Guidance

Annual bus statistics, survey guidance for operators: 2024

Updated 27 November 2024

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

For the 2024 survey, the online survey platform has been upgraded to a more modern system with:

• a new user interface
• better functionality
• better backend support

As a result, the descriptions here might vary slightly from what’s presented online.

This guidance goes alongside the STATS100 - PSV Operator Survey for 2024. A link to the survey has been emailed to you, along with your username and password for accessing it.

You may find it helpful to read this guidance before starting the survey and to have a copy to hand whilst working through the questions. Note that there is not a guidance note for every question.

Thank you for completing the survey

Contact us

If this guidance does not help answer your question, please feel free to contact the Bus Statistics team.

What’s covered by this survey

This survey is for licensed operators of Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) which are in Tax Classes 34 and 38, using buses, minibuses, and coaches for local bus services.

This survey does NOT ask for details of passengers carried or kilometres run on (closed) school contract services, long distance coaching, tours, excursions and private hire taxi services and any work which is not intended for carrying passengers.

Aim of the survey

The aim of this survey is to gather information about the bus sector. The information is mainly used to inform DfT bus policy.

The data will not be used to assess the validity of any existing or future funding to bus operators.

A return is required by law under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947.

The results of the previous survey were published by DfT in November 2023.

Survey sections

• Operator details
• Your operator’s vehicles and staff
  • Vehicles
  • Staff
• Your local bus services
  • Passenger boardings
  • ‘Live’ vehicle kilometres operated
• Financial information
  • Passenger receipts
  • Costs
• Further information
• Feedback

Grouped operators

The PSV survey aims to collect data for each operator by their licence number (for example, PX1234567). Large bus operators typically have multiple codes, so their returns are grouped to simplify the return process (for example, Group_999).

Data quality

The data collected in this survey is used to produce accredited official statistics (previously called National Statistics). As such, we will be validating the data after submission, to ensure that the data is accurate, reasonable, and believable. Once your return has been validated, we will reach out with any clarifications.

The figures for your operator can change dramatically if there have been major events since the last survey, such as new or lost contracts, or upgrading to a newer vehicle fleet. We can only verify that these changes are genuine (and not an error) by confirming with you. We will check changes against the answers to question 13(a) and question 13(b).

We appreciate that some of the more detailed breakdowns are not always available to a high standard. In these cases, please provide your best estimate for those figures, or leave the boxes blank. These entries are more likely to be raised by our validation system, so please highlight where this has happened in question 13(c).

Definition of local bus services

These are scheduled stopping services registered with the Traffic Commissioner:

• in Greater London, local services include tendered services for Transport for London or those run with a London Service Permit
• outside Greater London, local services include both commercial and tendered local bus services

Note that the following should be included in your survey return:

• normal stopping services
• school and works services - if the service is registered as a local service and is available to the general public
• some long distance coach express services often have short stopping portions at each end of the route registered as a local service. Those parts should be recorded as local work. The express parts of the service should not be included
• flexible “hop-on, hop-off” tours, if registered with the Traffic Commissioners, are counted as local services and should be included in your return

The following non-local services (which are not registered with the Traffic Commissioner) should not be included in the estimates of passengers carried and kilometres run in this return:

• scheduled coach services - express coaches between towns and cities, coaches to airports, commuter coaches on the non-stop parts of their routes
• school contracts - where the service is contracted to you by a local education authority or school and cannot be used by fare-paying members of the public at bus stops
• private hire - where the vehicle is hired in advance. This includes excursions and rail replacement work.
• tours which are day trips or pre-booked tours

Operator details

Question (b)

If changes are required to the operator licence number(s), please amend, as necessary. If you do not recognise an operator licence, please contact DfT.

Question (c)

This is the number of discs held, not the number you are authorised to hold. This figure would normally be equal to or more than the figure in Q1d (total number of PSV vehicles). We have derived this figure from Traffic Commissioner data but please amend if this is not correct. Please include those hired from others, but exclude those you have hired out to others.

Question (d)

The licence might belong to a larger transport group as, for example, Go Fast Bus South may be part of the larger Go Fast Bus group.

Question (e)

We are asking you to provide the main LA that you operate local bus services in. This should be the local authority in which you had most passenger boardings on local bus services.

We have used the responses you gave last year to populate the answer for Q(e) but please make any necessary changes.

If an area has already been selected as an “other” area in which you operate in for Q(f) then it will not appear on the drop down list for Q(e).

Question (f)

We are asking for the other LAs you operate within, so not including the LA in Q(e). If an area has already been selected as the main LA for Q(e), then it will not appear on the drop-down list here.

We have used the responses you gave last year to populate the answer for Q(f) but please make any necessary changes.

If you choose a different LA as your main area, then you will need to add the LA you previously had as your main LA as an additional area in question f) if you still operate in that area.

Questions (g) and (h)

Bus partnership schemes are agreements between local authorities and local bus operators to improve the quality of services and facilities within the scheme area. They will involve at least one bus company and at least one local authority. The local authority may undertake to provide bus priority measures, new bus stops and/or real time information systems. In return bus operators may provide new vehicles with improved levels of accessibility and environmental performance and/or enhanced driver training. They may also provide an enhanced level of service.

Under statutory partnership schemes, a local transport authority (LTA) (or two or more LTAs jointly) agrees to invest in improved facilities at specific locations along bus routes (such as bus stops or bus lanes) and require operators to reach a particular standard (such as newer buses or driver training standards) in order to use those facilities. The scheme is made under section 114 of the Transport Act 2000.

In general, the term “voluntary agreement” (or “quality bus partnership agreement”) is a non-statutory term used to describe any agreement entered into voluntarily by one or more local authorities and one or more bus operators, and possibly other relevant parties. A voluntary partnership scheme is a particular type of voluntary agreement, and is defined in the Transport Act 2000 as any voluntary agreement under which:

• a local transport authority, or two or more local transport authorities, undertake to provide particular facilities, or to do anything else for the purpose of bringing benefits to persons using local services, within the whole or part of their area, or combined area
• one or more operators of local services undertake to provide services of a particular standard

Section 1: Your operator’s vehicles and staff

Please enter ‘0’s where applicable but leave boxes blank where the answer is not available or not applicable.

Question 1

Please ensure that the total in Q1(d) is the sum of Q1(a), Q1(b) and Q1(c).

Question 2

This question relates only to buses, which is the total number given in Q1(a).

Question 2(a)

The number of modern buses which have a PSV Accessibility Certificate. These are generally low-floor vehicles with a ramp to allow wheelchair users to board without the assistance of the driver or crew.

Question 2(b)

The number of low-floor buses which are older designs without the PSV Accessibility Certificate, but which were designed to allow wheelchair access. These vehicles often have a kneeling mechanism or a ramp to assist passengers boarding.

Question 2(c)

The number of buses equipped with electronic devices that can be used to monitor punctuality. This can take the form of a GPS satellite system, a ‘tag and beacon’ system or any similar setup.

2(c)(i): Please include cases where the AVL system on the bus is used directly by the bus operator to provide the real time service information to customers, but also cases where a local authority may provide the information to customers instead.

2(c)(ii): Please include any instance where the data is used to create data available to the public or as part of other open data initiatives.

2(c)(iii): Please include cases where the AVL system on the bus is used directly by the bus operator to monitor punctuality, but also cases where a local authority may monitor punctuality instead.

Question 2(d)

ITSO stands for Integrated Transport Smartcard Organisation and is a smart ticketing system. Please only count those vehicles which are equipped with ITSO ticket machines which are ‘live’, so are being used to accept ITSO smart cards (or mobile phones emulating these). Please only include those vehicles with machines that accept ITSO but not contactless payment.

Question 2(e)

Please count vehicles which are equipped with live ticket machines that are being used to make payment using contactless EMV cards (or mobile phones emulating these, such as Android Pay or Apple Pay). Please only include those vehicles with machines that accept contactless payment but not ITSO smart cards.

Question 2(i)(i)

Audible and visible next stop information helps passengers know when to alight a bus service. To be counted, a vehicle must:

• provide audible and visible information on any local bus service route it operates
• provide both audible information (such as recorded announcements or manual announcements made through a microphone) and visible information (such as through a visual display screen)
• provide information which is both audible and visible to passengers on each deck of the vehicle
• provide information identifying upcoming stops

Vehicles should not be counted if:

• information is provided through only one sensory channel (through audible announcements or visible screens only)
• information is only available on one deck of a double deck vehicle
• facilities to provide audible and visible information are installed physically but as of the above date were not used to provide the next stop information to passengers

Question 2(i)(ii)

Audible and visible route and next stop information helps passengers to identify the route they are travelling on and know when to alight a bus service. To be counted, a vehicle must:

• provide audible and visible information on any local bus service route it operates
• provide both audible information (such as recorded announcements or manual announcements made through a microphone) and visible information (such as through a visual display screen)
• provide information which is both audible and visible to passengers on each deck of the vehicle
• provide information identifying: the route and direction, upcoming stop, and points at which a vehicle begins or ends a diversion

Vehicles should not be counted if:

• information is provided through only one sensory channel (through audible announcements or visible screens only)
• information is only available on one deck of a double deck vehicle
• information is provided only about selected routes or stops
• facilities to provide audible and visible information are installed physically but as of the above date were not used to provide the information indicated

Question 3

Please make sure to review your responses carefully for this question as there are several entry boxes.

This question relates only to buses. Please ensure the total in Q1(a) is the sum of all the parts in Q3(a), Q3(b) and Q3(c).

3(b)(i) to 3(b)(iv): buses fuelled by diesel that were manufactured to the specified standard.

3(b)(v): buses that have been retrofitted through the CVRAS scheme to be Euro VI (whether diesel or diesel-hybrid).

3(b)(vi): buses fuelled by diesel-hybrid that were manufactured to the Euro VI standard.

3(b)(vii): buses fuelled by diesel-hybrid that were manufactured to an earlier standard.

Question 4

Please enter the number of staff employed in PSV work only by your organisation.

You should include working proprietors and all staff directly connected to PSV-related work; but exclude contract staff for any work contracted out. If the staff member has more than one PSV job only count the main one. For part time PSV staff, count them as the proportion of a full-time person.

If work is contracted out, do not count the contractor’s staff. Exclude staff not connected with PSV work, such as hotel staff or holiday sales staff.

Section 2: Your local bus services

Please enter ‘0’s where applicable but leave boxes blank where the answer is not available or not applicable.

Question 6

A local bus service is one registered with the Traffic Commissioner and available to fare-paying members of the public at bus stops. These services are usually eligible for BSOG or financially supported by a local authority.

Question 6(b)

Only include journeys here if you received full or partial reimbursement from Local Authorities.

Question 6(c)

This does not include children less than 5 years of age.

Question 7

We appreciate that dividing data by local authority can be difficult, however, even if the figures are approximate (for example, using estimated shares for each local authority) they are very useful to us.

The totals of the columns in this question should equal the totals in the relevant parts of Q6.

Question 8

A local bus service is one registered with the Traffic Commissioner and available to fare-paying members of the public at bus stops. These services are usually eligible for BSOG or financially supported by a local authority.

Please only count ‘live’ kilometres. ‘Live’ kilometres exclude any dead running between the depot and the start and end of routes. Please use the conversion 1 mile = 1.609344 km.

Question 8(a)

These are services for TfL on local bus tendered routes, or on coach commuter services, which set down at points in London, operated with a London Service Permit.

Question 8(c)

These are usually local services following competitive tendering. Please do not include services run under contract to bodies other than local authorities or PTEs.

Question 9

We appreciate that dividing data by local authority can be difficult, however, even if the figures are approximate (for example, using estimated shares for each local authority) they are very useful to us.

The totals of the columns in this question should equal the totals in the relevant parts of Q8.

Section 3: Financial information

Question 10

The following questions relate to receipts from fare-paying passengers only.

Please include both on and off bus fares (for example, season tickets).

Please do NOT include any payments received from local authorities for concessionary fare reimbursement or contract payments.

Question 10(a)

Please only include fares received from those young people where you received partial reimbursement from Local Authorities, excluding school contracts.

Question 10(b)

This will include all other commercial receipts not covered in Q10(a), such as:

• those paying full fare
• season and multi-journey tickets
• concessions offered by you purely as a commercial incentive
• other similar concessionary passes not reimbursed by Local Authorities, for example, those issued to staff, unemployed, your own discounts offered for children.

Question 10(c)

This is of all receipts and will be used as an indicator of contactless usage.

Question 11

We appreciate that dividing data by local authority can be difficult, however, even if the figures are approximate (for example, using estimated shares for each local authority) they are very useful to us.

The totals of the columns in this question should equal the relevant parts of Q10.

Question 12

In the 2023 survey, there was some ambiguity regarding the treatment of depreciation in this question. Depreciation, for vehicles or otherwise, should only be included within Q12(d).

Section 4: Further information

Question 13

Please provide as much contextual information as possible to this question to minimise the amount of post-survey validation work for your operator.

Please do not provide feedback about the survey itself in this question. Feedback should be provided in Q15.

Section 5: Feedback

Question 15

Please do not provide context about your data response in this question. Contextual information should be provided in Q13.

Annex: List of Local Authorities used in 2024

East Midlands:

• Derby
• Derbyshire (excluding Derby)
• Leicester
• Leicestershire (excluding Leicester and Rutland)
• Lincolnshire
• North Northamptonshire
• West Northamptonshire
• Nottingham
• Nottinghamshire (excluding Nottingham)
• Rutland

East of England:

• Bedford
• Cambridgeshire (excluding Peterborough)
• Central Bedfordshire
• Essex (excluding Southend and Thurrock)
• Hertfordshire
• Luton
• Norfolk
• Peterborough
• Southend
• Suffolk
• Thurrock

London and South East:

• Bracknell Forest
• Brighton and Hove
• Buckinghamshire (excluding Milton Keynes)
• East Sussex (excluding Brighton and Hove)
• Greater London
• Hampshire (excluding Portsmouth and Southampton)
• Isle of Wight
• Kent (excluding Medway Towns)
• Medway Towns
• Milton Keynes
• Oxfordshire
• Portsmouth
• Reading
• Slough
• Southampton
• Surrey
• West Berkshire
• West Sussex
• Windsor and Maidenhead
• Wokingham

North East:

• Darlington
• Durham (excluding Darlington)
• Hartlepool
• Middlesbrough
• Northumberland
• Redcar and Cleveland
• Stockton
• Tyne and Wear (PTE)

North West:

• Blackburn with Darwen
• Blackpool
• Cheshire East
• Cheshire West and Chester
• Cumbria
• Greater Manchester (PTE)
• Halton
• Lancashire (excluding Blackburn and Blackpool)
• Merseyside (PTE)
• Warrington

South West:

• Bath and North East Somerset
• Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
• Bristol
• Cornwall including Isles of Scilly
• Devon (excluding Plymouth and Torbay)
• Dorset (excluding Poole and Bournemouth)
• Gloucestershire
• North Somerset
• Plymouth
• Somerset
• South Gloucestershire
• Swindon
• Torbay
• Wiltshire (excluding Swindon)

West Midlands:

• Herefordshire
• Shropshire (excluding Telford and the Wrekin)
• Staffordshire (excluding Stoke-on-Trent)
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Telford and the Wrekin
• Warwickshire
• West Midlands (PTE)
• Worcestershire

Scotland

• Aberdeen
• Aberdeenshire
• Angus
• Argyll and Bute
• Clackmannanshire
• Dumfries
• Dundee
• East Ayrshire
• East Dunbartonshire
• East Lothian
• East Renfrewshire
• Edinburgh
• Eilean Siar
• Falkirk
• Fife
• Glasgow
• Highland
• Inverclyde
• Midlothian
• Moray
• North Ayrshire
• North Lanarkshire
• Orkney
• Perth and Kinross
• Renfrewshire
• Scottish Borders
• Shetland
• South Ayrshire
• South Lanarkshire
• Stirling
• West Dunbartonshire
• West Lothian

Yorkshire and the Humber

• East Riding of Yorkshire
• Kingston upon Hull
• North East Lincolnshire
• North Lincolnshire
• North Yorkshire (excluding York)
• South Yorkshire (PTE)
• West Yorkshire (PTE)
• York

Wales does not have a LA breakdown in the survey, please provide total for all Wales.

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Contact details

Bus statistics

Email bus.statistics@dft.gov.uk

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