Public transport is essential for accessing employment and education, services, shopping and leisure. It should be frequent, reliable, fast, accessible, safe, comfortable, and connect the places that people live and want to go. In order to provide a realistic alternative to cars, it is essential that public transport services are punctual, and have priority over general traffic, so journeys are as fast and convenient as those by car.
Progress up to now
As travel behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic has not been typical of normal public transport usage, we have based our research on underlying trends, below, on figures from before this period.
The West of England has a strong track record of delivering bus improvements. B&NES saw passenger numbers rise by 28% between 2009 and 2018, at a time where rates fell in many other parts of the country. Bath has many bus routes, meaning you can reach a wide range of destinations within 60 minutes. Overall, bus speeds are high, compared with journeys by car, and have been increasing rapidly: punctuality was up from 54% in 2016/17 to 78% in 2018/19.
Whilst bus use has been increasing, it has been from a very low base and is still some way behind other parts of the country. When compared to other areas, there is certainly room for further growth in passenger numbers.
Train usage in Bath has grown significantly over the last decade, which reflects growth in national trends for travelling by rail.
Current challenges
Despite the comparative success of Bath’s bus services, many rural areas in B&NES have poor public transport connectivity. Most services focus on a small number of routes into and out of the city centre, rather than routes between smaller communities.
Within Bath, traffic congestion and on-street parking block routes and delay buses in some areas, including Bathwick Hill and Lansdown Hill. This limits the size of buses that can be operated, the number of passengers who can travel, and therefore the commercial viability of some bus routes.
Every year, Transport Focus carries out passenger satisfaction surveys. In 2019, just 56% of B&NES residents were satisfied with local bus services (compared with 85% of bus passengers in the West of England). This may be why the proportion of Bath residents travelling to work by bus is lower than in other similarly-sized cities.
What you've told us
In response to our consultation in early 2021, more than half of people felt improved public transport options were important. Universal, integrated ticketing and provision of mobility hubs were the most supported concepts. Around half of people felt better bus services were important. You rated use of cleaner fuels and improved co-ordination of bus services as the most important concepts.
What the new plan means for you
Our vision
We want to deliver a range of public transport options to improve connectivity for all.
An enhanced public transport system will provide an excellent alternative to the car for all journeys, especially for existing car journeys of between 10 and 20 kilometres in distance. Journeys of this length currently generate the majority of carbon emissions.
Seamless journeys across the network
- If travelling to Bath by car, better interchange facilities will provide the opportunity to park and complete your journey into the city by whatever type of public transport that suits you. Your shift to another mode of transport will be quicker, more direct and convenient.
- Mobility hubs provide access to improved bus services along key routes. This will improve connections into the wider transport network, and more sustainable modes of transport, even from smaller, rural communities.
Safer, more convenient travel
- Bus stop upgrades will provide a waiting area which feels safe, offers access to live travel information and wifi, and connects you to all available modes of transport.
- Universal, integrated ticketing will make it easy to purchase a ticket for your whole journey, even if the route requires use of different operators along the way
Find out more
To learn more about parts of the plan which will benefit you in particular, you may want to explore the following sections.