Nine out of ten commuters tell Transdev they’re ready to return to bus travel after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s green light for public transportation.
We’re ready to come back to the bus – that’s the key message from a poll of almost 1,000 customers, including commuters, shoppers and leisure travelers.
Transdev in northern England carried out the research for its ‘Back to Bus’ survey, gathering the views of 970 of its customers across Yorkshire and Lancashire.
The results show an overwhelming majority of those who responded – up to 97% – say they will return to the bus now that travel restrictions have been eased. Of those polled:
- 90% say they will return to the bus to travel to work
- 92% are ready to take the bus for leisure
- 97% will travel by bus for shopping
- 93% will return to the bus for education
The research showed that the following numbers would return to the bus:
- 94% of all customers in Lancashire, and 92% in Yorkshire
- 95% of customers over 65 and 93% of under 20s
Responses to the survey also indicated wide recognition of Transdev’s industry-leading ‘Clean, Safe and Ready to Go’ customer pledge, to provide the highest standards of cleanliness and safety on all its buses.
The survey results come after the Prime Minister declared an immediate return to the use of public transportation, ahead of further relaxation of restrictions next month, including the end of the Government’s “work from home” advice.
These results show that our customers believe what we have long been saying – our buses are clean, safe and ready to go. Following on from the Prime Minister’s declaration of an immediate return to public transport, which means people can now travel by bus for any reason, this survey shows people are now ready to return to the bus.
With increased and thorough cleaning of each bus, clear safety guidance on board and a warm welcome from our amazing team, the time is right now to return to the bus. We’re also proud to be awarded VisitEngland’s ‘We’re Good to Go’ industry standard and confidence mark, demonstrating that all safe social distancing and cleanliness protocols are in place on every one of our buses.
We also now offer flexible ticket bundles created to suit changing travel patterns, as part-time home working has risen in popularity, all on our Transdev Go app which shows live tracking of buses and how many seats are free on board.
We’re now ready to help people travelling back to work, back to the shops, back to leisure and back to education, while also reducing traffic congestion and air pollution in our towns and cities. It’s time to come back to the bus.
Transdev CEO Alex Hornby
Almost one in five (18%) of those polled say they traveled using conventional 7 or 28 day season tickets before the lockdown, but now they’re not suitable for their changed travel needs – while researchers also found a 35% increase in those interested in Transdev’s new flexible multi-buy ticket bundles of 5 or 10 day tickets as a value for money alternative.
The bus firm’s 12 journey bundle tickets have also grown in the same month by around 20% – and while they remain a relatively small part of its business for now, their rising popularity is in line with Transdev’s customer survey results on changing travel patterns.
Full details of all Transdev bus services across Yorkshire and Lancashire, including travel advice and revised timetables currently in place, are available online at: https://www.transdevbus.co.uk and on the free to download Transdev Go mobile app. Customers can also see at a glance how busy their bus is before traveling using the website or app.