Bus
Resources
National Bus Strategy - one year on
Funding a better future for urban transport
Strategic analysis of current bus safety issues
This report from the Transport Safety Research Centre at Loughborough University reviews the regulatory framework for bus safety in England outside London and makes comparisons with the safety regime in place both elsewhere and for other modes. It also includes the findings from interviews with Local Transport Authorities and other key bodies on their experience of the current bus safety regime. The report finds there is a strong case for significant reform including around standards and the organisation and resourcing of leadership and oversight on bus safety.
Continuing COVID Funding Support for Urban Public Transport
This report finds that if Government’s Covid-related financial support to urban public transport outside London ends (in March 2022), buses would soon be less frequent and more expensive, and patronage would be substantially lower than pre-Covid levels, potentially up to 30% lower.
Further financial support however would halt the decline of bus (and light rail) patronage and has the potential to get patronage levels back towards their pre-pandemic levels. It would also create the opportunity for Government to reform its approach to supporting public transport funding so it can be used to the best effect.
The report recommends that the Government’s Covid-related support to urban public transport is maintained for at least a further 12 months.
The threat to public transport in the city regions
Creating a Road Collision Investigation Branch
Concessionary Travel Covid-19 Recovery Strategy - Consultation: call for evidence
Submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2021
Back the Bus to Level Up
This report makes the case for bus revenue funding and reform of how it is provided.
It aims to arrive at a realistic assessment of the revenue funding that will be needed to support the ambitious transformation in bus services envisaged by the National Bus Strategy. It also looks at how the way in which funding is provided could be reformed in order to offer better value for public money and enable it to be targeted in the most effective way locally.
The report:
- Reviews the overall case for revenue support for bus.
- Uses our Metropolitan Bus Model to test different revenue funding scenarios for their impact on service levels, fares and patronage.
- Makes the case for reform of the way in which revenue support for buses is provided.
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Funding a better future for urban transport
The threat to public transport in the city regions
Funding and delivering bus services during the pandemic and beyond
Bus Policy
Supporting bus services in the COVID-19 recovery period
Multi-Operator Ticket Comparison 2019
Bus Fares Research 2019
Briefing on Bus Rapid Transit
Bus Services Bill FAQs
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Strategic analysis of current bus safety issues
This report from the Transport Safety Research Centre at Loughborough University reviews the regulatory framework for bus safety in England outside London and makes comparisons with the safety regime in place both elsewhere and for other modes. It also includes the findings from interviews with Local Transport Authorities and other key bodies on their experience of the current bus safety regime. The report finds there is a strong case for significant reform including around standards and the organisation and resourcing of leadership and oversight on bus safety.
Continuing COVID Funding Support for Urban Public Transport
This report finds that if Government’s Covid-related financial support to urban public transport outside London ends (in March 2022), buses would soon be less frequent and more expensive, and patronage would be substantially lower than pre-Covid levels, potentially up to 30% lower.
Further financial support however would halt the decline of bus (and light rail) patronage and has the potential to get patronage levels back towards their pre-pandemic levels. It would also create the opportunity for Government to reform its approach to supporting public transport funding so it can be used to the best effect.
The report recommends that the Government’s Covid-related support to urban public transport is maintained for at least a further 12 months.
Back the Bus to Level Up
This report makes the case for bus revenue funding and reform of how it is provided.
It aims to arrive at a realistic assessment of the revenue funding that will be needed to support the ambitious transformation in bus services envisaged by the National Bus Strategy. It also looks at how the way in which funding is provided could be reformed in order to offer better value for public money and enable it to be targeted in the most effective way locally.
The report:
- Reviews the overall case for revenue support for bus.
- Uses our Metropolitan Bus Model to test different revenue funding scenarios for their impact on service levels, fares and patronage.
- Makes the case for reform of the way in which revenue support for buses is provided.
Building back better on urban transport
As the network of transport authorities serving the largest city regions in England, we worked together to keep the wheels of public transport turning during the lockdown so that key workers could get to where they needed to be.
In this paper we set out how, with the right policy framework from Government, we can meet the challenge of ramping up public transport and prioritising cycling and walking to support a green and just recovery.
(Updated version June 2021)
The Covid-19 Funding Gap: The Case for Continuing Support for Urban Public Transport
This report, produced by transport consultancy Steer for the Urban Transport Group, warns that the future of local public transport services is at serious risk without continued COVID-19 financial support from Government.
It highlights how Government support allowed public transport to continue during the national lockdown (enabling key workers to travel to and from work) and to provide a more comprehensive service at lower socially distanced vehicle capacity following the end of the lockdown.
But the report paints a stark picture for both bus and light rail systems should this support be withdrawn prematurely.
How bus users spend their journey time
This research - conducted by transport consultancy SYSTRA on behalf of the Urban Transport Group - uncovers valuable insights into how passengers spend their time while travelling by bus, and sets out the implications for future bus design and promotion.
The research was based on surveys of over 1,100 people on two different bus routes in Leeds and Nottingham. The two routes both provide a high frequency service and operate with double decker buses with leather seats, WiFi and USB ports - some of the best on-board facilities available. However, the profile of passengers between the two routes was somewhat different, with passengers in Leeds tending to be older, working or retired, whilst a higher proportion of respondents in Nottingham were students, due to the bus route travelling along the university corridor.
What scope for boosting bus use? An analysis of the Intrinsic Bus Potential of local authority areas in England
This research, by Transport for Quality of Life, identifies the underlying conditions that best predict levels of bus use in local areas. It points to six conditions which, when combined, are used to define the ‘Intrinsic Bus Potential’ (IBP) of a local authority area. These include the Index of Multiple Deprivation, the proportion of students, and rush-hour traffic travel times.
The report also identifies additional factors which may explain why some areas exceed expectations with higher levels of bus use than predicted, such as a pre-existing culture of bus use, high levels of bus provision, and local factors such as poor rail connectivity.
The research has a number of important implications, including the need for radical change on bus policy to enable more areas to do significantly better on bus patronage.
What next for urban transport?
This report - published to coincide with the 2019 Autumn Party Conferences - identifies four urban transport challenges and four solutions needed to overcome them.
It also details what transport authorities need from Government to bring about these changes.
On launching the report, Stephen Edwards, Chair of the Urban Transport Group and Executive Director of South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, said: "There is much more that needs to be done if transport is to contribute effectively to meeting the many challenges that city regions face, from the climate crisis to public health challenges associated with a lack of physical activity. The right policies can help overcome these challenges."
Number crunch 2019: Urban transport trends in changing times
We are living in rapidly changing times. Big shifts are taking place in urban transport trends.
Number crunch 2019 is the second in our Number crunch report series and provides an updated overview of the key trends over the last ten years, as well as taking a look at what the new and most recent data is telling us. The report also investigates some new issues – including housing need and social inclusion.
In these changing times, the case for coordinated and integrated transport planning at the city region level is stronger than ever. So is the case for long term funding frameworks for local urban transport rather than stop-start funding as is currently the case.
How people respond to the experience of bus travel and the implications for the future of bus services
This literature review - carried out by SYSTRA for the Urban Transport Group - aims to appraise the existing evidence base on the range of factors that influence how people respond to the experience of bus travel, with a focus on the social-emotional experience of bus travel and on the experiences of different socio-demographic groups.
The review does not aim to act as a ‘to-do’ list to complete in order to improve bus travel experiences. Any learnings taken should acknowledge that the bus services assessed in the literature are often hyper-local and therefore are experienced in a very individual market.
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Allowing non-physical guided transport modes to be authorised by a Transport and Works Act order
National Bus Strategy - one year on
Creating a Road Collision Investigation Branch
Concessionary Travel Covid-19 Recovery Strategy - Consultation: call for evidence
Submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2021
Traffic Commissioner Function
Public Transport Ticketing Scheme Block Exemption
Submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review 2020
Future of Transport Regulatory Review
MHCLG Review of local authorities’ relative needs and resources
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Response to Queen’s Speech: Transport Bill is opportunity to extend benefits of local control of transport
Responding to the Queen’s Speech, Jonathan Bray, Director of the Urban Transport Group, said:
Urban Transport Authorities respond to DfT funding announcement
Responding to today's DfT's funding announcement Chair of the Urban Transport Group, Laura Shoaf, said:
Urban Transport Group welcomes Government’s extension of COVID funding for public transport
The Urban Transport Group has today welcomed the announcement that Government will extend its COVID funding support for local transport for a further six months.
Nearly one in three urban bus trips – some 300 million journeys - could be lost without further financial support from Government, report warns
The number of bus passengers in city regions outside London could be up to 30% lower than before the pandemic – a “similar magnitude” to the direct impact which COVID-19 itself has had on demand - if the Government does not extend its financial support for the bus.
Urban Transport Group responds to Spending Review
Responding to today’s Spending Review, Jonathan Bray, Director of the Urban Transport Group, said:
Government will miss carbon reduction objectives and levelling up goals without more local transport spending, warn city regions
The Government will fail to meet its objectives around carbon reduction and levelling up unless it increases spending on local transport as part of the Spending Review.
New report makes case for Spending Review to back the bus
‘Spending Review will decide whether bus strategy aspirations will be met’
Report shows current funding falls well short of what will be needed for levelling up
The biggest job in UK urban transport: TfL Commissioner to speak about leading through a global crisis and towards a green and just recovery
Transport for London Commissioner Andy Byford will be in conversation with Jo Field, Chief Executive of JFG Communications and President of Women in Transport for the seventh in the Urban Transport Next series of events, hosted by Urban Transport Group.
Urban Transport Group welcomes national bus strategy's “positive and ambitious vision for the future”
The Urban Transport Group, the network of UK transport authorities (which serve the areas where the vast majority of bus trips are made), has today welcomed the national bus strategy.
New report to review regulation of bus safety, commissioned by Urban Transport Group
The strengths and weaknesses of the current system of oversight and regulation of bus safety are to be analysed by the Urban Transport Group in a new report.