Question No: 2025/0075
Question (Thomas Turrell AM; Bexley and Bromley): 16th January 2025
Figures published by the Department for Transport show that bus usership in London increased by 5% in 2024, compared to an England average of 12%. Why is bus usership in London increasing at such a slower pace than the rest of England?
Answer (Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan): 21st January 2025
The year-on-year change in the England average in the Department for Transport data is 7%, compared to 5% for London (12 per cent being the figure for non-metropolitan areas). Since 2019 the trends have been very similar: The figures show that bus patronage in London was 84 per cent of 2019 levels; in the rest of England, it was 85 per cent.
The data also shows that Londoners continue to travel more by bus than in the rest of England, as has been the case since 2012. On average, Londoners made more than five times as many bus trips as people outside London (207 bus trips by each Londoner in 2024, whereas 37 in the rest of England).
Question No: 2025/0076
Question (Thomas Turrell AM; Bexley and Bromley): 16th January 2025
Bus usership in London remains lower than pre-pandemic levels; what work is TfL undertaking to understand the reason behind this?
Answer (Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan): 21st January 2025
Transport for London (TfL) continuously monitors demand for travel across its network. TfL’s Travel in London 2024 Annual Overview (available here: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/travel-in-london-2024-annual-overview-acc.pdf) examines the trends in the principal drivers of travel demand.
The Travel in London 2024 – Trends in public transport demand and operational performance report (available here: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/travel-in-london-2024-trends-in-public-transport-demand-and-operational-performance-acc.pdf) gives details on bus demand trends.
Over the last ten years there has been a gradual but consistent decline in bus use in London and the rest of the country. London’s evolving population and demographics have had an impact on bus use. TfL continuously monitors all these factors, in particular key economic data, to better understand how this affects bus use.
TfL’s Bus Action Plan aims to increase the number of customers choosing to travel by bus across London by making bus travel more reliable, faster and greener. Journeys are getting better with new comfortable zero emission buses, more bus lanes, the latest traffic light technology to improve reliability, and more real-time information at stops and on buses.
