The importance of retaining and improving rural bus services is rising up the transport agenda in the context of wider initiatives to promote bus use and improve their quality. Rural transport has always been a difficult issue, but we now look towards clearer direction and support. Experience of using and operating services informs policy to identify what improvements are needed and how they can be best achieved.
While rural bus use has declined in many places, it is alive and well in others. While some areas have seen post-pandemic demand for bus use largely disappear, many areas with small settlements and a dispersed population have retained healthy demand. This could be attributable to changing car ownership (cost constraints), an inability to drive (especially in younger age groups) and few travel options other than someone else’s car. A typical rural bus might carry children, students and workers alongside elderly and disabled users - it should be emphasized that buses are not solely the preserve of concessionary users. Many regular users travel to work or for shopping and are willing to pay standard fares to do so; they are reliant on bus services that meet their needs. Some users have benefitted from the government’s fare cap (in England) but a decent service is available that meets people’s needs, they see their fares as acceptable value for money.
Many rural routes go to an urban area where traffic delays afflict rural services disproportionately; punctuality is critical where services are infrequent. If there are limited bus priority measures in the urban areas to which they travel, rural services will be affected.
Without traditional and contracted home to school bus services, secondary education in rural areas would be untenable. Many children use buses, without which they would inconvenience their parents or simply not be able to get to school at all. Similarly, students attending colleges would have their life opportunities depleted severely if buses were to become unavailable. Also, access to healthcare is greatly important to rural residents although many consultations and clinic times are set without reference to how patients will get to them. The concentration of healthcare facilities needs to ensure that bus services to them are in place.
The labour catchment in rural areas is restricted meaning that driver shortages remain a problem for rural bus operators, not helped by relatively low wage rates. In many areas, evolution of services and their associated patterns of demand reflects a balance between a desirable level of service and that which can be provided realistically. Simply identifying an aspirational network in the absence of understanding how particular rural communities function is destined to fail, not least because there is unlikely to be the resource required to fulfil those aspirations. Small operators benefit from considerable staff loyalty and teamwork but are vulnerable to even small reductions in driver numbers. Alongside this, rural buses can be relatively costly to operate due to higher speeds, challenging terrain and damage resulting from poor road maintenance, exacerbated by extreme weather events such as hard winters and flooding.
Over time, operators have established their own territories and in many areas, there is limited or no competition between them. This is particularly pertinent where franchising is being considered because there is likely to be only a single operator which could practically provide services. There is also the question of how franchised services, other contracted services such as home to school buses and commercial services can be combined where a franchised area meets a non-franchised area.
Demand-responsive transport (DRT) is not innovative and is rarely a solution to rural accessibility problems. Experience of DRT over several decades has shown that while it can meet limited demand in some circumstances, it is generally no substitute for conventional services and requires funding support without which it will fail. However, sparingly applied DRT can supplement other services if conditions are appropriate and long-term funding is secured. A smaller vehicle does not necessarily imply lower operating costs.
There are many opportunities to promote the use of rural buses. These include better multi-media service information but not limited to technological applications, some of which won’t work in some rural settings. The creation of rural transport hubs would be beneficial to link bus services with other options such as taxis if available, community transport (a sector facing particular challenges currently) and to enable people to be dropped off/picked up by car. Comprehensive park and ride should be promoted for areas which suffer from excessive numbers of car-borne visitors such as National Parks; other services could be better linked to rural rail stations or specific visitor attractions. Rural visitor-based bus services continue to prosper, a strong example of growth in demand for specific routes, often themed for specific markets. The key issue is to retain and improve rural services with funding where necessary.
Nick Richardson
BA(Hons) MA CTTP CGeog FCILT FCIHT FRGS MTPS
Having worked for local authorities and consultancies for 34 years, Nick Richardson is a former Chair of the Transport Planning Society, formerly Chair of CILT's Bus and Coach Policy Group and is a Chartered Transport Planner and Chartered Geographer. He currently drives bus services in Herefordshire and The Borders and therefore offers unique insight into how bus services function in rural communities. He is a columnist in fortnightly 'Passenger Transport' magazine.