Figures show that the country has experienced the slowest post-pandemic recovery when compared to England and Scotland
A new report from the Welsh Government shows that Wales has experienced the slowest post-pandemic recovery in bus passenger numbers in the UK. According to UK Department for Transport (DfT) data, passenger numbers in Wales in the year to March 2024 were at 78.3% of their pre-pandemic levels in March 2020, compared to 92.5% in Scotland, 89.5% in England, and 89.5% for Great Britain as a whole.
It has been suggested that Wales’ historically high proportion of older bus users, coupled with changed habits during the pandemic which led many to use online services, has reduced the need of older people to travel, coupled with geographic and structural challenges, including that Wales has fewer urban areas with large populations compared to England and Scotland.
The report also notes that unlike in other parts of the UK, Wales had not engaged in any form of significant bus planning due to the absence of enabling legislation, something which could change with the introduction of franchising; the Welsh Government has committed to legislating for bus franchising during this Senedd term, and will create a Bus Reform Industry Panel to work towards objectives outlined in its ‘Our Roadmap to Bus Reform’ document.
