· over a third (39%) said they travel more by bus within their local area since they obtained a concessionary pass.

· in comparison, about one in eight (13%) of pass holders reported making more journeys by bus outside of their local area following the introduction of the free national bus travel entitlement.

· amongst pass holders who were using their pass to travel outside their local area, 35% were undertaking journeys by bus that they had previously made by car. 12% were making journeys by bus that they had not previously made by any means, prior to the new concession.

3.3 In December 2010 we published Barriers to Bus Use in Milton Keynes, a piece of qualitative research among non users and lapsed users [2] . The full report is available at: http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/bus/news-and-publications/document-search/document.asp?dsid=4811 . Many found actual bus journey times faster than expected and valued being able to get off right in the city centre rather than having to look for (and pay for) a parking place further away, but the time getting between their home and the stop, and waiting for the bus, gave car travel a significant advantage. The report catalogues a wide range of other barriers which, if overcome, would result in modal shift, which would help to tackle congestion through a more efficient use of road space.

4 Punctuality of buses

4.1 It is clear from our research that improving punctuality is the highest priority for bus passengers. In March 2010 we published a report on Bus passenger priorities for improvement, reflecting the views of 3,800 bus passengers [3] . Passengers were asked to rate 30 criteria. The statement "more buses are on time or within five minutes of when they are scheduled to arrive" came top. The full report is available at http://www.passengerfocus. o rg.uk/bus/news-and-publications/document-search/document.asp?dsid=4393

4.2 It is also clear that passengers are less satisfied with the punctuality of buses than they are with many other aspects of bus travel. In July 2010 we published the results of our first Bus Passenger Survey, reporting on the views of 18,500 passengers across 14 areas of the country [4] . The full report is available at http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/bus/news-and-publications/document-search / document.asp?dsid=4386

Key findings were:

· Overall passenger satisfaction with their bus journey ranged from 84% to 92%

· The proportion of passengers satisfied was generally lower for the length of time spent waiting for the bus (68%-82%) and whether the bus arrived on time (67-84%)

· Passenger satisfaction with the length of time their journey took ranged from 76% to 86%

4.3 Poor punctuality also represents a barrier to persuading more people to leave their cars behind and take the bus instead. The perception that buses could not be relied on to turn up on time put off a number of the passengers we talked to in Milton Keynes, making some of them feel that this made them unsuitable for going to work or other time-critical journeys.

4.4 It is hard to comment objectively on the punctuality of buses since, in contrast to the rail industry, the publication of punctuality data is poor. However, the Department for Transport has compiled tables from data submitted on national indicators (NI) by local authorities to the Department for Communities and Local Government. NI 178 covers the punctuality of buses. The most recently available figures relate to the year 2009/10. These show that:

· for timetabled services, seven out of 81 local authorities (all of them unitary authorities) failed to achieve the absolute minimum threshold established by the traffic commissioners of 70% of services arriving at intermediate timing points no more than one minute early or five minutes late, while only three achieved the standard of 95% on time.

· for frequent services (those that are scheduled to run at least every ten minutes) just over half of the authorities completing returns achieved the traffic commissioners’ target of keeping excess waiting time (the average time that an intending passenger waits longer than the average scheduled wait) down to 1¼ minutes or less, with just under half failing to achieve the target.

4.5 However, punctuality data is only published by local authority area. In order for it to be really useful, data needs to be made available disaggregated down to route level. It is surprising, and disappointing, that bus operators (and local authorities) are not required to account publicly for their performance in exchange for the £2.5 billion p.a. of public money from which they benefit. In the meantime, it is important that the Government continues to collect and publish punctuality data against NI 178.

4.6 Neither are we able to draw on published data on the impact of congestion on bus punctuality levels, since in contrast to the rail side, reasons for delays are not published. However, we do ask about the role of traffic congestion in holding up the bus in our Bus Passenger Survey. Across the 14 areas we surveyed, 41% of all those dissatisfied with the length of time the journey took identified the amount of traffic on the road as a reason for their dissatisfaction (46% across the four PTE areas surveyed, 58% in Greater Manchester, 51% in Cambridgeshire and in West Yorkshire) – more than any other single reason identified.

5 Improving punctuality of buses

5.1 In order to address this gap in understanding, Passenger Focus is this year developing a project designed to help the bus industry and transport authorities work together to bring about improvements in the punctuality of local bus services. Our intention is to select a sample of bus routes across the country and to analyse the available data with a view to identifying exactly when and where the bus is being held up, and by what. Working through reinvigorated local Punctuality Improvement Partnerships we would then move on to develop joint action plans to tackle the problems. We would intend to publicise the conclusions and disseminate the lessons widely.

5.2 As part of this work, we aim to study the impact of bus priority measures of all kinds and the scope for extending them. Our position on bus priority measures is:

· We support in principle any measure which reduces bus journey times and makes them more predictable and attractive. 

· Bus priority measures, such as well-enforced bus lanes and priority for buses at junctions, may offer these benefits if deployed in the right place at the right times; this will usually be in urban areas, on principal routes, where traffic congestion is likely to be at its worst

· Bus priority measures should be justified by projected and actual improvements in journey time, when compared with journey times on the same routes without the measures; and time should be given for enforcement regimes to settle down before they are reviewed.  There should be full transparency of the evidence used as the basis for introducing or withdrawing bus priority measures over the whole catchment area of the affected bus services

· Bus lanes should be clearly marked.  Clear and prominent signs should indicate times of operation and vehicles permitted in the bus lane during those times

· To be fully effective, appropriate sanctions need to be introduced for driving or stopping in bus lanes, and these need to be enforced when infringements take place. Cameras mounted on buses, and camera cars, have proved very effective in deterring unauthorised parking at bus stops and in bus lanes.

· Other measures designed to make bus journeys faster and more predictable should be considered, e.g. smart ticketing and changes to vehicle design to speed up boarding, improving junction design, improved coordination and management of road works, enforcing traffic offences.  Any bus priority measures should be justified.

· Whether or not other vehicles – e.g. cycles, motorcycles, taxis, HGV, shared occupancy vehicles – should be entitled to use a priority lane should depend on their impact on the speed of the bus and predictability of bus journey times

· We welcome bus partnerships where, for example, local authorities install bus lanes while bus operators invest in new vehicles. Punctuality Improvement Partnerships with properly monitored targets can be a useful way of formalising joint plans.

· Bus priority measures should ideally enjoy a measure of public acceptability.  The reasons for decisions about bus lanes - following public consultation or otherwise – should be transparent.

· Parking and loading restrictions should be introduced where vehicles are likely to obstruct traffic flow including buses, with appropriate sanctions, and should be enforced. Where possible, parking should be provided off-street or inset into the pavement, to maintain road capacity and minimise obstruction.

5.3 We also hope to use the project to understand more about the practical impact of different approaches to regulate and reduce street works.

January 2011