Bus usage in Warrington below pre-Covid levels despite improvements

Warrington has introduced a number of measures over recent years in a bid to increase the number of people using buses.

While the number making use of services across the town is up year-on-year, usage is still not where it was before Covid hit.

New figures from the Department for Transport show passengers in Warrington took 4.8million bus journeys in the year to March.

This was up from 4.3million the year before, but it was below pre-pandemic levels of 5.5million.

This is mirrored nationally, as across England, 3.6billion journeys were taken last year, demonstrating just a seven per cent rise on the year before, but well below the 4.1billion taken before the pandemic.

READ MORE > Council to keep £2 bus fare cap in Warrington

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The figures also showed the number of bus journeys in Warrington has fallen by 14 per cent from five years ago, while the last decade has seen the number drop by 46 per cent.

Nationally, the number of journeys taken has dropped by 16 per cent since 2018-19, which saw 4.3billion trips taken.

Separate figures from the Office for National Statistics show that bus and coach fares in the first three months of 2024 were six times higher than the same period in 1987.

This is compared with a five-fold increase in train fares, and motoring costs rising by around three-and-a-half times.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced in October that the cap on single bus fares in England will rise from £2 to £3 from January 1.

Warrington Borough Council has confirmed that bus fares in the town will continue to be capped at £2 – but this is only until April next year at this stage.

The £2 adult capped fare and £1 capped fare for under 22s will remain in place until March 31, 2025.

Following the Department for Transport’s announcement of Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding for the coming year, the council is discussing how this funding can be used to continue to keep low fares in place beyond March 2025.

Warrington has a fleet of new electric buses

Warrington is set to receive £3.8million in BSIP funding from the Government for 2025/26, as part of a wider £148million investment to deliver better bus services across the north west.

Since 2022, Warrington has received more than £22million in BSIP funding, which is being used in partnership with the town’s new fleet of electric buses.

Under the banner of ‘Better by Bus’, a range of improvements have been made to services, as well as the fare caps.

These include enhanced timetables, with more frequent buses every day, free bus travel for care leavers aged between 18 and 22, and new bus shelters across the network.

Warrington has also started to introduce its fleet of electric buses and phase out its conventional petrol and diesel vehicles.

Council leader Cllr Hans Mundry, who is also cabinet member for transport, said: “The funding we have received in recent years has been put to excellent use, delivering a range of improvements across the board.

“This is from cheaper fares and enhanced timetables to free concessionary travel all day, complementing our fantastic new fleet of all-electric buses.

“We have seen particular success with our £2 and £1 capped fares, which we had already committed to keep in place until March 2025.

“Now, with confirmation of this latest funding from the Government, we will be looking closely at how we can continue to keep fares low throughout 2025, and what further improvements we can make to ensure all our communities benefit from modern, reliable and attractive bus services, now and in the future.”

The council says that further announcements about bus fares in Warrington from April 2025 onwards will be made in the near future.

On the national picture, the Campaign for Better Transport said service provision and frequency must be improved to see more people using the bus.

Campaign member Silviya Barrett said: “It is encouraging that once again we are seeing more people take the bus, helped by the £2 bus fare cap making bus travel more affordable in the past year.

“But to truly see more people using buses more frequently, we need to see a boost to service provision and frequency too.

“We urge the Government to introduce a bus service guarantee in the forthcoming Better Buses Bill, to define a minimum level of bus services in every community and ensure that local authorities have the necessary long-term funding to deliver them.”