Official Statistics

NTAS wave 10: Concessionary bus travel and bus fare caps

Published 12 June 2024

Applies to England

About this release

The National Travel Attitudes Study (NTAS) is an online and telephone survey which gathers responses from individuals aged 16 and over in England, drawn from people who have previously responded to the National Travel Survey (NTS).

This release covers Wave 10 of the NTAS, which collected responses from 1,584 individuals in March 2024. It is focused on concessionary bus travel and bus fare caps, international travel for leisure, and attitudes to the European Entry Exit System (EES).

A table is available, containing the underlying data for the questions from the survey.

These are official statistics. For more information, see the About these statistics section in notes and methodology for wave 10.

Headline figures

In NTAS Wave 10:

• of people aged 65 years and over, 81% own, or are in the process of acquiring, a concessionary bus pass

• of users who were aware of the bus fare cap, 49% say they have made additional journeys on the bus that they would not have done without the £2 bus fare cap

• of users who were aware of the bus fare cap, 51% have taken the bus instead of other public transport modes because of the £2 bus fare cap

• of users of the bus in areas where the cap is in place, 37% say that if the £2 bus fare cap was extended to tickets other than adult single fares, they would take more bus journeys

• of users of the bus in areas where the cap is in place, 53% say they would take the same amount of journeys if the cap were extended to other ticket types

Concessionary bus travel

The questions in this section provide information about the proportions of respondents who have, or are in the process of applying for, concessionary bus passes.

In this section, “concessionary bus pass” includes both the “older person’s bus pass” and “disabled persons pass”. Respondents were not asked to specify what pass they held, or were applying for.

For additional data, statistics and analysis related to bus travel, including concessionary travel, please consult the Department for Transport bus statistics collection page, as well as the main National Travel Survey statistics.

Use of buses

Of all respondents, 24% travel by bus at least weekly. Females use the bus more than males (28% at least weekly, compared to 20% of males), and frequent bus use is more likely by people who live in urban areas, with 19% using the bus at least several times per week, compared to only 5% of those in rural areas.

Bus use is also dependent on the age of the individual with 25% of individuals aged between 16 and 44 years old using the bus at least weekly, rising to 32% of those aged 65 and over.

Chart 1: Percentage of respondents who use the bus at least weekly, by age

Age	I never use the bus	I use the bus less than once per week	I use the bus at least weekly	Total
16 to 44	46	29	25	100
45 to 64	45	36	18	100
65 and over	30	37	32	100
All Individuals	42	34	24	100

This was asked of respondents in this survey to provide context for the questions around bus concessionary travel passes, and bus fare caps. Overall the reported frequency of bus use in the NTAS sample is slightly higher in than in the main NTS (24% in NTAS say they use the bus at least weekly compared to 20% in NTS). For more detailed analysis and data around the use of buses in England, please consult the National Travel Survey or bus statistics.

Ownership of concessionary bus passes

Of the 1,584 individuals surveyed in NTAS wave 10, 26% responded that they held a concessionary pass, or were in the process of receiving one. This is largely dominated by the age of the holder, with 79% of those aged 65 or more saying they did, whilst 4% of those aged between 16 and 44 had a pass.

Chart 2: Percentage of respondents who have a concessionary bus pass or are acquiring one, by age

Age	Has a concessionary pass, or is in the process of acquiring one	Does not have a concessionary pass	Total
16 to 44	4	96	100
45 to 64	10	90	100
65 and over	79	21	100
All individuals	26	74	100

Of those aged 65 years and over who have a concessionary pass, 40% use the bus at least weekly, compared to only 3% of those who do not have such a pass. 78% of those aged over 65 who do not have a pass report that they never use the bus.

Chart 3: Bus use by respondents aged 65 years and over, and whether they have a concessionary pass or not

Frequency of bus use	Bus use: never	Bus use: Less than once per week	Bus use: At least weekly	Total
Has a concessionary pass, or is in the process of acquiring one	18	42	40	100
Does not have a concessionary pass	78	20	3	100
All individuals aged 65 years and over	30	37	32	100

Of the respondents aged 65 and over without a concessionary pass, those who are drivers and have access to a household car or van are the most likely to say they never use the bus. 52% of main drivers of a household car or van, that is the individual in the household who is the primary owner or driver of the vehicle, say they never use the bus compared to 18% of those who do not have access to a car or van.

Chart 4: Bus use by respondents aged 65 years and over without a concessionary pass, by whether they drive or have access to a household car or van

Driver status, and access to a car	I never use the bus	I use the bus less than once a week	I use the bus once a week	I use the bus several times a week	I use the bus once a day	I use the bus several times a day	Total
With a car or van, main driver	52	36	5	6	1	1	100
With a car or van, non-driver	30	23	16	22	6	3	100
With a car or van, other driver	32	41	9	15	2	0	100
Without car or van	18	28	16	29	1	7	100

Of those aged 65 years old and over with a pass, 31% said that if they no longer had one, they would not travel by bus at all, 37% would use the bus less, and 31% would use the bus about the same. This is however dependent on their access to a household vehicle: 37% of those who are drivers with access to a vehicle said they would never use the bus if they lost access to their concessionary pass, compared to 13% of those who either do not drive, or do not have access to a vehicle.

Chart 5: How not having a concessionary pass would affect the bus use of people aged 65 and over, by whether they drive or have access to a vehicle

Access to a household vehicle	About the same	A little less	A lot less	I would not use the bus at all	Don’t know	Total
Driver with access to a car or van	30	9	23	37	1	100
Not a driver, or no access to a car or van	33	18	34	13	2	100
All individuals with a concessionary pass	31	11	25	31	1	100

Bus fare caps

At the time that the NTAS wave 9 survey was conducted, the “get around for £2” scheme ensured that for users of over 130 operators across England (excluding London), the price of a single fare would be no more than £2 on eligible services . This scheme was due to run until the end of October 2023.

In early October, after the fieldwork for the NTAS wave 9 survey was conducted, the £2 scheme was extended until the end of 2024.

Members of the NTAS wave 10 survey were asked their opinions on the bus fare caps and the extension, however some individuals also answered questions on this topic in the wave 9 survey. This means that, for some respondents, participation in wave 9 may have been what made them aware of the cap.

For additional data, statistics and analysis related to bus travel, including concessionary travel, please consult the Department for Transport bus statistics collection page, as well as the main National Travel Survey statistics.

Awareness and use of the £2 bus fare cap

All individuals who completed the NTAS wave 10 survey were asked if they were personally aware of the £2 bus fare cap. 63% of respondents were aware of the fare cap, and 18% were also aware of the extension. Some of these people will have already heard of the bus fare cap when they completed NTAS wave 9. Among those who participated in wave 10 but not wave 9 51% had heard of the cap, and 13% were also aware of the extension. This is consistent with the wave 9 finding that 50% were aware of the bus fare cap.

Experiences of the £2 bus fare cap

Those who were both aware of the scheme and had also used the bus in areas where the scheme operates reported positive experiences of the scheme. The majority reported savings in terms of money, and had used the bus in preference to other transport modes, due to the scheme.

Chart 6: Experiences of those who were aware of the £2 bus fare cap and have used the bus in areas where the scheme operates

Experience	Agree	Disagree
I have made additional journeys on the bus I wouldn’t have done without the fare cap	49	27
I have used the bus instead of other types of public transport because of the fare cap	51	26
The bus fare cap has saved me money	65	14

Attitudes to extensions and changes

The current £2 bus fare cap only applies to single bus tickets on eligible services. The majority of respondents who have used buses in areas where the cap is in place (53%) said that if the scheme were extended to place price limits on other types of tickets such as daily, weekly or multi-journey tickets, they would keep on using the bus about the same as they do now, with 37% saying they would probably use the bus more.

Respondents were asked what the most was they would be prepared to pay on a capped bus fare: 14% said they would not be able to travel at all if it increased from £2. A total of 59% of people said they would be willing to pay £2.50 but the level of acceptance falls for higher price points.

Chart 7: How much respondents are willing to pay for capped bus fares

What is the most you would be prepared to pay for capped fares?	Percent
£2.50	59
£3.00	17
£3.50	4
£4.00	2
£5.00 or more	1
I could not afford to travel by bus if the cap increased	14
Don’t know	3

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About these statistics

These statistics are official statistics. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. More information about these statistics can be found in the notes and methodology for wave 10 chapter.

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