Catch the Bus Month 2024

Go Cornwall Bus is celebrating Catch the Bus Month 2024.

This September is Catch the Bus Month run by Bus Users UK and Go Cornwall Bus.

Buses are good for our health, good for the economy and good for the environment. Pre-Covid, bus passengers boosted the UK economy by £64 billion each year, as well as reducing congestion, pollution, loneliness and social isolation.

Claire Walters, Chief Executive of Bus Users UK the charity behind Catch the Bus Month said: “Buses are a lifeline for millions and bring huge health, social and environmental benefits to us all. As the cost of living crisis continues to bite, we need affordable, sustainable transport more than ever so it’s great to see Cornwall celebrating these vital services and encouraging more people to get on board.”

 

Why should you catch the bus this September?

• 1% modal shift car to bus could see a 23% increase in bus demand.
• Operators have invested £2 billion over the last 5 years in new cleaner and greener buses, meaning the UK has its cleanest ever bus fleet.
• A fully loaded double decker bus can take 75 cars off the road.
• A brand new diesel car with a single occupant can emit more nitrogen oxides than a new bus carrying 50 or more passengers.
• Buses and coaches account for just 6% of nitrogen oxide emissions from road transport compared to 71% for diesel cars and vans.
• If everyone switched just one car journey a month to bus, there would be a billion fewer car journeys and a saving of 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
• In the UK 55% of greenhouse gas emissions from cars and just 3% are from buses.
• In 2018 33% of nitrogen oxide emissions were from cars and just 2% were from buses.
• In the UK buses are responsible for 3% of greenhouse gas emissions but deliver over 5% of the journeys we make.

Facts

• Pre-pandemic, on average around 50 bus trips are made per person per year.
• 60% of all public transport journeys are taken by bus.
• The pandemic has shown the benefits of cracking congestion, with buses running 25% quicker during lockdown.
• Buses are the primary mode of access to city centres facilitating 29% of city centre expenditure, contributing £21bn to the economy each year.
• Pre-Covid 5 million trips were made by bus each day, which included:
  • 1.3 million journeys for leisure purposes
  • 1 million people used the bus to get to school/college
  • 1.4 million people made journeys by bus for shopping purposes
  •  Buses carried over 2 million people per day to work in 2019
• 1.4 billion shopping trips per year contributing £21 billion to the economy – nearly one third of city centre expenditure.
• • Pre-covid Bus commuters add £64 billion to the economy each year.
• Buses provide an essential service for job seekers, more than three-quarters of whom do not have access to a car.
• The bus industry is a major employer – local bus operators in England employ an estimated 100,000 full time equivalent staff.
• Evaluation of past schemes has shown that every £1 spent on investment in local bus priority measures can deliver up to £5 of economic benefit.
• A 10% decrease in bus speeds increases operating costs across the bus network by £400m a year.