Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has reported an 11th successive year of passenger growth. The announcement comes after the DfT revealed bus usage in England (outside London) fell by 2.5% in the year 2012/13.
NCT calculates passenger usage at 51.9m in financial year 2012 / 13 – an increase of 0.5% on the year before, with the number of paying customers up by 3.1%.
Marketing Manager, Anthony Carver-Smith said: “Firstly, we are dedicated to investing in new buses. We’ve purchased 22 new buses in the last 12 months, with 63 more due this year. It is hugely important our passengers recognise that, with NCT, they can travel in and around the city comfortably, reliably and accessibly, with as little environmental impact as possible.”
NCT is set to receive 73 new buses in 2013/14, resulting in 20 routes being upgraded and improved.
“We’ve increased frequencies on many of our core routes around the city and further frequency improvements take place in September. With real-time tracking technology on our vehicles, partnered with the local authorities electronic bus stop displays and extensive use of our website and social media channels, customers now feel more and more confident about when their bus will arrive,” added Anthony.
“We are already seeing good passenger figures for the first quarter of 2013/14, so investments and improvements, with minimal impact on passengers’ pockets will continue to be our strategy going forward. Experiencing an 11th successive year of growth – particularly during a period when the national picture sees usage on the downturn – firmly places Nottingham on the map in terms of quality public transport, and we’re keen to fly the flag for the city in the future.”
