Scottish Government

5 Convenience of local bus service

• 80 per cent of respondents feel their local service is very or fairly convenient
• 85 per cent of respondents lived within 6 mins walking time of a bus stop
• Frequency of bus service provisions was poorer in rural areas than urban areas
• Car owners were less likely to know the frequency of their local bus service than non-car owners

5.1 In 2007, four fifths of all respondents stated that their local bus service was very or fairly convenient, an increase of 5 percentage points since 1999. [ Table 28].

5.2 Respondents are also asked about the level of public transport provisions in their area, i.e. do they think it is good (yes/no) or bad (yes/no). In 2007, almost one in five thought that public transport was good in their neighbourhood compared to 5 per cent who thought it was poor. This trend has been stable since 1999.

5.3 Eighty-five percent of respondents in 2007 lived within 6 mins walking time to the nearest bus stop, although this may not necessarily be the bus stop that they regularly use (Figure 7). [ Table 31].

5.4 More respondents had access to a regular bus service³ (5 or more per hour) in 2007 than in 1999 (24 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively) but the percentage with no bus service has been stable at 1 per cent since 1999. [ Table 29].

Urban/Rural differences

5.5 The walking time to the nearest bus stop was dependent on the urban/rural classification of the area. Almost 9 out of ten respondents in large urban areas lived within 6 minutes walk to the nearest bus stop compared to under two-thirds in remote rural areas (89 per cent and 63 per cent, respectively). [ Table 38].

5.6 This was also seen in the frequency of service. Large urban areas had a much higher provision of service than remote rural areas (45 per cent of large urban areas had 5+ buses per hour compared to almost none in remote rural areas; Figure 8). [ Table 39].

5.7 A similar trend is seen with convenience of service (Figure 9). Almost nine out of ten respondents (87 per cent) in large urban areas felt that their local bus service was very or fairly convenient, compared to just 54 per cent in remote rural areas. In fact, 32 per cent of respondents in remote rural areas felt that their local service was very or fairly inconvenient. [ Table 40].

Car ownership

5.8 In 2007, 28 per cent of car owners were unaware of the frequency of bus service at their nearest bus stop compared to 13 per cent of no car owners. [ Table 39]. This agrees with the findings that car drivers use the bus less often than non-drivers.

Figure 7: [ SHS: Walking time] Walking time to nearest bus stop, 2007

Figure 8: [ SHS: Frequency of service] Frequency of service, 2007

Figure 9: [ SHS: Convenience of service] Convenience of public transport, 2007