What a difference half a year can make. Starting this blog just before Christmas, I wrote a couple of pieces about the economy and the environment, in the context of oil prices then liable to reach $100 a barrel. There were worries about the economy, and the impact that the ‘credit cruch’ was likely to [...]

continue reading.....

WHEN the Government’s Social Exclusion Unit reviewed the levels of public spending on transport a couple of years ago, there was much controversy about the level of subsidy which actually reached the socially excluded. The public policy agenda has since moved on from social exclusion towards the delivery of economic efficiency and competitiveness, but the [...]

continue reading.....

ANALYSIS of rail patronage data for the six English PTE areas shows continuing strong growth in patronage levels, according to research undertaken by TAS as part of its work for Rail Industry Monitor 2008, due for publication next month. According to statistics from the PTEs themselves, 123.2 million passenger journeys were made on the supported [...]

continue reading.....

CUSTOMER satisfaction with bus services in England was at its highest level for more than five years last autumn, according to the Department for Transport’s latest survey, published last month. The seasonally adjusted results showed a positive rating of 82% across England as a whole, though with some variation between areas. In the PTE areas, [...]

continue reading.....

THERE were some signs of a slowing down in the rate of patronage growth on the national rail system, according to the latest provision figures published by the Office of Rail Regulation.The estimates cover the period from October to December last year. Across the country as a whole, the number of passenger kilometres travelled grew [...]

continue reading.....

THE proportion of the population who say that they never use the railways fell by over 3 per cent between 2003 and 2006, according to figures from the National Travel Survey carried out by the Department for Transport. At the same time, the survey shows that the proportion using the services three or more times [...]

continue reading.....

Bus and light rail patronage in Great Britain grew by over 3.6% during the autumn, according to the latest quarterly statistics released in March by the Department for Transport. Growth in England was the same, at 3.6%, but the figure for growth outside London was lower at 1.9%. The estimates cover the period from October [...]

continue reading.....

THE number of people who use public transport for their daily journeys to and from work now stands at around 3.5 million out of a total workforce of 24.1m, according to government statistics. The figures are compiled during the annual Labour Force Survey, carried out by the Office of National Statistics. The latest figures, for [...]

continue reading.....

YORKSHIRE and the Humber saw the fastest growth in rail patronage during the period between 1995/96 and 2005/06, according to analysis published recently by the Department for Transport. The regional saw a 72% increase in originating rail journeys over the decade. It was  closely followed by the North West on 66%. Three other regions also [...]

continue reading.....

“‘Bus travel demand among older people is best described by an exponential function.’ Discuss.” No, not an A-level Economics exam question, but a key issue underlying the current mess which is concessionary fares reimbursement in England. Unfortunately, the esoteric nature of most debate about the issue contributes to confusion and conflict. So where are we [...]

continue reading.....