The Benefits of Bus Travel

It’s greener to get around by bus – buses help tackle air pollution by taking cars off the road

• A fully loaded double-decker bus can take 75 cars off the road
• If everyone switched just one car journey a month to the bus, there would be one billion fewer car journeys on our roads, and a saving of 2 million tonnes of CO2[i]
• Buses are vital to improving air quality. The latest models deliver a 95% reduction in NOx emissions compared to previous bus models[ii]
• Diesel cars are the biggest contributor to road transport NOx emissions in the UK, contributing 41% of emissions compared with 30% for diesel vans and just 6% for buses and coaches[iii]

 Travelling by bus can be a less stressful way to travel and free up valuable time

• Travelling by bus is good for your health. It is a third less stressful than commuting by car
• Taking the bus frees your hands and your head, allowing you to catch up on life admin, read a book or play games on your mobile.
• Walking to the bus stop can, on average, help you achieve half the Government’s recommended 30 minutes of exercise per day
• A third of drivers consider driving a chore because of high fuel costs and increased congestion.

 The bus is good value for everyone

• Bus commuters help tackle congestion, which costs the UK economy at £11 billion each year
• Bus commuters generate £64 billion of benefits to the UK economy

 Tackling loneliness & other social benefits

• A third (33 per cent) of Britons admit that they deliberately catch the bus to have some human contact[iv]
• Young people are more reliant on the bus than any other group – more than 50% of 16-19 year olds use the bus regularly[v]
• Jobseekers are heavily dependent on the bus, with 77% having no regular access to a car, van or motorcycle, rising to 87% among 16-24 year olds[vi]
• Buses are crucial to family life. 41% of passengers said they believed they would spend less time with family without access to the bus[vii]
• Buses help local communities to thrive by keeping local people connecting and strengthening community ties
• Two thirds of bus users have said that bus use creates strong community ties[viii]
• 8 out of 10 know someone who is completely reliant on the bus[ix]  

[i] Greener Journeys, The Road to a Carbon Efficient Britain, 2009

[ii] Research commissioned by Greener Journeys, conducted by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, February 2016

[iii] Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership analysis of NOx emissions from road transport based on NAEI 2014 data

[iv] ComRes poll Commissioned by Greener Journeys, September 2018

[v] Institute for Transport Studies, Buses and Economic Growth, 2012

[vi] Institute for Transport Studies, Buses and Economic Growth, 2012

[vii] Research commissioned by Greener Journeys, conducted by Mindlab International, June 2015

[viii] ComRes poll Commissioned by Greener Journeys, September 2018

[ix] ComRes poll Commissioned by Greener Journeys, September 2018