Bus trips outside London increase 8%

Average trips by buses outside London increased by 8% in 2023 compared to 2022.

This figure was revealed in the National Travel Survey (NTS), a household survey of personal travel by residents of England travelling within Great Britain, from data collected via interviews and a seven-day travel diary.

According to the NTS, this increase in average bus trips outside London may have at least partially been impacted by the national £2 bus fare cap which came into effect on buses outside the capital from January 2023. Trip rates on London buses have remained similar in 2023 to 2022. Trip rates on buses are however still lower than pre-pandemic levels.

The results showed half of public transport trips use a single mode of transport, the remaining half use more than one transport mode. Around 27% of multi-modal public transport trips in England involved more than one public transport mode. Secondary school children (aged 11 to 16) made 35% of trips to and from school which are two- to under five-miles in length by bus, and 47% of trips to and from school which are five-miles and over in length by bus.

The most common trip purpose in 2023 was for shopping with 169 trips per person. Females aged 40 and over and males aged 60 and over made most of their trips for shopping in 2023. This was followed by commuting with 117 trips per person.

The National Travel Survey has found that, broadly, personal travel increased in 2023 but had not returned to pre-pandemic trends. The average walking distance travelled was the highest on record since 2002.