The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant reductions in the number of people taking advantage of concessionary bus travel, according to a new report.
The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport report compares English National Concessionary Travel Journey (ENCTS) and Active Card Data for the calendar years 2019 and 2022.
It shows a 36% reduction in total ENCTS journeys across 18 regions studied, with the total number of journeys falling from 95million in 2019 to 61.2million in 2022. This is in spite of the number of active passholders falling by just 2.6%.
Across England, the report found that the average number of journeys per active card had fallen to an average of 48 single journeys per year.
This included a reduction in the number of journeys by elderly passholders of 38% and disabled passholders by 28%, while the total journeys by male and female passholders reduced by 32% and 36% respectively.
The age group with the largest reduction in average trips was those over 80 years old, with male passholders making 43% fewer journeys per active card, and female passholders making 46% fewer journeys.
The report was compiled by experts in transport logistics at the University of Plymouth, through the university spinout company Smart Applications Management Ltd.
Dr Andrew Seedhouse, Director of Transport in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, is the report's lead author.
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