‘Bold’ measures to provide greater priority to buses on England’s roads would speed up everyday journeys sufficiently to unlock £5 billion of economic benefits nationwide. An independent analysis for the Confederation of Passenger Transport has found that a 10% improvement in bus speeds – achievable through more extensive bus lanes, traffic light priority and greater co-ordination of roadworks – would be transformational not only for public transport but for the wider economy.
At present, buses in England typically travel at just 7.1mph in London, or 11.7mph outside the capital.
If local councils and highway authorities gave buses greater road priority, these speeds could comfortably be improved by a tenth, getting people to work, to education or to appointments more quickly, more reliably and with less wasted time.
In addition to enhancing 2.6 billion of the 3.7 billion journeys already taken by bus in England each year, this would improve the appeal of public transport sufficiently to generate an extra 147 million passenger journeys annually – equivalent to adding the entire number of journeys taken in Greater Manchester each year.
Faster buses would be cheaper for local authorities or commercial operators to run. A 10% improvement in speed would reduce costs by 7.5%, saving £511 million each year. And the number of passengers on board
buses would increase by nearly 4%, generating an extra £164 million in revenue.
Taken together, this would unlock £674 million – sufficient to invest in 1,600 brand new zero emission buses – or to fund 135 million miles of additional bus services – enough to go around the world 5,400 times.
Overall, greater productivity, less wasted time and more efficient operation would deliver £5 billion in economic benefits – equivalent to £210 in benefit for every household in England.
Graham Vidler, Chief Executive of CPT, said:
“Buses are England’s most popular form of public transport but too often they slow to a crawl – stuck in traffic jams or disrupted by roadworks. That’s particularly evident in London.
“Passengers often tell us that if they could rely on shorter, more consistent journey times, they’d travel by bus more frequently. This analysis sets out the true prize within our grasp if local authorities took bolder steps in prioritising buses.
“A 10% improvement in bus speeds would be a true game changer – it would create a virtuous circle by attracting more customers, generating more ticket revenue and unlocking investment for new vehicles and more frequent services. At a time when the Government is keen for ideas to improve productivity, this is a clear and evident way to generate a £5 billion boost to the economy.”
Key findings from the analysis by transport consultant Chris Cheek for CPT are as follows:
• Average bus speeds are 7.8mph in congested urban areas, 9.5mph in other cities and conurbations, 11.5mph in suburban areas and 13.2mph on rural or inter-urban networks
• An improvement in bus speeds of 10% would deliver:
• 6 billion faster trips for existing passengers
• 147 million additional passenger journeys a year across England
• £674 million of additional funds to be invested in better bus services
• £5 billion in overall economic benefits.
(Picture: Yay Images)
