Official Statistics

National Travel Attitudes Study (NTAS) Wave 9: bus services, zero emission buses and fare caps

Published 18 January 2024

The National Travel Attitudes Study (NTAS) is an online and telephone survey which gathers responses from individuals aged 16 and over in England, drawn from people who have previously responded to the National Travel Survey (NTS).

This release covers Wave 9 of the NTAS, which collected responses from 2,011 individuals between August and September 2023. It is focused on attitudes to zero-emission buses, bus fare caps and bus services, as well as encouragements and barriers to cycling, and attitudes to public electric vehicle charge points.

An ODS table for NTAS wave 9 results is available, containing the underlying data for the questions from the survey.

These are official statistics. For more information, see the About these statistics section in NTAS Wave 9: Methodology and background notes.

Headline figures

In NTAS Wave 9 (2023):

• when asked about bus travel, 37% of respondents said they would be more likely to travel by bus if a zero emission bus was available

• of those living outside of London, 54% were aware of the £2 bus fare cap, and 39% of those said that they had made additional journeys

• of those who use the bus weekly, 45% would be likely to use a service where they could book a bus to arrive at a particular start and end location

• when asked what facilities they would like to see near bus stops and shelters, 57% want local services such as post offices and shops, followed by 38% who want long-term cycle storage (such as lockers) and 36% who want short-term cycle storage (such as bicycle hoops)

Attitudes towards bus services, zero-emission buses and bus fare caps

This section covers attitudes towards zero-emission buses, bus services and access to bus services, and the caps on bus fares outside of London, and changes proposed as of the end of September 2023.

Zero-emission buses

Zero-emission buses are part of the Government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme, and are defined as a bus which has:

• zero emissions at the tailpipe

• an Ultra Low Emission Bus Certificate or a Zero Emission Bus certificate

The GOV.UK local authority toolkit contains more information on ZEBRA.

Bus fare cap

At the time that the NTAS wave 9 survey was being conducted, the “get around for £2” scheme ensured that for users of over 130 operators across England (excluding London), the price of a single fare would be no more than £2. This scheme was due to run until the end of October 2023, and would then be replaced by a new scheme with a maximum single fare price of £2.50.

In early October however the government announced that the £2 scheme would be continued until the end of 2024. This was after questions around bus fare caps were put to the NTAS panel in September. This should be taken into account when interpreting responses.

More information on is available on the Department for Transport guidance page on bus fare caps as well as statistics and research reports regarding buses and the environment.

Attitudes regarding zero-emission buses

Respondents showed strong support for reducing air pollution and improving air quality in their local area through the use of zero-emission buses as 74% of respondents supported this statement, and only 8% disagreed. Of people living in rural areas 65% agreed, with 11% disagreeing. Support was also stronger among those who use the bus. Of those who use the bus at least once per week, 84% agreed with that improving the air quality and reducing pollution in their local area through the use of zero emission buses is important to them, compared to 67% of those who never use the bus.

Respondents were generally supportive of the statement “I would be more likely to travel by bus if it were a zero-emission bus”, with 37% agreeing, compared to 22% disagreeing. Respondents in rural areas were the most likely to disagree, with an almost even split, with 28% agreeing, and 27% disagreeing. For comparison, 39% of those living in urban areas agreed compared to 21% who disagreed.

Nearly half of all respondents (47%) disagreed with the statement “zero emission buses will be less reliable than buses powered by diesel”, with 16% agreeing.

Table 3: Attitudes towards zero-emission buses by selected measures (percentage of respondents answering ‘agree’ and ‘strongly agree’)

Measure	I would be more likely to travel by bus, if it were a zero-emission bus	Improving the air quality and reducing pollution in my local area through the use of zero emission buses is important to me	Zero emission buses will be less reliable than buses powered by diesel
Bus use: At least weekly	51	84	22
Bus use: At least monthly	39	74	10
Bus use: Less than monthly	35	75	14
Bus use: Never	26	67	18
Type of region: Urban	39	76	18
Type of region: Rural	28	65	11
All respondents	37	74	16

Attitudes regarding bus fare caps

The NTAS panel was asked if they were aware that single bus fares had been capped to £2 since January 2023. Overall, 50% said they were aware of this, compared to 50% who were not aware. The bus fare cap is not in place in London, and considering only those who live outside of London, awareness was at 54%, compared to 46% who were not aware.

Of the respondents outside of London who said that they were aware of the bus fare cap, 39% said they had used the bus instead of other types of public transport because of the fare cap, compared to 34% who disagreed. Of the same group, 40% said they used the bus more because of the bus fare cap, with 34% disagreeing.

Those who use the bus at least weekly were the most likely to have used the bus instead of other types of public transport (53%).

Chart 16: Percentage of respondents, who were aware of the cap, saying they used the bus more and instead of other types of public transport, by bus use

Measure	I have used the bus more because of the fare cap	I have used the bus instead of other types of public transport because of the fare cap
Bus use: Once per week or more	50	53
Bus use: At least once per month, but less than once per week	51	41
Bus use: Less than once per month	25	26
All respondents who were aware of the bus fare cap	40	39

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Attitudes regarding demand responsive bus services

Respondents were asked a variety of questions around demand responsive bus services, which are an alternative to traditional timetabled bus services.

Demand responsive bus services are flexible services that offer shared transport to users who specify their desired location and time of pick-up and drop-off.

These services run without a set timetable and typically use smaller vehicles than traditional fixed route bus services. The route is set in response to passenger demand at that time.

Booking journeys on these services is either done through an app, website or by telephone.

The GOV.UK local authority toolkit contains more information on demand responsive services.

Respondents were provided with the definition, then asked how likely it is that they would use a demand responsive bus service. Of the total, 34% said it was likely, compared to 39% who said it was unlikely. Of individuals who already used the bus at least weekly, 45% said they were likely to use such a service, compared with 24% of those who never use the bus in an average week. Individuals in rural areas were also particularly unlikely to say they would use such a service (46%), with only 25% saying they would, compared to 36% of those living in urban areas.

Respondents were then presented with a series of options about how they would prefer to book a bus, and how it would compare to a regular bus service.

Table 4: Attitudes towards demand responsive bus services (percentage of respondents)

Question	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Don’t know	Total
I would prefer to use a bus where I booked the journey ahead of time and I could specify the pick-up and drop-off location, as opposed to a traditional bus service with a fixed route and timetable	42	33	24	1	100
If I could book the bus journey ahead of time and specify the pick-up and drop off locations, I would rather do this than make the same journey by car	42	27	31	1	100
I would be willing to pay more for a bus where I booked the journey ahead of time and specified the time and location for pick up and drop off, than a bus running to a fixed timetable and route	36	28	35	1	100
I would be confident in using apps or other technology to book a bus journey	69	13	17	0	100
I would feel more personally safe booking a bus journey via phone or app than going to a traditional fixed route bus stop	39	36	24	1	100
I would prefer to book a bus by calling a call centre, rather than using an app	20	21	59	0	100
I am confident that a bus service where you could pre-book your journey and specify pick up and drop off points, would be more reliable than a traditional bus service	35	38	27	1	100
Journey times with a Demand Responsive Bus Service would take longer, or be less direct than a fixed route bus service	37	44	18	2	100

Booking preferences

Opinions on whether respondents would prefer to book a bus ahead of time and specify the origin and destination locations were split, with 42% agreeing compared to 41% disagreeing.

The strongest support was amongst those who used the bus infrequently as 47% of those who use the bus less than once per month (but more than once per year), would prefer to book in advance, compared to 40% of those who use the bus weekly, and 33% of those who use the bus less than once per week, but more than once per month.

Method of booking

Confidence in using apps or technology for booking is generally high, with 69% of all respondents saying they would be confident in using apps or other technology to book a bus journey. One in five respondents would prefer to phone a call-centre instead of using apps.

Confidence was related to the age of the respondent as 86% of those aged 16 to 39 years said they felt confident to use an app in this manner, compared to 40% of those aged 70 years and over, which is almost the same amount who said they disagreed and would not feel confident (41%). Older respondents were more likely to say that they would prefer to phone a call-centre, stated by 46% of those aged 70 years and over, compared to 10% of those aged under 40.

Chart 17: Confidence and preferences when considering booking bus journeys using an app, by age of respondent (percentage of respondents agreeing)

Question	Age: 16 to 39 years	Age: 40 to 59 years	Age: 60 to 69 years	Age: 70 or more years
I would be confident in using apps or other technology to book a bus journey	86	74	59	40
I would prefer to book a bus by calling a call centre, rather than using an app	10	14	24	46

Willingness to pay more

Respondents were split on whether they would be willing to pay more to use a demand responsive service, 36% agreed they would, compared to 35% who said they would not. The response “neither agree nor disagree” was chosen by 28% of all respondents showing a degree of uncertainty.

Those respondents who use the bus less than once per month were the most willing to pay more to use such a service (39% agree, 32% disagree), compared to those who used the bus at least weekly (35% agree, 36% disagree).

Chart 18: Willingness to pay more to use a demand responsive bus service, by bus usage and region (percentage of respondents)

Measure	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Don’t know	Total
Bus use: Once per week or more	35	28	36	2	100
Bus use: At least once per month, but less than once per week	36	30	34	0	100
Bus use: Less than once per month	39	28	32	1	100
Bus use: Never	35	27	38	0	100

Perception of journey times and reliability

Similar to questions about whether respondents would be willing to pay more for a demand responsive bus service, 37% said they agreed the journey would take longer or be less direct, compared to 18% who said they did not think this would be the case, and 44% who said “neither agree nor disagree”.

Confidence in the reliability of a pre-booked bus service is of a similar level as 35% agree that a demand responsive bus service would be more reliable compared to 27% who disagreed, and 38% who neither agreed nor disagreed.

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Services provided at bus shelters or stations

Respondents were asked what services they would like to see, or would find useful, next to bus shelters or bus stations. The most popular options were services like convenience stores and post offices (58%), secure long-term cycle lockers (38%) and short-term bicycle racks (36%). Private car parking was desired by 36% of respondents.

Chart 19: Additional services respondents desired near to bus shelters or bus stations (percentage of respondents)

Question	Percentage (%)
Local services (for example convenience stores, post office)	58
Cycle lockers (more secure, long term bike parking, such as hangars or gated areas)	38
Cycle racks (short term, open bike parking such as stands or hoops)	36
Private car parking	36
Unattended parcel services (for example collection and drop-off lockers)	35
Electric car charging	29
Shared cycle parking (for example stations for short term cycle hire)	26
Shared car parking (bays reserved for vehicles available short-term hire, such as those provided by a membership-based car club)	18
Cargo cycle hire (electrically assisted cycles, suitable for transporting heavy or numerous items)	18
Facilities providing comfort, safety and improve accessibility	1
Public conveniences (toilet or baby changing facilities)	1

Respondents who said that they had cycled in the last 12 months were the most likely to want both short term and long term cycle storage near bus stops. Of those who cycled in the previous 12 months, 42% would like short term storage and 43% would like long term storage.

Individuals aged between 16 and 39 years old particularly desired unattended parcel services such as drop-off and collection lockers as 49% of individuals in this age group desire these services compared to 30% of those aged between 40 and 59 years, and 27% of those aged 60 and over.

Individuals who do not hold a full driving licence, or have a provisional driving licence only, are the most likely to want cargo cycle hire (electrically assisted cycles, suitable for transporting heavy or numerous items), desired by 23% of this group, compared with 17% who have held a full driving licence for less than 20 years, and 16% who have held a full driving licence for more than 20 years.

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