Background to the report

Local buses are the most used form of public transport in England. There were around 1.8 billion bus journeys outside London in 2023-24. Buses are essential for millions of people to get to work, education, shops and medical appointments.

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Buses are a particularly important form of transport for the young, older people, people with disabilities, and lower income households.

Despite their importance, bus services in England outside London have been in long-term decline. Passenger numbers had dropped, and the size of the bus network had reduced in the decade leading up to the pandemic, while ticket costs had increased more quickly than rail fares and motoring costs.

Successive governments have sought to improve services for passengers and increase bus usage, and more recently to make bus journeys greener.

Scope of the report

This report examines bus services in England outside London, looking at:

  • whether the performance of bus services has improved since 2020;
  • whether DfT understands the effectiveness of its interventions to improve bus services; and
  • whether DfT is set up to address the remaining barriers to improving local bus services
Jonny Mood, the report’s director, summarises our findings.

Video summary

Conclusions

Successive governments have aimed to improve bus services for passengers and attract more people to use buses. Despite significant investment from government, these outcomes are not yet being achieved.

COVID-19 disrupted DfT’s plans and required a shift in focus towards supporting the short-term survival of the bus sector. This has meant that, while progress has been made, long-standing issues with the performance of the bus sector remain.

The commercial viability of the sector has weakened, and passengers have seen services reduce. In a changed landscape where local transport authorities will have increasing influence over bus services, it is essential that DfT provides the sector with the tools it needs to succeed.

While responsibility for individual bus services sits at a local level, DfT needs to ensure at a national level that its funding and policy interventions are enabling the outcomes it wants.

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Publication details

Press release

View press release (27 Jun 2025)

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