term and continuous

Many of the figures have been collected and compiled in a broadly similar way since the deregulation of the bus industry and therefore allow trends over time to be measured. Although, following revisions to the methodology used to compile the published figures, year ending March 2005 is the earliest year for which figures are comparable on exactly the same basis.

Coverage

Because the local bus sector is dominated by relatively few large operators, most of whom provide data, sampling errors (that is random fluctuations due to selecting only a sample of operators) are very small in relation to other non-sampling errors (for example, inaccurate data provided by operators). Comparison with other sources suggests that, at the aggregate (national) level, the statistics are likely to provide a robust measure of both levels and trends.

Limitations

Coverage

While overall coverage is good, coverage for the very small operators is less good. This is due to a variety of factors including lack of contact info and inability to complete the survey due to respondent burden. Typically, these operators only hold one or two discs and make up a tiny fraction of passenger journeys in total.

Journeys not passengers

The survey captures the number of passenger boardings or journeys. This is not the same as the number of passengers as one passenger may make multiple trips.

Journey details

While the survey captures the number of passenger boardings, it does not capture detailed information about the journeys, such as the origin and destination, or purpose of the journey.

Passenger details

The survey does not capture any details of the people using local bus services, such as their demographics, journey satisfaction, or the reasons behind their travel mode choice. However, data from other sources are used to provide supplement data (see below).

Data quality

As accredited official statistics, the annual statistics are produced to high professional standards as set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics and many quality control measures are in place to ensure the integrity of the data.

Data collection is online through a secure website. A copy of the survey questions is available.

The key sources of errors arising in the production of statistics derived from the PSV survey are likely to be the result of inaccurate returns provided by bus operators. DfT attempts to mitigate the impact of such errors through data validation and cleaning, in particular comparing data provided by the larger operators with previous years, though this is not always possible. Some aspects of the survey are particularly difficult for some operators, usually the smaller ones, to complete.

These validation checks are used to generate a quality assurance report to ensure that any large changes compared with previous years are identified and investigated, seeking explanations where differences are large or unexpected.

Other dimensions of quality

Response rate

Although all operators are encouraged and reminded to return the survey, greater effort is made to receive data from larger local operators to ensure that the resulting estimates are as robust as possible.

In the year ending March 2024, the survey was issued to 472 operators. Full or partial responses were received from 405 operators (86%), with 355 operators submitting a full response (75%).

Overall, this results in at least 99% of journeys (nationally) being based on submitted surveys, and less than 1% being imputed.

Respondent burden

There are many questions on a variety of different areas. This means respondent burden can vary depending on company size and can involve multiple different teams within a company. No formal assessment has been made, but including queries on returns provided, it is likely to be on average a day of one person’s time to complete.

Timeliness

The statistical release is generally published around 6 to 7 months after the end of the reference period.

Accuracy

Comparison with other sources suggests that, at the aggregate (national) level, the statistics are likely to provide a reasonably robust measure of levels and broad trends. However, figures representing smaller groups of operators and single year on year changes should be treated with caution as these are more susceptible to measurement errors (for example, an inaccurate return by an operator, or a change in an operator’s method of producing the figures such as the introduction of ticketing machines to record data) which are more likely to even out at the national level.

Because the local bus sector is dominated by relatively few large operators, most of whom provide data, sampling errors (that is random fluctuations due to selecting only a sample of operators) are very small in relation to other non-sampling errors (for example, inaccurate data provided by operators). There remains the possibility that the data captured is incorrect: respondents may make an error when completing the return or there may be errors in the underlying data. Our quality assurance procedures attempt to mitigate these errors, although they cannot entirely remove this risk.

The majority of figures are based largely on data provided directly by operators, aggregated to national and sub-national levels. Where such figures are not available (either because an operator was not included in a survey or was selected but did not provide a return or missed some questions) figures for that operator are imputed using previous year’s figures where possible, applying other data if available or based on the number of licence discs held.

For the key indicators (passenger journeys and vehicle miles operated) the data provided by operators covers around, or above, 95% of the total figure, with the remainder imputed. This will also have an impact with previous years’ data, where more up to date information is used to impute data, usually limited to the four preceding years and changes of under 1% to previously reported figures. In rare occurrences, we receive corrections to previous year data which may change figures to a more significant level particularly at local authority level, including reallocations across local authority boundaries.

Imputations are made using past year data for that company or where none exists using a coefficient factor for companies of a similar size and area type.

Revisions

The PSV survey uses imputation techniques to derive key figures for operators who were either not selected in the sample for that year, or who did not respond. On occasion, imputations for earlier years can be improved using directly reported data for later years. Minor revisions to back-data can occur as a result, although trends are rarely affected substantively.

Methodology improvements

The data processing and imputation process for these statistics has been transferred onto a modern system.

During this transfer, several small improvements were made to the methodology, such as:

• improving data matching when national averages are used
• formalising the scaling process used to keep estimates reasonable during the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery
• ensuring all available data was being used when estimating a value

These methodological improvements have resulted in more accurate and reliable figures, particularly in areas with limited data availability.

Consequently, figures from the year ending March 2019 to 2024 have been revised more than the usual annual updates that occur from new information.

Bus punctuality statistics

Coverage

The punctuality survey is an annual survey of all local authorities in England which provides a measure of the performance of local bus services. The figures are based either on manual surveys carried out by local authorities, or from electronic data derived from Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) devices.

The survey provides estimates of the percentage of non-frequent bus services running on time and the average excess waiting time for frequent services. These estimates are published at local authority level in tables BUS09a and BUS09b respectively.

Strengths of the data

Long term and continuous

The first punctuality survey was carried out in the year ending March 2005 and has been run annually since then, with the exception of the year ending March 2020 when the survey was not run to reduce the burden on local authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coverage

All local authorities in England are included in the punctuality survey.

Limitations

Comparability

As the figures are provided by different authorities, there are some differences in the methods used to calculate punctuality which may affect comparisons between different authorities. In particular, the source of the data varies with some authorities utilising electronic data from AVL devices whilst others will use a sample of manual surveys.

Response rate

While the survey is issued to all local authorities in England, we do not receive responses from all of these authorities. This is due to a variety of factors including local authorities not holding this data or not having access to it from operators or local authorities being unable to run manual surveys.

Data quality

As official statistics, the annual statistics are produced to high professional standards as set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics and many quality control measures are in place to ensure the integrity of the data.

Data collection is online through a secure website. A copy of the survey questions is available.

Validation checks are used to ensure that any large changes compared with previous years are investigated. Returns are validated by comparison with previous years and seeking explanation where differences are large or unexpected.

Other dimensions of quality

Response rate: The survey response rate is variable, in the latest survey, 60% of local authorities responded to the survey.

Respondent burden (time): We have not collected information on time taken to complete the survey in the last few years so are unable to provide an accurate estimation.

Respondent burden (costs): We did not collect information in terms of costs to complete the survey in the year ending March 2024.

Timeliness: The statistical release is generally published around 6 to 7 months after the end of the reference period.

Accuracy: The individual figures reported by authorities are calculated using their internal systems and so are based on the information held by the individual authority. There are a number of factors that may affect the accuracy of the data. These include variations in the methodology applied by different authorities including the data source (manual survey versus AVL) and the methodology used to calculate punctuality measures.

There also remains the possibility that there are errors in the sampling and calculation of the punctuality measures, the data captured is incorrect, the form may not be clear, or the respondents may make an error when completing the form. While our quality assurance procedures attempt to mitigate these errors, it does not remove the risk of them entirely.

Operators are provided with guidance on calculating their return.

Other data sources

The annual bus statistics publication uses data from a number of different sources and there are further sources of useful information on buses and bus travel which provide alternative, additional or contextual data to provide a more complete picture of the bus sector these include:

DfT and other sources used in the publication

DfT quarterly fares survey

Covers changes in fares on local bus services in Great Britain, split by region. Data for the bus fares index is collected through a sample survey of around 100 operators and TfL. The index measures change in the gross yield. This is the change in passenger receipts (excluding concessionary fare reimbursement and subsidies from the government) which would result from a fares change, assuming no change in passenger numbers.

Operators supply information each quarter. Annual indices for groups of operators in different areas of Great Britain are obtained by averaging. The Department publishes the quarterly bus fares statistics, on a quarterly basis, in the form of a table. The Department also publishes monthly statistics on bus usage at a national level.

DfT bus punctuality statistics

Tables BUS09a and BUS09b are based on an annual survey of local authorities who monitor punctuality using manual surveys or data from electronic systems. They provide one measure of the performance of local bus services. There are different measures of punctuality for frequent and non-frequent services.

Concessionary Travel Survey (CT Survey)

The Concessionary Travel Survey is an annual data collection by DfT, to gather information from Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs). A statutory bus concession for older and disabled people has been in place since 2001. This statutory concession is referred to as the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) and is administered by the TCAs.

The survey is sent to the 85 TCAs outside London and to London Councils. The survey asks questions relating to expenditure, pass numbers, concessionary journeys, reimbursement and availability of youth and other discretionary concessions. The latest figures and further information are available.

Transport for London data

Transport for London (TfL) covers half of all local bus passenger journeys in England and are responsible for bus registrations in London. TfL publish many additional reports and information on buses in London as well as for other public transport. TfL supply figures for their services, some of which run outside London. These are adjusted by DfT to cover the Greater London region only, based on figures for patronage on cross-boundary services also supplied by TfL. Where it is clear that operators have not reported boardings for TfL services which they operate in areas outside London, these are added to the total journeys outside London.

TfL publish a large amount of information on bus journeys. As such they publish many additional reports and information on buses in London as well as for other public transport.

Many local authorities also publish information on buses in their area, but this varies by local authority. TfL use their own ticketing machines on all tendered services, and they collate all the data centrally, as well as carrying out additional surveys.

More detailed information relating to bus travel in London can be found on the TfL website.

National Travel Survey (NTS)

The National Travel Survey (NTS) is a household survey of personal travel by residents of England travelling within Great Britain, from data collected via interviews and a 7-day travel diary. The NTS provides data on travel by bus including information on the characteristics of bus users (for example by age, sex, car ownership) and take-up of concessionary travel.

The NTS covers all modes of personal travel and therefore allows bus travel to be compared with other modes and the mode share to be estimated. It also provides alternative measures of bus patronage.

Data from the NTS have been designated as accredited official statistics.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) datasets

Population data is produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, the mid-year estimates from 2012 to 2022 were revised on 23 November to utilise information from the 2021 Census. Figures in these statistics have been recalculated to use these revised figures.

The Annual Population Survey (APS) is a combined survey of households in Great Britain. Its purpose is to provide information on key social and socioeconomic variables between the 10-yearly censuses. The figures shown for the age of bus drivers in this release are based on the APS whereas in previous releases figures were based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS). This change in the source is to enable the use of larger sample sizes in the analysis, in an effort to improve the reliability of the figures presented. Therefore, we have switched to using 3 year APS datasets as opposed to a single quarter that was previously used from the LFS. It should also be noted however that the trends are broadly in line with the previous analysis from the LFS.

The APS is used in the statistical release to provide information on bus and coach staff and drivers in addition to average weekly earnings and hours worked from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).

Public transport support and concessionary travel reimbursement data

Financial data for local authorities are produced by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). However, only provisional data on revenue outturn has been published as of 27 November 2024. Due to this it is not currently possible to produce estimates for public transport support and concessionary travel reimbursement for the year ending March 2024. We plan to publish updated tables at a later date once final revenue outturn data has been published by MHCLG.

Other datasets

Bus user satisfaction data is available from Transport Focus, the independent transport user watchdog. The bus satisfaction survey has now stopped. In the interim until a new measure is introduced the transport focus bus user weekly survey has been used to provide figures on the levels of satisfaction of bus users with their most recent journey. In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic a different survey method has been used to gather this information from the previous bus passenger survey, so direct comparisons with previous years’ data should not be made.

Information related to the impact of buses on the environment is published by DfT, based on Defra statistics. The information is included within the DfT Environment statistics.

Information on vehicles licensed as buses and coaches is available from DfT statistics on licensed vehicles. These provide an alternative measure of the vehicle stock, which is not directly comparable with data collected in the PSV survey (see notes to table BUS06a for details).

Bus Open data

The Bus Services Act (2017) provided powers for the Secretary of State (Transport) to legally require operators of local bus services across England to openly publish data about those services, including timetables; fares; and location data.

During 2020, DfT launched the new Bus Open Data Service where data consumers including researchers and application developers, will be able to find and use this data online.

The annual bus statistics publication relates to England. Figures for Scotland and Wales are published by the Scottish Government and Welsh Government.

Other data sources available on buses

Below is a selection of some of the sources with links to their websites. We do not take responsibility for the quality or content of these sources, nor is this a fully exhaustive list.

Traffic Commissioners publish data on the number of bus routes registered and bus route variations in their annual reports. Caution should be used when using this data to make judgements on the overall bus market, as routes are changed for many operational reasons and can vary greatly in length and frequency.

Traffic Commissioners also publish changes to local routes and provide notices to changes at local bus route level. In addition, they provide search tools to find your local operator and find your local registered bus routes.

Traveline is a partnership of transport companies, local authorities and passenger groups which have come together to bring you routes and times for all travel in Great Britain by bus, rail, coach and ferry. As well as this Traveline offers several open data options.

The National Highways and Transport Network (NHT) is a service improvement organisation providing a range of benchmarking services for the Highways and Transport sector. They perform a large public satisfaction survey each year across multiple modes including public transport with data available at local authority level.

The TAS Partnership is a transport consultancy and provides data and research including undertaking a fares survey to identify bus ticket prices across the UK every 2 years.

Bus Times is an unofficial source for bus times and a useful website to find local bus route times and information. It utilises other open data sources and contains contact details for most bus operators.

The department also collects a range of statistics related to Concessionary Travel from Travel Concession Authorities (TCAs). These cover pass holding and use, expenditure and reimbursement and availability of youth and other discretionary schemes. They are published as part of the ‘buses’ series on the department’s website.

Terminology

Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operator: For the purposes of these statistics, these are licensed operators of Public Service Vehicles in Tax Classes 34 and 38 using buses, minibuses or coaches for public service (which include local bus services, school services, long-distance coaching, tours, excursions and private hire). Taxi services and any work not intended for carrying passengers are excluded.

Local bus service: Local services are scheduled stopping services registered with the Traffic Commissioner. School bus services should be included if the service is registered as a local service available to the general public and it is eligible for Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG).

In Greater London, local services include tendered services for Transport for London or those run with a London Service Permit. Outside London, local services include commercial, tendered and de-minimis local bus services including those supported by Rural Bus Subsidy Grant or Challenge funding.

Non-local services: These include (the non-registered parts of) scheduled coach services, school contracts where the service cannot be used by fare-paying members of the public at bus stops, private hire where the vehicle is hired in advance and pre-booked tours. Only work done in Great Britain is included.

Passenger journeys: A count of the total number of boardings of each vehicle, so a trip which requires a change from one bus to another would be counted as two journeys in these figures. Figures do not include children under 5 years of age.

Concessionary passengers: This category covers all passengers (elderly, disabled and youth) where operators receive full or partial fare reimbursement from local authorities as part of a statutory or non-statutory concessionary travel scheme. Commercial concessions which may be offered by some operators (for example, free travel for their staff) are excluded.

Vehicle mileage and kilometres (local bus services): Mileage (kilometres) operated on local bus service. This includes only ‘live’ (for example, service) miles and not ‘dead’ running from depots to the start of a route.

Subsidised services (also called tendered or supported services): These services are those that receive local authority support for all or part of their operation, normally where there is insufficient commercial demand to sustain the service without such support.

Examples will include school routes, evening services on certain routes, or socially necessary services in communities where buses would not otherwise call. They are awarded following competitive tendering or run for local authorities under de-minimis arrangements.

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Contact details

Bus statistics

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