Improving public transport through machine learning influence flow analysis (MIFA): Southern England bus case study
Apr-2025
Paper introduces a Machine Learning Influence Flow Analysis framework intended to identify key influencers of public transport usage. Study finds that easy payments, e-ticketing and mobile applications can substantially improve public transport service. Study recommends making use of smart ticketing systems and contactless payments to enable more efficient allocation of resources, resulting in a more streamlined service that encourages increased ridership and improves user satisfaction.
Demographic disparities, service efficiency, safety and user satisfaction in public bus transit system: A survey-based case study in the City of Charlotte, NC
Dec-2024
Study concerning attitudes towards service limitations, safety concerns and technological improvements through a demographic lens. The research finds that East Charlotte residents and women face limited routes and longer wait times, black and East Charlotte residents have higher concerns about safety, there are privacy concerns among wealthier and infrequent users and there is strong preference for technological improvements, especially among infrequent users.
Making great bus journeys
Nov-2024
Report conducts an analysis on a national bus user survey to determine what bus passengers find most important to a good bus journey. The report recommends further use of franchising and enhanced bus partnerships, alongside work by local authorities to enforce measures to speed up buses to ensure they quickly and on time. The report also recommends reviews of operational and ticketing arrangements to reduce dwell time and reduce cancellations.
Better buses: Reforming bus funding
Nov-2024
Report advocating for changes to be made to the way buses are funded. The report recommends that funding should be allocated on the basis of need to reduce the funding gap between authorities, that there should be a bus service guarantee, with support provided to local authorities to ensure that it can be delivered, for long term, multi-modal funding settlements for all LTAs, to transfer all bus-related funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to the Department for Transport, and ensure it is ringfenced and transparent and requiring NHS trusts to coordinate transport provision with authorities, bus operators and community transport operators.
The Economic Impact of Local Bus Services
Sep-2024
Research into the value produced by bus services in the UK. Reviews economic value in the provision of bus services, value derived from people using the bus in terms of direct benefits to passengers and other road users and value generated from the activities of passengers making use of bus services to spend their money.
Bus Franchising: One size does not fit all
Sep-2024
Report reviews options for alternative organisation strategies for the improvement of bus services. The study highlights that the London model of bus franchising may not be appropriate for other areas, especially in smaller cities and rural regions. Additionally, the report encourages realism towards the benefits of bus franchising, noting that Brighton and Hove has a successful bus network, despite functioning on a commercial, deregulated model.
Retaining bus riders: A lifecycle longitudinal analysis of behavioural status transitions from entry to exit
Jun-2024
Using smart card data, study aims to analyse user behaviour to determine how users may begin to transition away from bus user. Study notes that users first decrease travel frequency before transitioning to irregular travel patterns. Study recommends retention policies such as tiered usage incentives and personalised communication strategies, aimed at different stages of the user life cycle.
A Manifesto for UK Bus Services
Feb-2024
A manifesto produced to communicate demands for improved buses. Points include: decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing reliability, affordability and attractiveness of bus services, staying in touch with requirements of users, taking a cross-departmental approach to transport provision, improving accessibility, inclusivity and transparency, making fares simpler and fairer, lifting restrictions on concessionary tickets, and updating the law to make transport provision a socially necessary service, along with ring-fenced funding.
National Bus Strategy: Capacity and Capability
Dec-2023
Research conducted into the experience, technical expertise and resources available to Local Transport Authorities for the purposes of achieving the goals set out in the Bus Back Better Report. Study finds that there a number of issues in this aspect relating to lack of staff, especially in smaller LTAs, difficulties in the structure and knowledge of organisations and a reliance on short-term funding and outsourcing.
A Smoother Ride
Sep-2023
A report concerning how the 2017 bus services act might be used and amended to improve local bus services. Recommendations include: Updating the 2017 act to reduce the time and cost to set up a franchising model, ensuring that LTAs have operator information when needed, allowing all areas to have the same rights as MCAs to franchise services, removing restrictions on the creation of municipal bus companies, bringing together existing funding into a single devolved funding settlement and maintaining levels of bus investment through the next 5 years.
Current practices and emerging trends of transit apps for fixed-route bus services in the U.S.
Jul-2023
Study providing and overview of transit apps used by various transit agencies in the United States. The researchers conducted interviews with 21 transport industry leaders, and synthesized perceived benefits and costs to transit apps. The study identifies five existing business models and emerging trends of transit apps and aims to improve transit app knowledge and provide practical recommendations for future improvements.
Getting free passholders back on buses
Jul-2023
Report into how older and disabled free bus pass holders may be encouraged to use buses, conducted in the context of the significant drop in concessionary use that occurred post-pandemic. The report suggests two possible reasons for this decline. The first is that concessionary users are simply getting out less due to the cost of living crisis and high street closures. The second suggests that the decline is patronage is due to a decline in bus services. The report claims that coronavirus plays a limited factor in dissuading bus use, with only 7% concerned about catching the virus due to using the bus.
Motivations and barriers to bus use
Jun-2023
Study into why people do or do not use buses. Report finds that there is a sizeable group of people who have not returned to bus use post-pandemic, buses are perceived as inconvenient, there is some interest in more bus use, the £2 cap for buses provided value-for-money for many users, and a lack of knowledge about services discourages many users.
7th TAS National Bus Fares Survey: 2022
Apr-2023
Analysis of survey data collected concerning bus fare data. Report looks into impact of different ticket categories (i.e. day tickets replacing, and exceeding return tickets), financial pressures on local bus services, preferences between multi-operator tickets and smartcards, reach of contactless payments, including tap-on, tap-off.
fflecsi - The experience of Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) in Wales
Aug-2022
Two reports studying the implementation of a Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) pilot schemes in Denbigh, Pembrokeshire, Conwy Valley and Newport. Interviews were conducted with passengers, potential passengers, operators and local authorities.
Funding local bus services in England
Jun-2022
Report in the funding of bus services. Report notes the severe impact the pandemic has had on the provision of bus services. Suggests that the current strategy has produced funding gaps, as LTAs with smaller transport teams are less capable of applying for funding. Report suggests ways this may be remedied, but ultimately recommends a substantial increase in funding for bus services.
Every Village, every hour - 2021 buses report
Mar-2021
Report into the viability of improving bus services in rural areas, with a focus on providing a bus every hour, seven days a week to every village. Report recommends continuing emergency bus funding, recognising a universal basic right to public transport, establishing bus regulations, providing funding in the order £2.7bn per year, redirecting road building funding towards bus provision, ensuring rural public transport is low or no cost and to investigate how England might move to a Swiss-style pulse model of transport scheduling.
Strategic analysis of current bus safety issues
Feb-2022
Review into safety on buses, intended to understand current weaknesses of current bus safety measures, to develop best practice recommendations for improvement and to provide an overview of how to address safety challenges in the bus system.
Partnership or franchising to improve bus services in two major English urban regions? An institutional analysis
Sep-2021
Paper investigating how franchising, classified as a "formal institution", and bus partnerships, classified as an "informal institution", handle the "unintended consequences" of a deregulated market. Includes an overview of the recent history and current state of the bus market in Britain.
Back the Bus to Level Up
Sep-2021
Report into post-pandemic recovery for buses, uses models to predict different scenarios for growth in passenger volumes and vehicle kilometres after the pandemic. Advocates for funding reform to keep pace with transformation being brought forward by post-pandemic improvements.