Bus and coach statistics Great Britain: 1995/96

Key Facts 1995/96

This factsheet presents some key statistics about the bus and coach industry in Great Britain in 1995/96. All the information presented here has been derived from returns made to the Department of Transport by a sample of Public Service Vehicle operators. Key uses of the data are to monitor and develop policy for the bus and coach industry, and to assess the importance of the industry in the economy and relative to other modes of transport.

More detailed analyses of these returns, including commentary and figures for different areas of the country, and bus data from several other sources, such as the National Travel Survey, local authority/PTA financial returns, and DVLA vehicle stock data, are presented in the HMSO publication 'Bus and Coach Statistics Great Britain 1995/96' (October 1996).Local statistics for Scotland and Wales are also published in Transport Statistics reports available from the Scottish Office and Welsh Office respectively.

Passenger journeys on local buses in Great Britain decreased by just under one per cent in 1995/96, continuing the decline of the last decade. This was largely influenced by Scotland and Wales, where local bus passenger journeys both decreased by just under 4 percent in the last financial year. Passenger journeys outside London fell by just over two per cent - less than the average fall of about 4 per cent per year since deregulation. Passenger journeys in London increased by over 3 per cent in the last financial year, following the trend of the previous year.

(i) Supply and demand

Local bus service supply in Great Britain as a whole fell by 1 per cent in 1995/96, to2,623 million vehicle kilometres. There had been an upward trend in vehicle kilometres run over the last decade, an overall increase of 26 per cent. The increase since 1985/86 was mainly influenced by increased competition outside London arising from the Transport Act1985 and the trend towards higher frequency services using smaller buses. This year's fall is the first since the 2 per cent decline between 1984 and 1985/86.

Vehicle kilometres run on other (non local) services were 1,482 million, an increase of less than four per cent in the year to 31 March 1996. Over the last decade, other (non-local) mileage has increased by 19 per cent.

In 1995/96, passenger journeys on local bus services in Great Britain decreased after a small rise in 1994/95, by one per cent to 4,383 million. This follows the trend over the decade which has shown a steady decline of about 2½ per cent per year.
(ii) Local bus fares

In 1995/96, local bus fares in Great Britain rose by about 5 per cent, an increase of just over 1 per cent in real terms. National fare changes were held below inflation between 1984 and 1985/86 but have since risen by an average of 2 per cent per year in real terms.

(iii) Passenger receipts

In Great Britain in 1995/96, passenger receipts for local bus services (including concessionary fare reimbursement) were £2,407 million, about level with the previous year in real terms. Over the last decade local receipts have fallen by an average of half of one per cent per year in real terms.

Passenger receipts for other (non-local) services were £1,024 million in 1995/96, up less than two per cent in real terms on 1994/95. In real terms, they have increased by 13per cent over the decade.

Passenger receipts for all services have remained fairly steady over the decade, in real terms. The fall in local bus passenger receipts has been balanced by the rise in non-local receipts.

(iv) Local bus operating costs

In Great Britain during 1995/95, the average local bus service operating cost per vehicle kilometre was about 83 pence excluding depreciation, down 3 per cent on the previous year in real terms. The average cost per passenger journey was about 50 pence, a fall of over 3 per cent in real terms.

Real costs per vehicle kilometre fell by 23 per cent in Great Britain between 1985/86and 1987/88. The fall has been less marked since then, at 28 per cent in total over the following eight years. Reductions in costs per passenger journey are not as great as those per vehicle kilometre because the number of passenger journeys has generally declined whilst mileage operated has generally increased.

(v) Bus and coach stock and staff

At the end of 1995/96, the bus and coach fleet in Great Britain comprised 75,700vehicles, up 400 on the previous year. This is comparable with the fleet size in the mid1970's. Double deck vehicles accounted for 26 per cent of these and 33 per cent were mini/midibuses with up to 35 seats. Since 1985/86 the proportion of the fleet made up by single-deckers with fewer than 36 seats has more than doubled, from 14 to 33 per cent, with a large increase occurring in the 17-35 seat midibus sector from 1985/86.

At the end of 1995/96, bus and coach operators in Great Britain employed 145,900 staff, down about 2 per cent on the previous year. 73 per cent were platform staff (drivers, conductors and other on-vehicle staff) and 15 per cent were maintenance staff. The rest were mainly in administration. Over the decade staff employed in the industry have declined by 16 per cent.

Contact point:

Paul O'Hara
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Bus and Coach Statistics Branch
1/34 Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street, SW1P 4DR
+44 (0)20 7944 3076

E-mail bus.statistics@dft.gov.uk