Various events are being held across the country to mark Catch the Bus Month this September.

To give a taste of what is involved in this month-long celebration of our industry, B&CB attended the Catch the Bus Month event at Springfields Outlet Shopping and Leisure Centre in Spalding, Lincolnshire, today.

Catch the Bus Month is organised by passenger watchdog Bus Users UK and sees it, along with local authorities, operators and other interested parties, promote bus travel.

Lincolnshire County Council, Bus Users UK and local operators did their bit to support the Month at Springfields. It saw a stand bearing local bus information and promotional material handed out to passers by in the centre of the shopping outlet. The event coincided with the shopping centre’s ‘Help Us Go Greener’ initiative, which focuses on ways to be environmentally friendly.

Stagecoach East had a presence during the event, with Stephen Kiely, PR and Communications from the operator helping visitors with bus information and taking feedback about the area’s buses. He told B&CB: “Organisers of the shopping park have been really enthusiastic. It’s been good to support it.”

Also on the stand was Emma Beaumont, Transport Services Promotions Officer at Lincolnshire County Council, who said: “We have been working with different organisations for Catch the Bus Month this September. We also had an event in Skegness earlier this month, where if people showed their bus ticket at the pier, they can get their ice cream upgraded to large for free or free doughnuts.”

The Council is also working with local brands, such as Stokes Coffee of Lincoln, Lincoln castle and the cathedral, as well as Lincoln City FC,  to promote bus use. Emma says the efforts have paid off, gaining the attention of a lot of different audiences and varying demographics.

In terms of the impact of the bus promotions during September, the full effect is yet to be tallied fully. She said: “Every day we’re generating interest in the buses. We have had a lot of interest on social media, where we’ve even had people answering other commenters’ bus questions, which is nice to see. It’s all feeling very positive.”

Improvements to Lincolnshire’s bus network have been put in place this year as a result of BSIP funding. Emma said the enhancements have been popular, with many factors helping promote bus use in recent times, especially the £2 fare cap. She said: “The £2 fare cap has been hugely popular. In Sleaford, we have fares capped at 50p in the town. That’s had a massive impact, so people are very price sensitive. When you look at the £2 fare cap, it absolutely makes a huge difference.”

Accessibility focus

Supporting the event from Bus Users UK was Victoria Walker, Programme Manager, who said: “We’re delighted for the support we’ve had for Catch the Bus Month, from operators to charities. We’ve even had individuals take part, bus customers wanting to get involved.”

Bus Users UK is making available a Partner Pack, containing ideas and free resources for those who want to support Catch the Bus Month.

Victoria said: “This year’s Catch the bus Month is about accessibility. It’s about getting more people on buses and finding out what people want from them.”

Accessibility is a key topic Bus Users UK has been focusing on recently. The organisation’s complaints work regularly raises issues around accessibility and passenger rights. It works closely with operators to resolve individual complaints and to ensure issues are addressed and services improved. Its Chief Executive, Claire Walters, is Accessibility and Access Ambassador for the bus and coach industry, appointed by government. Claire’s role has now officially been extended until Spring 2025.

Earlier this year, Bus Users UK carried out a major research project with funding from the Motability Foundation to capture the lived experiences of disabled passengers and identify barriers to travel. It has also developed an audit to identify what operators are doing to improve access and to share best practice in order to improve services for passengers.

This year’s Catch the Bus Month is the latest initiative as part of this focus on accessibility, with 2024’s campaign focused specifically on the impact accessible transport has, not only on the people using bus services but on society generally.

Victoria says there are around 160 individual events for Catch the Bus Month, aiming bus use at a diverse range of people.

The Month has found support from operators across the country. As well as the larger operators, Bus Users UK has also focused on encouraging SME operators to take part. Victoria said: “We made sure the Partner Pack included ideas for everybody. And we made sure it had resources for online activities if operators couldn’t do anything physically.

“We are finding smaller operators are playing a part in the Month too. We found community transport groups are taking part as well. Some have even specially wrapped minibuses.

“What we do is amplify their messages on social media platforms.”

On the event today in Spalding, she said: “Thank you to the local community, Lincolnshire County Council and all those who have supported this. They’re doing a great job for passengers. Everybody that has showed up are totally great.”

Coach offer

As well as being served by buses, Springfields also focuses on providing a good offering for coaches. Adam Whittaker, Retail Marketing Manager at the shopping centre, told B&CB it provides an incentive scheme for coach drivers, including at £10 gift voucher for the centre, £10 worth of food and drink at one of the restaurants and a free tea or coffee and pastry at Costa. There is also a coach driver lounge.

Coaches can attend Springfields completely free, with no entry charges for passengers accessing the attractive gardens attached to the centre. Adam said the centre is attractive to all demographics, from teenagers to older generations.

Jackie Sawyers, Facilities and Special Projects Manager at Springfields, said the shopping outlet gets around 1,500 coach groups a year pre-book, with up to 20 a day. There is plenty of parking for coaches, she says, with overflow parking available if the dedicated coach bays fill up. Meet and greets for coach parties are also offered.

Springfields works with the local bus operators, providing timetables in the information centre and a list of public transport operators is available on the website.

“We are really keen to work with bus and coach companies that are keen to work with us,” said Adam.