Bus and coach statistics Great Britain: 1998/99
Key Facts 1998/99
This factsheet presents some key statistics about the bus and coach industry in Great Britain in 1998/99. Most of the information presented here has been derived from returns made to DETR from 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 relative to other modes of transport.
More information on public transport, including commentary and figures for various parts of Great Britain, and bus and rail data from several other sources, such as the National Travel Survey, local authority/PTA financial returns, and the DETR vehicle information database, are presented in Part 5 of Transport Statistics Great Britain: 1999Edition; (The Stationery Office, October 1999). Local statistics for Scotland and Wales are also published in Transport Statistics reports available from the Scottish Executive and National Assembly for Wales. More detail can also be found in the DETR free bulletin A Bulletin of Public Transport Statistics: Great Britain 1999.
The long term decline in passenger journeys on local buses in Great Britain has shown signs of halting, with a broadly flat trend since the mid 1990s. Passenger journeys in London fell by one per cent in the financial year 1998/99. This is against the recent upward trend for London, of 6 per cent over the last decade. Increased economic activity and a simpler bus fare zone structure, real bus fare increases of one per cent in London in 1998/99, and the diverse patterns of employment, together with a huge number of visitors, have ensured that London has about a third of England's local bus journeys.
Supply and demand
Local bus service supply in Great Britain remained at 2.6 billion vehicle kilometres in1998/99, as in the previous year. The trend in vehicle kilometres run over the last decade has been upward, by 8 per cent.
Vehicle kilometres run on other (non local) services such as private hire, excursions and tours increased to 1.7 billion, an increase of 6 per cent on the previous financial year. Over the last decade the total mileage run on tours, excursions, express work and private hire has increased by 23 per cent. Passenger journeys on these services are not surveyed as the vehicle is often hired as a whole, regardless of the number of seats taken.
In 1998/99, passenger journeys on local bus services in Great Britain fell by 2 percent, to 4.25 billion journeys. The trend over the decade has been a decline, of 19 percent. Passenger journeys on local buses in Great Britain are half of what they were in1970, although there are large variations by area, as the fall in London since then was 15per cent.
Local bus fares
In 1998/99, local bus fares in Great Britain rose by one per cent in real terms. When compared with other transport indices, rail and local bus fares have increased by more than a third in real terms since 1980. Private motoring costs, including the cost of purchase of a second-hand vehicle, road tax, fuel costs, insurance and maintenance, have fallen by 5 per cent over the same period. The greatest bus fare increases over the last decade have been in London and the English metropolitan areas.
Passenger receipts, support and concessionary fares
In Great Britain in 1998/99, passenger receipts for local bus (and traditional tram) services (including concessionary fare reimbursement) were £2.6 billion, 2 per cent less than the previous year in real terms. Over the last decade receipts for local bus services have remained at about the same level in real terms.
Passenger receipts for other (non-local) services were £1.3 billion in 1998/99, up 12per cent in real terms on the previous year. The real increase over the decade has been 29per cent.
Most local bus services are operated commercially. Less public transport support is required than a decade ago, at £490 million then (at 1998/99 prices) compared to £269million in 1998/99. Concessionary fare reimbursement for elderly and disabled people has remained fairly steady over the decade, in real terms. It was worth £441 million in1998/99.
Funding and local bus operating costs
In 1998/99, support for local bus services was £271 million. Concessionary fare reimbursement for elderly and disabled bus users was £441 million. Over the last decade, the average local bus service operating cost per vehicle kilometre in Great Britain has fallen from about £1.30 to 90 pence, in real terms. Real costs per passenger journey have fallen very slightly, and are still about 60 pence. Staff earnings have remained at a similar level, in real terms, to those of a decade ago.
Bus and coach stock and staff
At the end of March 1999, the bus and coach fleet in Great Britain comprised 79,300vehicles, up 2,900 on the previous year. Double deck vehicles accounted for 22 per cent of these, and 32 per cent were mini/midibuses with up to 35 seats. Coaches made up a quarter of the fleet, at 20,000 vehicles. Low floor and kneeling buses are entering service in many areas and they are now approaching ten per cent of the total fleet.
At the end of March 1999, bus and coach operators in Great Britain employed 153,000staff, 5 per cent more than in the previous year. Of these, 75 per cent were platform staff (drivers, conductors and other on-vehicle staff) and 13 per cent were maintenance staff. Other staff, mainly in administration, declined to 12 per cent. Over the last decade staff employed in the bus and coach industry have declined by 4 per cent.
Other public transport trends in 1998/99
The national rail network, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway and the other light rail and metro systems in Great Britain have shown increases in patronage. Passenger journeys on the national rail system have increased to 892 million, those on London Underground to 866 million, and those on other metro and supertram systems to 100 million. Domestic airline passengers uplifted increased by 4 per cent to 16.8 million.
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