WITH INCREASED bus travel central to the UK hitting its Net Zero targets, a new report has revealed that Wales has the lowest bus usage in the UK.
The Getronics Bus Trust Tracker is based on independent research conducted among 2,500 UK residents and explores why, despite major investment in greener fleets, millions of seats on UK buses are still going empty.
The report reveals that across Wales, even those with access to local bus routes average just 49 bus journeys per year, with only 27% taking a bus at least once a week. The UK average is 77 trips per year, with 42% of people taking the bus once a week.
Laurence Kresnyak, UK travel & transport sector lead at Getronics, explained: “Although Wales is more rural than other areas of the UK, our heatmap only analyses those with access to local bus routes, so this alone can’t account for the disparity.
“It is likely that the high car ownership figures, historically limited investment into public transport, and a lack of integrated ticketing options all contribute to the low passenger numbers.”
Long journey times (30%) and service delays (25%) are the main reasons that Welsh people choose not to travel by bus.
Despite this, the report reveals that the majority of Welsh residents (57%) would be more likely to use the bus if bus companies made technological changes.
The top three things that would improve their experience on the bus are:
- Access to accurate live information about bus routes (25%)
- The ability to check bus occupancy levels in advance (18%)
- The ability to plan their entire journey in connection with other modes of transport (15%)
Laurence continued: “This data shows a major opportunity to improve bus services in Wales. These empty seats represent a big opportunity for both bus operators and those working to hit our net zero targets.
“We work with transport operators every day, so we know the industry is undergoing major changes. However, there is still a significant gap between the digital experience passengers have in other parts of their lives and the one they find while travelling by bus.”
Getronics specialises in building resilient, industry-leading IT systems in the travel, transport and logistics sectors, and works with transport operators in the UK and internationally to streamline services and boost passenger numbers.
Laurence concluded: “For Wales, the destination here is clear: better passenger experience, enabled by cutting-edge technology, will mean fuller buses and a more sustainable transport future.”
Read the full report by clicking here.
