TAS Publications

A new survey of bus fares has shown that operators have managed to keep increases to below the level of inflation over the last two years, despite the huge rise in fuel costs that have taken place.

The survey of over 1,000 individual bus fares was undertaken last autumn, and built on similar work done in 2009. The survey showed that the average fare charged for a typical three mile journey had risen from £1.74 in 2009 to £1.91 in 2011 - an increase of 9.8%, and below the 10.1% rise in the Retail Prices Index over the same period.

The survey showed that bus fares continue to vary widely across the country, with the lowest fare charged for a 3-mile journey being 70p and the highest being £3.85.

The average urban fare was £1.89 and the average non-urban single fare was £1.96. Scotland had the lowest urban and non-urban single fares, London the highest urban fares and the West Midlands the highest non-urban single fares. The average fares tended to be higher for non-urban operations, except in the East of England where the average urban fare was higher.

The continuing growth in availability and use of daily and weekly tickets was also analysed, and it was notable that in several parts of the country, a day ticket was cheaper than two singles. In all cases, a day ticket was substantially cheaper than three journeys. The pricing and discounting policies for weekly tickets also varied sharply, with savings varying between 16% and 33%.

Other key findings included:

• fares in urban areas tend to be lower than in non-urban ones
• local authority owned companies tend to have lower single fares but give lower discounts for day and weekly tickets
• Stagecoach and National Express offer the greatest discounts on day and weekly tickets

The 98-page report is available for purchase from this web site: it comes in two forms:

• A downloadable PDF. This is priced at £65 + VAT (electronic copy)
• A hard copy version in full coliour for £80. This is printed on demand and usually ships in 3-5 days.